PROGRAM
Suicide Prevention and Risk Management
Tier 3
PROGRAM SNAPSHOT
We all play a role in suicide prevention. TRAILS Suicide Prevention and Risk Management is a comprehensive program that engages the whole school community, helping leadership build effective protocols, ensuring school mental health professionals are prepared, empowering staff and caregivers, and fostering partnerships with external care providers.
Trainings and tools designed to help schools reduce stigma, encourage help-seeking, and connect students at risk of suicide with appropriate care.
Program Details
Program Close-Up
TRAILS Suicide Prevention and Risk Management
A robust suite of offerings, customizable based on each school’s needs and existing services in place.
ROLE-SPECIFIC TRAININGS
Includes trainings for district leadership and administrators, school mental health professionals, teachers and support staff, and caregivers and community members.
PROTOCOL AND POLICY RESOURCES
Includes a customizable Student Suicide Risk Management Protocol tool, a comprehensive Suicide Prevention Guide, and a Suicide Prevention School Policy Model, among other resources.
INTERVENTION AND SAFETY PLANNING
Equips school mental health professionals with suicide-specific brief intervention skills to collaboratively address suicidal risk with confidence.
ONGOING PARTNER SUPPORT
Consists of workshops, technical support calls, Community Partnership Meeting facilitations, Suicide Prevention and Risk Management Newsletters, and TRAILS Postvention Services, which provides assistance navigating the aftermath of a death by suicide.
Key Benefits
- Grounds all staff and community members in a shared language of suicide prevention, decreasing stigma and strengthening communication.
- Provides school staff with clear and role-appropriate steps for responding to signs of suicidality in students.
- Provides high-quality prevention measures to lower suicide risk among students, including age-specific safety plans.
- Engages the broader community through two-way emergency referral communication tools, facilitated community partnership meetings, and community and caregiver trainings.
What to Expect
PREP
School leaders review training and support offerings and prepare to launch the program. TRAILS provides strategies for success, helps leaders create a full implementation plan, and trains appropriate staff, caregivers, and community members.
LAUNCH
Schools implement the program in partnership with TRAILS by following their chosen protocols, policies, and prevention measures.
SUSTAIN
Trainees utilize TRAILS support offerings. School leaders adjust protocols as needed in partnership with community care providers. TRAILS offers ongoing access to all program materials with no license fee.
By the numbers
96.7%
of community members reported they learned “a lot” or “a great deal” from training
TRAILS 2022-2023 Program Evaluation Data
+47.7%
increase in the percentage of administrators feeling prepared to support students at risk of suicide
TRAILS 2022-2023 Program Evaluation Data
90.9%
of support staff reported they learned “a lot” or “a great deal” in training
TRAILS 2022-2023 Program Evaluation Data
Get comprehensive training, materials, and support by becoming a partner school.
We’re accepting inquiries now from Colorado and Michigan. If you’re located elsewhere, reach out to us to register your interest in future opportunities.
Learn More About TRAILS Partnerships (opens in a new window)