State

Florida’s Statewide Office of Suicide Prevention (SOSP)

Sofia Castro, Ed.D, CPP
Suicide Prevention Specialist, Statewide Office of Suicide Prevention
Substance Abuse and Mental Health (SAMH)
Florida Department of Children and Families
1317 Winewood Blvd., Building 6, Room 259
Tallahassee, FL. 32399
[email protected]

850-717-4429

Established: July, 2007

Florida Department of Education

Coordinated School Health Resource Center
Florida Department of Education
850-245-0480 (phone)
866-312-6497 (In-state toll free phone)
850-245-5116 (fax)
[email protected]

#310713 Act for Health: Using Theater to Teach Tough Teen Topics. ETR Associates, 1991.
This book assists educators in using theater to promote awareness and discussion of sensitive teen issues. Topics include substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, suicide, and sexual abuse. Over a dozen provocative monologues, rap songs, and scenes written by real students are included. (softcover, 162 pages)
Grade: Middle, High
Format: Print

#310460 Adolescent Suicide: A School-based Approach to Assessment and Intervention. Research Press, 1993.
Designed for educators and counselors, this book presents information on adolescent suicide. Chapters focus on probable causes, suicide risk assessment, depression, interventions, and school crisis teams. (softcover, 175 pages)
Grade: Middle, High
Format: Print

#310739 Day for Night: Recognizing Teenage Depression. Vanderpool Films, 1999.
For teachers and student services personnel, this video describes the signs and symptoms of teenage depression. It does so through interviews with recovering students, parents, and a child psychologist. The different types of depression are explained along with the biological basis and recovery strategies. (25 mins.)
Grade: Middle, High
Format: Video

#312620 Depression and Other Mood Disorders in the School Community (Health in Action, vol. 1, no. 2, November/December, 2002) American School Health Association, 2002.
This issue of “Health in Action” addresses depression as a treatable mental illness. It includes facts about depression, how to respond to depression in middle and high school students, school-based programs to prevent suicide, and information for students and families. (softcover, 23 pages)
Grade: Middle, High
Format: Print

#310673 Dying Is Not an Option: Thinking about Suicide. Human Relations Media, 1996.
In the first part of this video, a series of powerful stories from real young people who have suffered from depression, have attempted suicide, or have lost a family member to suicide is presented. In part two, intended for teachers and counselors, a psychologist specializing in adolescent depression describes the warning signs of suicide. This video is accompanied by a teacher’s guide and student handouts. 58 mins.
Grade: High
Format: Video

#310743 Florida Youth Suicide Prevention Study: Report to the Florida State Legislature — September 1999. University of South Florida, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, Department of Child and Family Studies, 1999.
This report describes the results of a survey of professionals, parents, and youth about suicide and their communities’ attitudes, needs, and resources. Regional resources are listed. (softcover, 125 pages)
Format: Print

#312142.A-C Helping Troubled Youth: The Columbia Teen Screen Suicide Prevention Program. Columbia University, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2002.
This folder contains materials about the Columbia Teen Screen Program, a program that screens teenagers to identify those who are at-risk for suicide and then ensures that they receive treatment. The goal of the program is to establish model screening programs across the country that address the unmet mental health needs of adolescents. The folder contains a booklet, a brochure, and an overview sheet.
Grade: Middle, High
Format: Print

#312113 Kids Count Data Book: State Profiles of Child Well-Being (rev. ed.) Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2004.
This data book is intended to illuminate the conditions facing America’s children and to assess trends in their well-being. The ten key indicators represented are low birth-weight babies percentage; infant mortality rate; child death rate; teen death rate; teen birth rate; high school dropout percentage; teens not attending school and not working; children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment; child poverty; and children in single parent households. (softcover, 212 pages)
Grade: Infant/Toddler (0-2), Prekindergarten (3-4), Middle, High, Elementary
Format: Print

#310701 Mental Health Services in Schools: Journal of School Health Topical Package. American School Health Association, 1999.
This book offers a compilation of 47 articles published in the “Journal of School Health” from 1987 to 1998 on all aspects of school mental health services. The articles cover web resources in school mental health, depression, self-esteem, peer mediation, immigrant youth issues, confidentiality of student records, sexual harassment, school crisis response teams, and bereavement issues. (softcover, 208 pages)
Format: Print

