GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1989

S	2 

SENATE BILL 57
Second Edition Engrossed 2/22/89

Short Title:  Youth Suicide Prevention Act.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Senators Hunt of Moore; Allran, Ballance, Barker, Barnes, Basnight, Block, Bryan, Cochrane, Conder, Daniel, Guy, Harris, Hunt of Durham, Johnson of Wake, Kaplan, Martin of Pitt, Martin of Guilford, Marvin, Odom, Parnell, Rauch, Richardson, Royall, Sherron, Simpson, Soles, Speed, Staton, Swain, Taft, Tally, Walker, and Ward.
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Referred to:  Children and Youth.
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January 25, 1989

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO CREATE THE YOUTH SUICIDE ADVISORY BOARD AND TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS THEREFOR.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  Chapter 143B, Article 3 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Part 4A to read as follows:
“Part 4A. Youth Suicide Advisory Board.
"§ 143B-150.1. Purpose.
It is the expressed intent of this Part to make the prevention of youth suicide a priority of this State and to establish the Youth Suicide Advisory Board as a means to that end.
"§ 143B-150.2. Youth Suicide Advisory Board - creation, powers and duties.
There is hereby created the Youth Suicide Advisory Board to be located in the Department of Human Resources.  The Board shall have the following powers and duties:
	(a) To evaluate the existing system of delivery of State services in the prevention of youth suicide and to recommend an improved system of delivery to meet present and future needs.
	(b) To seek the cooperation, advice, and assistance of both private and governmental agencies, commissions, and organizations and work cooperatively with other such groups to attain common goals.
	(c) To encourage private organizations and local governments to organize and participate in activities to increase public awareness of the problem of youth suicide.
	(d) To serve as a clearinghouse for the collection and dissemination of information about youth suicide prevention plans and coordinate, generally, activities throughout all of the State.
	(e) To solicit proposals for suicide prevention programs, and administer planning grants for the development of proposals which will best meet the objectives of a statewide program.
"§ 143B-150.3. Youth Suicide Advisory Board - members; selection; meetings; quorum; compensation; services.
	(a) The Youth Suicide Advisory Board shall consist of 16 voting members, as follows:
(1)	Four members from State government: the Secretary of Human Resources or his designate, the Superintendent of Public Instruction or his designate, the Director of the Administrative Office of the Court or his designate, the Secretary of Administration or his designate.
(2)	Four members appointed by the Governor from the following categories: one shall be a local school board member, one shall be an area mental health administrator, one shall be an expert in the field of youth suicide, and one shall be a person under the age of 21 at the time of the appointment.
(3)	Four members appointed by the President of the Senate from the following categories: one shall be a classroom teacher, one shall be a school administrator, one shall be a mental health clinician with expertise in the area of youth suicide, and one shall be a member of a parent-based organization.
(4)	Four members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives from the following categories: one shall be a student services professional (school counselor, school psychologist, school social worker, or school nurse), one shall be an expert in the field of youth suicide, one shall be a member of the clergy, and one shall be a representative of the news media.
	(b) For continuity during the first term of the Board, each appointing authority shall select one member of the Youth Suicide Study Commission to serve on the Board.
	(c) All members shall serve for two-year terms. All initial terms shall begin July 1, 1989.  A vacancy in membership shall be filled by the appointing authority who made the initial appointment.  When the members' terms expire, their successors shall serve for the same length of time their predecessors served.  A member whose term expires may be reappointed for an additional two-year term.  If, when a term expires, the appointing authority has not filled the vacancy, the member whose term has expired shall continue to serve until the appointment is made.
The chairman of the Board shall be elected by the membership at its first meeting, to be convened by the Secretary of Human Resources.
The Youth Suicide Advisory Board shall meet at least once each quarter and may hold special meetings at any time at the call of its chairman.
A majority of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
Members of the Board who are State employees shall receive travel expenses as set forth in G.S. 138-6.  The other Board members shall receive per diem and travel expenses as set forth in G.S. 138-5.
Staff and support services required by the Board shall be provided by the Secretary of Human Resources.
"§ 143B-150.4. Youth Suicide Advisory Board - projects.
In order to carry out the purposes of this Part the Board shall, with the assistance of the Department of Human Resources and the Department of Public Instruction:
