Initiatives

Schools for Suicide Prevention (S4SP) Partnership

State policies AB2246 and AB1767 mandate that public schools serving grades K-12 adopt policies addressing suicide prevention, crisis response, and student mental health. The SP Program launched the S4SP Partnership in 2018 as a response to a needs assessment conducted with districts on their progress with implementing these policies.

Through a county-wide partnership, the BHSD, the HEARD Alliance, and the County Office of Education provide training access and technical assistance to support districts’ suicide prevention and upstream prevention goals. This partnership is informed by a multi-tiered approach to mental health and well-being in an effort to prevent youth suicides. This approach outlines steps to ensure school personnel (teachers, staff, administration) and mental health professionals are trained to respond to school crises by strengthening crisis response protocols and implementing best-practice prevention efforts, including social-emotional learning.

Suicide Prevention Training Opportunities:

Kognito Mental Health & Wellness Professional Development Courses

The Santa Clara County Office of Education and Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Services Department are pleased to provide all educators and school staff across the county with free access to the following simulations from Kognito’s social emotional learning curriculum for the 2022-2023 academic year.

Santa Clara County 2023-2024 Kognito flyer

Portfolio of available Kognito trainings

LivingWorks Start

This training is sponsored by AB-1808 and offered through the CA Dept of Education for a limited time. If you are an employee or student in any public middle or high school in California, you are eligible to complete this training at no-cost. Students and staff should choose two of the three youth-specific practice scenarios at the end of the training titled "Eric", "Ali", or "Mikayla and Hailey." Students who complete LivingWorks Start are eligible to earn 90 minutes of community service hours.

Access link for students and staff: https://www.lwyouthsummit.com/access-training

More Information about Our Partners

Additional Resources

School Linked Services
allcove (Ages 12-25)
Bill Wilson Center: All services | Grief support services
LGBTQ Youth Space Santa Clara County (Ages 13-25)
Headspace for Teens
California Department of Education Youth Suicide Prevention
TeenzTalk
Didi Hirsch Teen Line
Youth Connect

Contact Information

For more information, please contact Jasmine Lopez, Coordinator, Suicide Prevention Program by email at [email protected].