Report 2019-125 Recommendation 18 Responses

Report 2019-125: Youth Suicide Prevention: Local Educational Agencies Lack the Resources and Policies Necessary to Effectively Address Rising Rates of Youth Suicide and Self‑Harm (Release Date: September 2020)

Recommendation #18 To: Ukiah Unified School District

To ensure that their teachers and staff have the knowledge necessary to identify and assist students at risk of self-harm and suicide, the six LEAs we reviewed should do the following:

- Revise their suicide prevention training materials by June 2021 to align with state law and incorporate the best practices in Education's model policy.

-LEAs that provide suicide prevention training should conduct it at the beginning of the school year.

1-Year Agency Response

Ukiah Unified implemented staff training in August 2021 that is compliant with all five areas referenced in Table 2 on page 22 of the Youth Suicide Prevention report issued on September 29, 2020.

UUSD adopted a comprehensive suicide prevention and intervention training program that is delivered online through Keenan and Associates. The Keenan training includes two components of state law and California Department of Education recommendations: covering high-risk groups and the three elements of suicide identification: risk factors, warning factors, and protective factors. As this training is provided online, UUSD is able to track who has completed the training. A follow-up contact is conducted for all staff who did not complete the training, until the district is 100% completion.

Additionally, in August 2021, prior to students attending school, staff received training under the direction of a school-employed mental health professional (e.g., school counselor, psychologist). This training covered school-based mental health services and when and how to refer students to them, community-based mental health services when and how to use them, along with trends in our local area. This training will be conducted annually for all staff. UUSD submitted a copy of the training materials following the Month 6 Response.

Complaince Chart to be attached in an email.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Fully Implemented

Ukiah Unified used a suicide prevention training that aligns with state law and incorporates the best practices in Education's model policy. In addition, Ukiah Unified provided evidence that it provided the training to all teachers and staff at the beginning of the school year.

6-Month Agency Response

Ukiah Unified has identified training for August 2021 that is compliant with all five areas referenced in Table 2 on page 22 of the Youth Suicide Prevention report issued on September 29, 2020.

UUSD adopted a comprehensive suicide prevention and intervention training program that is delivered online through Keenan and Associates. The Keenan training includes two components of state law and California Department of Education recommendations: covering high-risk groups and the three elements of suicide identification: risk factors, warning factors, and protective factors.

At the beginning of the 2020-21 school year, all UUSD employees were notified that they must complete the Keenan suicide prevention and intervention training. As this training is provided online, UUSD is able to track who has completed the training. A follow-up contact is conducted for all staff who did not complete the training, until the district is 100%.

Starting in August 2021, prior to students attending school, staff will receive training under the direction of a school-employed mental health professional (e.g. school counselor, psychologist) who has received advanced training specific to suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention. This training will cover school-based mental health services and when and how to refer students to them, community-based mental health services and when and how to use them, and trends in data on self-harm incidents and suicides with the Ukiah Unified region. This training will be conducted annually for all staff and addresses all five areas referenced in Table 2 on page 22 of the Youth Suicide Prevention report issued on September 29, 2020.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

We repeatedly reached out to Ukiah Unified to obtain the supporting documentation necessary to substantiate the information included in its response. However, it did not provide any additional documents and thus we could not determine whether it fully implemented the recommendation.

60-Day Agency Response

Ukiah Unified is in the process of identifying training for August 2021 that is compliant with all five areas referenced in Table 2 on page 22 of the Youth Suicide Prevention report issued on September 29, 2020. We will have the training identified by June 2021.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

We look forward to reviewing Ukiah Unified School District's new training after the school adopts and provides it.

All Recommendations in 2019-125

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.