Page 3 - Florida Suicide Interagnecy Action Plan 3-2-2020 (002)

Introduction

The Statewide Office for Suicide Prevention (SOSP) and the Suicide Prevention Coordinating Council (SPCC)
under the leadership of the Department of Children and Families (Department) are legislatively required to
develop strategies for suicide prevention, develop a statewide plan for suicide prevention, and provide an annual
report to the Governor, President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives on the status
of initiatives identified in the plan. The Florida Suicide Prevention Interagency Action Plan (Action Plan) sets
goals for July 2020 through June 2023, which can be implemented by state agencies, law enforcement agencies,
first responders to emergency calls, health care providers, school districts, and other entities that may have
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contact with persons at risk of suicide.
Strategic Planning Process

First Lady Casey DeSantis and the Department’s Secretary Chad Poppell spearheaded efforts to garner support
from other state agencies to take a more active role in the creation of the Action Plan. To support this process,
the SPCC formed the Florida Suicide Prevention Interagency Action Plan Committee, co-chaired by the
Department of Health (DOH). The committee selected the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA) Suicide Prevention Resource Center’s Strategic Planning Approach for Suicide
Prevention. The steps and the committee’s actions are as follows:

Step 1: Describe the problem and its context. The committee conducted a data inventory to review the impact
of suicide in Florida. Suicide is a public health issue that significantly impacts family members, friends, coworkers,
schools, communities, and veterans.

Step 2: Chose long term goals. Committee members drafted goals and strategies based on priority areas and
reviewed an assessment of other states’ suicide prevention plans.

Step 3: Identify key risks and protective factors. The committee reviewed the risks and protective factors for
suicide provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and aligned the factors with the strategies
developed by the committee members.
Step 4: Select or develop interventions. After a series of meetings and increased collaboration between the
Department and other state agencies, the committee identified four goals to address suicide prevention in
Florida: Awareness, Prevention, Intervention, and Postvention.

Step 5: Plan the evaluation. The SPCC created a Planning and Evaluation Committee (PEC) to monitor the
implementation and progress for each agency by developing an evaluation plan to track progress toward Action
Plan goals.

Step 6: Implement, evaluate, and improve. The PEC will create implementation plan templates to document
ownership and responsibilities of the action items for each state agency.

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