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Show DCFS system contact, over 75% eventually have contact within the juvenile justice system. The Department of Education School records have been examined for 31 youth suicides ages 13-21. For teenagers, 13-18 years of age (22 subjects), 72% were enrolled at the time of their death, and 28% had dropped out. For the entire group of 31 suicides, school records (junior and senior high school) indicate that 39% (12) had received a special education evaluation, and 67% (8) of those evaluated, qualified for services. A review of records for physical disabilities led to only one case. All but one of the schools had complete enough records to look at disciplinary actions. Of the 30 subjects for which disciplinary records were available, 47% (14) had a record of either suspension or expulsion (see bar graph below). Phase II and III Data have not yet been analyzed. Discussion Preliminary data from Phase I of our study demonstrate a remarkable overlap between completed suicide and referral to the juvenile justice system. Contact with the juvenile justice system increases the risk of completed suicide five-fold for 18-21 year old youth. Only 4% of the general population receive eight or more court referrals by age 18, compared with 38% of suicide victims who have reached the same age. Recent studies of teenagers in juvenile justice systems across the U.S. have increased the awareness of mental health issues in this population (Rohde, Seeley, and Mace, 1997). The Utah Youth Suicide Study is the first study to demonstrate the overlap between completed suicide and contact within the juvenile justice system, especially repeated contacts for primarily minor offenses. While the Utah Youth Suicide Study continues to delineate risk factors, already a small group of administrators and scientists are evaluating mental health screening tools for use in the Utah Juvenile Justice system. It is hoped that screening high-risk individuals may lead to: 1) improved treatment of mental illness in that population, 2) decreased youth suicide rate, and 3) decreased recidivism. Much work needs to be done, including the development of specific resources to match the problems these youth encounter. School data seems to confirm the behavioral difficulties of youth suicide completers, with 47% of available records indicating a suspension or expulsion. The overlap with educational difficulties is notable, 39% having received a special education evaluation, many for learning disabilities. As data is collected on age, sex, and school matched controls beginning in the fall of 1998, these control data will help to interpret the risk attributable to specific problem behaviors. Controls must come from the same school as the suicide victim, because each school district has its own set of policies and rules regarding problem behaviors. According to preliminary data, the Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) had contact with 41% of suicide completers, with 20% of completers having referrals as victims of abuse or neglect. In addition, there is a substantial overlap between the juvenile justice system and School Records Percent of Persons not en ro lied at tim e of death received percent suspension or special qualified for expulsion education special evaluation education services 15 |
