A suicide prevention initiative that began at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis is expanding statewide under a new name, supported by new funding to strengthen how Missouri schools prevent and respond to 黑料社 suicide risk.
The program, now known as the Missouri Hope Policy Academy, has received support from the Missouri Suicide Prevention Network, in collaboration with the Missouri Behavioral Health Council, to develop curriculum and evaluate the scaled-up effort. The academy helps school districts build stronger suicide prevention, intervention and postvention policies.
The initiative builds on work that began in 2019 at the Brown School, when faculty researchers sought to better understand how Missouri school districts approached suicide prevention and response at the policy level. Early research, led by Ryan Lindsay, a professor of practice at the Brown School and , an assistant professor of psychiatry at the School of Medicine, examined district readiness and policy infrastructure across the state.
That work analyzed responses from 166 Missouri school districts and found wide variation in policy readiness. Sixty-three percent of districts reported having a suicide intervention policy, 55% reported having a suicide prevention policy and 43% reported having a suicide postvention policy. Researchers said the findings reflected structural and resource constraints, particularly in rural and under-resourced districts, rather than failures by schools.
鈥淭hese data helped validate what we were hearing directly from school professionals,鈥� Lindsay said. 鈥淒istricts were being asked to respond to incredibly complex and high-stakes situations, often without consistent policy infrastructure or implementation support.鈥�
Those findings led to deeper collaboration with statewide school leaders and partners, laying the groundwork for what became the ; a Missouri-based initiative designed to help schools not only develop policies, but also strengthen the organizational and practitioner-level practices needed to carry them out.
Schools as central partners
From the outset, state suicide prevention leaders identified schools as central partners in preventing child and youth suicide. Bart Andrews, chief clinical officer of Behavioral Health Response and co-chair of the Suicide Prevention in Schools Committee with the (MOSPN), said that focus shaped the network鈥檚 early structure.
鈥淲hen MOSPN was created, the original network members identified schools as one of the primary partners for preventing child and youth suicides,鈥� Andrews said. 鈥淭he Schools and Suicide Prevention Committee was actually one of the first MOSPN committees created.鈥�
While national models were considered, stakeholders ultimately favored a Missouri-specific framework built on existing tools developed through collaboration among educators, mental health professionals and state agencies. Those efforts included the Suicide Prevention and 988 Guide for Missouri鈥檚 Schools and revisions to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education鈥檚 Youth Suicide Awareness and Prevention Model Policy.
The expanded academy is designed to support districts as they move from policy adoption to meaningful implementation, using Missouri-developed resources rather than introducing an external framework.
The effort is led by a WashU faculty team from the Brown School and School of Public Health, including Lindsay; Saras Chung, research associate professor at the Brown School; and , assistant professor at the School of Public Health. The team brings expertise in clinical social work, systems science and implementation research to support schools as critical systems of care for youth mental health.
鈥淪chools didn鈥檛 want a generic training or a packaged program,鈥� Lindsay said. 鈥淭hey wanted support that helped them strengthen their own policies, practices, and professional judgment in ways that fit their communities.鈥�
State education officials said the Missouri-specific focus aligns with statewide priorities. Katie Epema, director of school-based mental health in DESE鈥檚 Office of College and Career Readiness said the academy directly aligns with the Missouri Suicide Prevention Plan.
鈥淗aving a Missouri-grown, Missouri-led school-based suicide prevention academy helps meet priorities within the Missouri Suicide Prevention Plan, particularly around providing training and resources that are relevant to different communities,鈥� Epema said. 鈥淏y focusing on the school community, the academy recognizes that best practices in suicide prevention and postvention may look different in schools than in other settings.鈥�
That emphasis on context is intentional, said Chung, who noted that schools operate within layered systems shaped by policy mandates, workforce capacity, resources and community expectations.
鈥淥ur role as researchers isn鈥檛 to prescribe a single solution,鈥� Chung said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 to help schools make sense of the policies they鈥檙e required to have and translate them into practices that actually work in their buildings, with their staff, and with their 黑料社s.鈥�
The Missouri Hope Academy is part of a broader strategy focused on capacity-building rather than program replacement, emphasizing policy-level, organizational and practitioner-level support. Regional and virtual communities of practice are planned to support ongoing collaboration among districts.
鈥淭his isn鈥檛 a one-off training,鈥� Lindsay said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 part of a long-term effort to strengthen school systems and reducing youth suicide through thoughtful, evidence-informed policy and practice.鈥�
The聽Missouri Hope Policy Academy will officially launch with a statewide kick-off event on June 8, bringing together more than 120 school leaders, educators, mental health聽professionals聽and community partners from across Missouri to learn about the academy and begin building regional networks to support implementation. The full-day academy will be held from聽9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Roy Blunt Center for Healthcare Integration & Innovation Building in Jefferson City, with lunch provided. Those interested in聽participating聽in the statewide launch can learn more and .