§ 7-504. Eligibility guidelines; authorized programs

   (a) Regulations for eligibility guidelines. --

   (1) The Department shall adopt regulations that set eligibility guidelines for State funding of Youth Suicide Prevention School Programs under this subtitle.

   (2) The regulations shall:

      (i) Establish procedures for developing local programs, in cooperation with local education agencies, youth service bureaus, and community mental health centers; and

      (ii) Establish standards and policies for programs to offer:

         1. Individual, family, and group counseling related to youth suicide prevention;

         2. Referral, crisis intervention, and information for students, parents, and school personnel; and

         3. Training for school personnel, and others responsible for counseling or supervising student activities.

(b) Authorized programs. -- A Youth Suicide Prevention School Program established under this subtitle shall plan, fund, and implement educational programs, which may include any of the following:

   (1) Classroom instruction designed to achieve any of the following objectives:

      (i) Encourage sound decision making and promote ethical development;

      (ii) Increase pupils' awareness of the relationship between drug and alcohol use and youth suicide;

      (iii) Teach pupils to recognize signs of suicidal tendencies, and other facts about youth suicide;

      (iv) Inform pupils of available community youth suicide prevention services;

      (v) Enhance school climate and relationships between teachers, counselors, and pupils; and

      (vi) Further cooperative efforts of school personnel and community youth suicide prevention program personnel;

   (2) School or community based alternative programs outside of the classroom, including:

      (i) Positive peer group programs;

      (ii) A 24-hour "hotline" telephone service, staffed by trained professional counselors;

      (iii) Programs to collect data on youth suicide attempts;

      (iv) Intervention and follow-up;

      (v) Mental health programs to promote mental health awareness and encourage pupils to seek help as soon as it is needed; and

      (vi) Parent education and training programs; and

   (3) Teacher training programs.

(c) Requirements for programs established under subtitle. -- Any program established under this subtitle shall:

   (1) Assist in increasing the awareness, among school personnel and community leaders, of the incidence of teenage suicide;

   (2) Train school personnel in individual and schoolwide strategies for teenage suicide prevention;

   (3) Develop and implement school-based teenage suicide prevention programs and pilot projects;

   (4) Develop and implement school-based pilot mental health programs and peer-to-peer support to address the needs of students suffering from mental illness; and

   (5) Through cooperative efforts, utilize community resources in the development and implementation of teenage suicide prevention programs under this subtitle.

(d) Assistance in development of pilot peer-to-peer mental health awareness programs. -- The Department may assist local school systems in implementing pilot peer-to-peer mental health awareness programs.

HISTORY: 1986, ch. 122; 1990, ch. 6, § 2; 1996, ch. 10, § 16; 2005, ch. 403.