#311399 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention: Goals and Objectives for Action. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2001.
This document from the U.S. Surgeon General outlines a national strategy to prevent suicide. Among the recommendations is a call for the formation of public/private community partnerships to explore ways to provide mental health support to schools. It also recommends increasing the number of school districts in which school-based clinics incorporate mental health and substance abuse assessment and management into their scope of activities. (softcover, 204 pages)
Format: Print

#310326 Programs for the Prevention of Suicide among Adolescents and Young Adults/Suicide Contagion and the Reporting of Suicide: Recommendations from a National Workshop. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Epidemiology Program Office, 1994.
The first part of this report summarizes eight suicide prevention strategies and provides general recommendations for the development, implementation, and evaluation of suicide prevention programs targeted toward 15 to 24 year-olds. The second part of this report addresses concerns on reducing the possibility of media-related suicide contagion. These recommendations outline general issues that public officials and health and media professionals should consider when reporting about suicide. (softcover, 18 pages)
Format: Print

#312456 Suicide and Depression (Real People Series) Sunburst Visual Media, 2002.
This program provides viewers with essential information about the warning signs of, and the myths about, depression and suicide. Using profiles of real teens, scenarios, and insights from nationally recognized experts, this program sensitizes viewers to the issues of depression and suicide. Best used with students in grades 8-12 and other young adults. (25 mins.)
Grade: Middle, High, Postsecondary
Format: Video

#310548 Suicide Prevention in the Schools: Guidelines for Middle and High School Settings. American Counseling Association, 1994.
Written for counselors and for middle and high school educators, this book offers statistics on youth suicide and explores the dynamics of suicide. It also provides guidelines for early detection of suicidal preoccupation, prevention, and crisis management. (softcover, 127 pages)
Grade: Middle, High
Format: Print

#312146 Suicide: Substance Abuse Resource Guide. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, 2000.
This is a bibliography of materials on the subject of suicide. Some of the materials concern the link between suicide and substance abuse. (softcover, 14 pages)
Format: Print

#310453 Teen Suicide. Cambridge Educational, 1994.
This video helps high school students recognize suicide warning signs, learn the importance of communication, and identify what to do to prevent suicide for themselves or a friend.
Grade: High
Format: Video

#310698 Teen Suicide: I Don’t Really Want to Leave. Lucerne Media, 1996.
Requiring careful teacher previewing, this powerful video is a dramatization of the feelings and emotions of a teenage girl who is contemplating suicide. The viewer will gain insight about adolescent suicide and be able to recognize warning signs a person may be exhibiting. It is also valuable for adults working with teens. 10 mins.
Grade: High
Format: Video

#311525.A When Death Impacts Your School: A Guide for School Administrators. The Dougy Center, 2000.
This is a guidebook about death for school leaders. It provides information appropriate for a school community trying to cope after a death. Strong leadership gives people the sense of security needed to begin the healing process after a death. Included topics are the principal’s role in helping grieving students and staff; responding to a death in the school; a long-term plan relating to six principles of grief; and special considerations about the type of death (from chronic illness, accidental, and stigmatized deaths). (softcover, 56 pages)
Grade: Elementary, Middle, High
Format: Print

#310319 Youth Suicide Prevention Programs: A Resource Guide. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 1992.
This resource guide describes the rationale and evidence for the effectiveness of various youth suicide prevention strategies and identifies model programs that incorporate these different strategies. (softcover, 190 pages)
Format: Print

#312058 Youth Suicide: The School’s Role in Prevention and Response. Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation, 1999.
This is an excellent source of information on the subject of youth suicide. It is a resource that educators can use in developing efforts to prevent suicide, and when such efforts fail, to effectively respond to the aftermath of a student’s death. (softcover, 89 pages)
Format: Print

Florida Baker Act

Substance Abuse and Mental Health. A link to the Florida Department of Children and Families regarding information on Florida’s Baker Act.

Agency for Health Care Administration

The Agency for Health Care Administration is responsible for licensing all hospitals, crisis stabilization units, and residential treatment facilities in Florida.

Florida Initiative for Suicide Prevention (FISP)

Jackie Rosen
FISP Executive Director/CEO
2645 Executive Park Drive
Weston, Florida 33331
Phone: (954) 384-0344
Fax: (954) 384-7988
Cell: (954) 465-7115
[email protected] – [email protected]

We service Dade, Broward and Southern Palm Beach Counties

Florida Association of School Psychologists (FASP)

The mission of FASP is to promote and advocate for the mental health and educational development
of Florida’s children, youth and families in educational systems and communities;
and to advance the profession of school psychology in the state.