Public Act 093-0907
 
HB4558 Enrolled LRB093 14573 BDD 40068 b

    AN ACT concerning public health.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Suicide Prevention, Education, and Treatment Act.
 
    Section 5. Legislative findings. The General Assembly
makes the following findings:
        (1) The Surgeon General of the United States has
    described suicide prevention as a serious public health
    priority and has called upon each state to develop a
    statewide comprehensive suicide prevention strategy using
    a public health approach. Suicide now ranks 10th among
    causes of death, nationally.
        (2) In 1998, 1,064 Illinoisans lost their lives to
    suicide, an average of 3 Illinois residents per day. It is
    estimated that there are between 21,000 and 35,000 suicide
    attempts in Illinois every year. Three and one-half percent
    of all suicides in the nation take place in Illinois.
        (3) Among older adults, suicide rates are increasing,
    making suicide the leading fatal injury among the elderly
    population in Illinois. As the proportion of Illinois'
    population age 75 and older increases, the number of
    suicides among persons in this age group will also
    increase, unless an effective suicide prevention strategy
    is implemented.
        (4) Adolescents are far more likely to attempt suicide
    than other age groups in Illinois. The data indicates that
    there are 100 attempts for every adolescent suicide
    completed. In 1998, 156 Illinois youths died by suicide,
    between the ages of 15 through 24. Using this estimate,
    there were likely more than 15,500 suicide attempts made by
    Illinois adolescents or approximately 50% of all estimated
    suicide attempts that occurred in Illinois were made by
    adolescents.
        (5) Homicide and suicide rank as the second and third
    leading causes of death in Illinois for youth,
    respectively. Both are preventable. While the death rates
    for unintentional injuries decreased by more than 35%
    between 1979 and 1996, the death rates for homicide and
    suicide increased for youth. Evidence is growing in terms
    of the links between suicide and other forms of violence.
    This provides compelling reasons for broadening the
    State's scope in identifying risk factors for self-harmful
    behavior. The number of estimated youth suicide attempts
    and the growing concerns of youth violence can best be
    addressed through the implementation of successful
    gatekeeper-training programs to identify and refer youth
    at risk for self-harmful behavior.
        (6) The American Association of Suicidology
    conservatively estimates that the lives of at least 6
    persons related to or connected to individuals who attempt
    or complete suicide are impacted. Using these estimates, in
    1998, more than 6,000 Illinoisans struggled to cope with
    the impact of suicide.
        (7) Decreases in alcohol and other drug abuse, as well
    as decreases in access to lethal means, significantly
    reduce the number of suicides.
        (8) Suicide attempts are expected to be higher than
    reported because attempts not requiring medical attention
    are not required to be reported. The underreporting of
    suicide completion is also likely because suicide
    classification involves conclusions regarding the intent
    of the deceased. The stigma associated with suicide is also
    likely to contribute to underreporting. Without
    interagency collaboration and support for proven,
    community-based, culturally-competent suicide prevention
    and intervention programs, suicides are likely to rise.
        (9) Emerging data on rates of suicide based on gender,
    ethnicity, age, and geographic areas demand a new strategy
    that responds to the needs of a diverse population.
        (10) According to Children's Safety Network Economics
    Insurance, the cost of youth suicide acts by persons in
    Illinois who are under 21 years of age totals $539,000,000,
    including medical costs, future earnings lost, and a
    measure of quality of life.
        (11) Suicide is the second leading cause of death in
    Illinois for persons between the ages of 15 and 24.
        (12) In 1998, there were 1,116 homicides in Illinois,
    which outnumbered suicides by only 52. Yet, so far, only
    homicide has received funding, programs, and media
    attention.
        (13) According to the 1999 national report on
    statistics for suicide of the American Association of
    Suicidology, categories of unintentional injury, motor
    vehicle deaths, and all other deaths include many reported
    and unsubstantiated suicides that are not identified
    correctly because of poor investigatory techniques,
    unsophisticated inquest jurors, and stigmas that cause
    families to cover up evidence.
        (14) Programs for HIV infectious diseases are very well
    funded even though, in Illinois, HIV deaths number 30% less
    than suicide deaths.
 
    Section 10. Definitions. For the purpose of this Act,
unless the context otherwise requires:
    "Committee" means the Illinois Suicide Prevention
Strategic Planning Committee.
    "Department" means the Department of Public Health.
    "Plan" means the Illinois Suicide Prevention Strategic
Plan set forth in Section 15.
 
    Section 13. Duration; report. All projects set forth in
this Act must be at least 3 years in duration, and the
Department and related contracts as well as the Suicide
Prevention Strategic Planning Committee must report annually
to the Governor and General Assembly on the effectiveness of
these activities and programs.
 