	(a) Plan and host a statewide conference designed to emphasize the needs and goals of a statewide action plan to address the problems and issues related to youth suicide, which shall have as participants current and potential service providers, including school administrators, student services professionals, teachers, mental health professionals, and community organizations.
	(b) Review applications and have final authority for the awarding of grants pursuant to this Article.
	(c) Analyze program plans developed by grant recipients and make recommendations to the General Assembly for future funding of programs.
	(d) Develop a State plan for the prevention of youth suicide for submission to the Governor and the General Assembly no later than January 1, 1991.
"§ 143B-150.5. Youth Suicide Advisory Board - planning grants.
In order to ensure that the most effective prevention and crisis intervention programs are developed and ultimately available statewide, the Board shall:
	(a) Award eight planning grants in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per grant, two each in the Western, North Central, South Central and Eastern Regions of the State, said Regions to be as designated by the Division of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services.
(1)	The grants may be awarded to public or private nonprofit organizations, agencies, schools, or hospitals to assess community needs and to develop community-based educational and service programs designed to prevent the occurrence of youth suicide.
(2)	Grants awarded under this section are intended to encourage the development of community-based programs for the prevention of youth suicide.  Youth suicide prevention programs are defined to be those programs and services which impact on children and families both before and after any substantiated incident of suicidal behavior has occurred.  Such programs shall include, but are not limited to:
       	a.	Instruction or materials designed to teach facts about youth suicide and how to recognize signs of suicidal tendencies; to publicize available community services aimed at prevention of suicide; and to increase awareness of the relationship between youth suicide and drug and alcohol use.
       	b.	Training programs in suicide prevention for school administrators, student services professionals, classroom teachers, and other teaching staff members.
       	c.	Training programs in suicide prevention for members of the clergy, law enforcement personnel, and other professionals who provide services to youth.
       	d.	Nonclassroom school or community-based programs such as a 24-hour ‘hotline' telephone service staffed by trained professional counselors, crisis intervention and postvention services, parent education programs and programs for the families of suicide victims.
       	e.	Community-based programs relating to crisis care, aid to parents, and support groups for parents and their children experiencing stress within the family unit.
	(b) Develop, with the assistance of the Department of Human Resources and the Department of Public Instruction, appropriate guidelines and criteria for awarding grants pursuant to this Article.  These criteria shall include, but not be limited to:
(1)	Documentation of need within the proposed geographical impact area;
(2)	Diversity of geographical areas to be covered under proposals funded pursuant to this section;
(3)	Projected effectiveness of the proposed strategy or program for preventing youth suicide;
(4)	Reasonableness of the implementation plan for achieving stated objectives;
(5)	Community support and utilization of community resources including volunteers;
(6)	Provision for an evaluation component that will provide outcome data;
(7)	Reasonable plan for dissemination of the program for implementation in other communities;
(8)	Potential for future funding from private sources.
	(c) Develop, with the assistance of the Department of Human Resources and the Department of Public Instruction, guidelines for regular monitoring of grants awarded pursuant to this section in order to maximize the investments and to establish appropriate accountability measures for administration of grants.
"§ 143B-150.6. Youth Suicide Advisory Board - reports.
	The Youth Suicide Advisory Board shall, with the assistance of the Department of Human Resources and the Department of Public Instruction, submit to the Governor and the General Assembly a comprehensive report regarding the use of its funds and incorporating specific recommendations of the Board for coordination of statewide efforts in youth suicide prevention.
	The report shall be made not later than January 1, 1991, and may include recommendations for funding of projects and programs developed through planning grants awarded by the Board and for publications, scholarly projects, conferences, programs, films, libraries, and other projects.
	After submitting the comprehensive report, the Board shall submit an annual report to the Governor and the General Assembly."
Sec. 2.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Human Resources the sum of one hundred seventy-five thousand dollars ($175,000) for the 1989-91 fiscal biennium to fund the Youth Suicide Advisory Board, and to implement the activities mandated by this act.
Sec. 3. This act shall become effective July 1, 1989.