
COVID-19 Emergency Response for Suicide Prevention
COVID-19 Emergency Response for Suicide Prevention
The Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities received COVID-19 emergency funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to provide needed training and services to address suicide prevention among at risk adults 25 years and older in Georgia, including a focus on victims of domestic violence. Prevention efforts include a Georgia Suicide Prevention Task Force, use of certified peer specialists to help with care transitions, provision of suicide prevention training to clinical and community providers, and increased screening and assessment.
The Center of Excellence for Children’s Behavioral Health at the Georgia Health Policy Center is leading the evaluation of this COVID-19 Suicide Prevention grant. Specifically, they are providing technical assistance for program staff in collection and interpretation of performance measures in accordance with SAMHSA’s reporting requirements, monitoring data collection activities to support implementation and program improvements, and measuring the impact of training and the proposed services on a variety of individual and provider outcomes.