    Section 15. Suicide Prevention Strategic Planning
Committee.
    (a) The Committee is created as the official grassroots
creator, planner, monitor, and advocate for the Illinois
Suicide Prevention Strategic Plan. No later than one year after
the effective date of this Act, the Committee shall review,
finalize, and submit to the Governor and the General Assembly
the Illinois Suicide Prevention Strategic Plan and appropriate
processes and outcome objectives for 10 overriding
recommendations and a timeline for reaching these objectives.
    (b) The Committee shall use the United States Surgeon
General's National Suicide Prevention Strategy as a model for
the Plan. The Committee shall review the statutorily prescribed
missions of major State mental health, health, aging, and
school mental health programs and recommend, as necessary and
appropriate, statutory changes to include suicide prevention
in the missions and procedures of those programs. The Committee
shall prepare a report of that review, including its
recommendations, and shall submit the report to the Governor
and the General Assembly by December 31, 2004.
    (c) The Director of Public Health shall appoint the members
of the Committee. The membership of the Committee shall
include, without limitation, representatives of statewide
organizations and other agencies that focus on the prevention
of suicide and the improvement of mental health treatment or
that provide suicide prevention or survivor support services.
Other disciplines that shall be considered for membership on
the committee include law enforcement, first responders,
faith-based community leaders, universities, and survivors of
suicide (families and friends who have lost persons to suicide)
as well as consumers of services of these agencies and
organizations.
    (d) The committee shall meet at least 4 times a year, and
more as deemed necessary, in various sites statewide in order
to foster as much participation as possible. The Committee, a
steering committee, and core members of the full committee
shall monitor and guide the definition and direction of the
goals of the full Committee, shall review and approve
productions of the plan, and shall meet before the full
Committee meetings.
 
    Section 20. General awareness and screening program.
    (a) The Department shall provide technical assistance for
the work of the Committee and the production of the Plan and
shall distribute general information and screening tools for
suicide prevention to the general public through local public
health departments throughout the State. These materials shall
be distributed to agencies, schools, hospitals, churches,
places of employment, and all related professional caregivers
to educate all citizens about warning signs and interventions
that all persons can do to stop the suicidal cycle.
    (b) This program shall include, without limitation, all of
the following:
        (1) Educational programs about warning signs and how to
    help suicidal individuals.
        (2) Educational presentations about suicide risk and
    how to help at-risk people in special populations and with
    bilingual support to special cultures.
        (3) The designation of an annual suicide awareness week
    or month to include a public awareness campaign on suicide.
        (4) A statewide suicide prevention conference before
    November of 2004.
        (5) An Illinois Suicide Prevention Speaker's Bureau.
        (6) A program to educate the media regarding the
    guidelines developed by the American Association for
    Suicidology for coverage of suicides and to encourage media
    cooperation in adopting these guidelines in reporting
    suicides.
        (7) Increased training opportunities for volunteers,
    professionals, and other caregivers to develop specific
    skills for assessing suicide risk and intervening to
    prevent suicide.
 
    Section 25. Additional duties of the Committee. The
Committee shall:
        (1) Act as an advisor and lead consultant on the
    design, implementation, and evaluation of all programs
    outlined in this Act.
        (2) Establish interagency policy and procedures among
    appropriate agencies for the collaboration and
    coordination needed to implement the programs outlined in
    this Act.
        (3) Design, review, select, and monitor proposals for
    the implementation of these activities in agencies
    throughout the State.
 
    Section 30. Suicide prevention pilot programs.
    (a) The Department shall establish, when funds are
appropriated, up to 5 pilot programs that provide training and
direct service programs relating to youth, elderly, special
populations, high-risk populations, and professional
caregivers. The purpose of these pilot programs is to
demonstrate and evaluate the effectiveness of the projects set
forth in this Act in the communities in which they are offered.
The pilot programs shall be operational for at least 2 years of
the 3-year requirement set forth in Section 13.
    (b) The Director of Public Health is encouraged to ensure
that the pilot programs include the following prevention
strategies:
        (1) school gatekeeper and faculty training;
        (2) community gatekeeper training;
        (3) general community suicide prevention education;
        (4) health providers and physician training and
    consultation about high-risk cases;
        (5) depression, anxiety, and suicide screening
    programs;
        (6) peer support youth and older adult programs;
        (7) the enhancement of 24-hour crisis centers,
    hotlines, and person-to-person calling trees;
        (8) means restriction advocacy and collaboration; and
        (9) intervening and supporting after a suicide.
    (c) The funds appropriated for purposes of this Section
shall be allocated by the Department on a competitive,
grant-submission basis, which shall include consideration of
different rates of risk of suicide based on age, ethnicity,
gender, prevalence of mental health disorders, different rates
of suicide based on geographic areas in Illinois, and the
services and curriculum offered to fit these needs by the
applying agency.
    (d) The Department and Committee shall prepare a report as
to the effectiveness of the demonstration projects established
pursuant to this Section and submit that report no later than 6
months after the projects are completed to the Governor and
General Assembly.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
2004.

Effective Date: 8/11/2004