A young person commits suicide in the United States at the rate of one per hour and four minutes. It’s the second leading cause of death for people age 15 to 24.
Four out of five teenagers who attempt suicide exhibit clear warning signs, according to the Justin Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to suicide prevention.
Those are just statistics to many people — but not to those who have known a teenager who has taken his or her own life.
Yet nothing in Iowa law requires that teachers and other educators be capable of recognizing these danger signals and getting appropriate help. That may change this year, as a result of legislation currently seeing bipartisan cooperation at the Iowa Statehouse.
Originally, Senate File 2004 called for Iowa teachers to take an hour of suicide awareness and prevention training annually as part of their license renewal. That idea has faced opposition in the past, because it adds training requirements without any money to pay for it, said Sen. Amy Sinclair, R-Allerton.
“But if we just roll it in as part of their five-year, mandatory reporter training, it garners much less resistance,” she said. It also should keep the cost down for school districts, she said.
Joanne Tubbs of the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners said eliminating the calendar-year requirement and including training at least once per licensure renewal period would take care of the board’s concerns about the bill.
Sinclair said the bill and a proposed committee amendment could be ready for consideration by the Senate Education Committee, which she chairs, as early as this week. Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, is the bill’s sponsor.
Sen. Herman Quirmbach, an Ames Democrat who served on a subcommittee that considered the bill, said he thinks remaining concerns, such as about the timing of the training requirement, will be ironed out.
“I think this is a really important thing for teachers to be aware of,” Quirmbach said. Teachers won’t become psychological professionals, he said, but they could at least be able to spot warning signs and refer a student for help.
Quirmbach said two of his former high school classmates killed themselves.
“Teenagers, their view of time is very short. They don’t see that the problems that they’re facing can be overcome with longer effort,” he said.
The lack of any coordinated mental health system for children in Iowa puts more pressure on schools than we should expect them to bear. That needs to change. At the same time, anyone in regular contact with a depressed or struggling child could be the person who saves that young life.
I’m sad to say I know a lot more families who have lost children to suicide than I did at this time last year. Most of them did not need a teacher or coach to point out warning signs. The cracks some of these lost teenagers fell through in Iowa’s mental health system are more complicated and expensive and will take more than an 11-line bill to fix.
Gov. Kim Reynolds delighted some mental health advocates this month when she included the issue in her Condition of the State address, elevating the sense of priority for closing critical gaps in accessible services.
It remains unclear, however, what lawmakers intend to do. Key Republican lawmakers who deal with human services issues outlined some needs they recognize in the system but offered no specific plans in interviews last week.
They did, however, say they detect more public interest and support for change.
“It’s way more on the radar than it used to be,” said Sen. Mark Segebart, R-Vail, chairman of the Senate Human Resources Committee.
“I think people are very concerned about providing adequate access to mental health,” particularly in light of the closings of two state mental health institutions, said Rep. Dave Heaton, R-Mount Pleasant. He chairs the budget subcommittee for human services programs.
Obradovich: These Iowans are on the front lines of mental illness. They need help.
Mental health advocates tell me they’re waiting for the Department of Human Services’ draft of legislation based on task force recommendations submitted in December.
Legislators have a lot of work ahead of them on mental health. But the cooperation and willingness to compromise that we’re seeing so far on the suicide prevention legislation offers hope and a model for a banner year on mental health.
Disclaimer: My husband, Jim, is a lobbyist at the Statehouse and some of his clients support Senate File 2004. My interest in the issue of mental health is entirely separate from his work and my opinions are my own.
March 14, 2019, 8:57 a.m.