The public sector has great influence on youth suicide in Arizona. The Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) is the Medicaid program for the state of Arizona. They provide medical and behavioral health care services for citizens in Arizona who qualify based on their income (AHCCCS, 2020). These services are funded by the federal and state government. AHCCCS plans cover behavioral health services including behavioral health day programs, crisis services, health promotion, residential behavioral health services, support services, and treatment services (AHCCCS, 2020). These services along with monitoring programs help them to achieve their suicide prevention goals outlined in their annual state plans that I wrote about my last blog. Many vulnerable children who are at risk for suicide are insured by AHCCCS, therefore the services and policies set forth by this institution have immense impact on their mental health and wellbeing,
Public schools are another institution that can have a huge impact on child and adolescent mental health. When I think back to my meeting and interview with Senator Rick Gray, I remember how he emphasized the importance of speaking to school boards about school and district policies. The public school system provides many opportunities to reach students, but they are governed by their school board. Luckily, the public is able to participate in their meetings monthly. We know that the Mitch Warnock Act that requires school employees to get suicide prevention training will begin this year, but there are also other opportunities that schools have to promote mental health. There are school counselors and school nurses that are available for students to go to for resources. I looked at my local school districts and they have information about crisis hotlines and the national suicide prevention lifeline. However, from their websites it is not clear what other mental health programs or education they provide, if any. The Queen Creek Unified School District (QCUSD) has “raise awareness of mental health” as one of their priority areas listed on their website (QCUSD, 2020). One school in QCUSD lost five students to suicide in one year. These tragic, preventable deaths are a call to action for our community. According to a local journalist, QCUSD works with local community mental health organizations to conduct suicide prevention presentations for students and they have put the Teen Lifeline on the back of student ID cards (Dyer, 2019). These are positive first steps for suicide prevention and mental health promotion that can really make a difference in children’s lives.
County health departments and the justice system can also have an impact on youth suicide prevention. County health departments track children and teen suicides. They often have local clinics that provide health services and some partner with schools to provide services and education to members of the community. County websites provide education about local services in the community. In Mesa, AZ, the police department has a Crisis Intervention Team comprised of trained police officers and other employees that can assist citizens who are experiencing mental illnesses and crises (MesaAZ, 2020). With this team, the public is able to get assistance from properly trained state employees that can understand the needs of the person in crisis. Each of these services can make an impact on the youth suicide problem Arizona is facing.
References
Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS). 2020. About Us. Retrieved from https://www.azahcccs.gov/AHCCCS/AboutUs/
Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS). 2020. AHCCCS programs and covered services. Retrieved from https://www.azahcccs.gov/AHCCCS/AboutUs/programdescription.html
Dyer, Richard. (2019, October 25). Suicide-prevention efforts throughout East Valley. Apache Junction/Gold Canyon Independent. Retrieved from https://yourvalley.net/apache-junction-independent/stories/suicide-prevention-efforts-throughout-east-valley,109047
MesaAZ. (2020). Crisis intervention team. Retrieved from https://www.mesaaz.gov/residents/police/departments-divisions/crisis-intervention-team
Child and Adolescent Suicide in Arizona 
These blog posts from one week to the next are sincerely enjoyable to read and substantial in increasing awareness and learning more about the different public sector institutions within Arizona that affect youth suicide prevention efforts. The comprehensive review of how AHCCCS as the administrative agency responsible for Medicaid deployment, expansion, and usage was extraordinarily insightful and inspires hope that we might be making substantial improvements toward advancing better harm reduction approaches to suicide prevention. Furthermore, your review of the public education system as a potential influencer of policymaking was also helpful. If you have not yet had an opportunity, the video presented by one of our other classmates was additionally helpful in establishing the importance of educational institutions and educators as individual-level actors in influencing policy outcomes (linked here). Although, you present a clear argument for the influence that county health departments as institutions and actors have on youth suicide prevention measures and community-based responses. Do you presently foresee how those county health departments might “roll-up” or be local-level functionaries responsible for data reporting to the state-level agency of AZ DHS or the AZ Suicide Mortality Review Team?
The only prominent issue of concern personally when I was reading your post for this week was the conceptual introduction of the possible policy implications that might impact the various elements of the justice system. It would be particularly intriguing and beneficial to gauge your response to a proposed policy measure in this year’s legislative session that might have profound impacts on the justice system and its relation to adolescent suicide. For example, are you aware of the current legislative proposal that could cause a drastic increase in case prosecution workload of HB 2646 by effectively reclassify the manslaughter statute to include any individual that intentionally advises a minor to commit suicide with the knowledge that the minor will follow through with such advice (HB 2646)? Necessarily, this could not only add substantially to the potential number of prosecutions, but it could also present an especially problematic challenge under claims that it might violate an individual’s First Amendment protections or guarantees. However, it might also result in only a minor expansion to an accepted legal doctrine or First Amendment carve-out that does limit public speech that incites a public panic or creates a call to action. It would be insightful to know what thoughts you may have on this particular piece of proposed legislation, and I look forward to a future discussion on the matter further.
References:
Arizona. Legislature. House of Representatives. 2020 Second Regular Session. HB 2764: Mental Health Omnibus. Phoenix, 2020. Retrieved from https://www.azleg.gov/legtext/54leg/2R/summary/H.HB2764_022420_CAUCUSCOW.pdf
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