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Catherine Shreve,
Aubrey Hale,
2001

Best Practices for Drug Abuse
and Suicide Risk Prevention
Proceedings

Portland, Oregon -- October 25-26, 2001

Preface

The conference addressed best practices for indicated prevention for youth in school and community settings. Funded by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, a division of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Maternal & Child Health Bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA/MCHB), the conference brought nationally recognized experts to Portland, Oregon to conduct hands-on workshops for professionals working in school, community, and health care settings. The program workshops were directly relevant for health care providers in primary health care settings, substance abuse counselors, community mental health workers, psychologists, nurses, teachers, school counselors, and school administrators.

Goals: Facilitate the dissemination of knowledge about theoretically based and empirically supported intervention practices for managing co-occurring drug abuse and suicide risk behaviors among youth and young adults, 15-24 years.

Objectives: As a result of participation in this conference on "best practices" participants will be able to:

Identify best practices for:
a) Screening high school-aged youth (15-18) to identify co-occurring problem behaviors of drug involvement, depression, and suicide-risk behaviors;
b) Assessing suicide-risk among young adults (19-24) in known high-risk groups for suicide potential and/or substance abuse disorders;
c) Enhancing capacity of crisis response services in local schools and communities; and
d) Promoting cultural competence among helping professions in all phases of prevention work.
Outline strategies for adopting developmentally appropriate preventive interventions to:
a) Prevent drug abuse and suicide-risk behaviors among at-risk youth 15-18 years; and/or
b) Decrease suicide-risk and related risk behaviors among young adult high-risk groups known to be at high risk for substance use disorders and suicidal behaviors; and
c) Address individual and/or community needs using culturally appropriate prevention approaches.
Propose a strategic plan for prevention program implementation and evaluation.

Contact Information:

Catherine Olcott, Program Coordinator
Department of Psychosocial & Community Health
Box 358732, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195
Phone: 206/543-3810, FAX: 206/221-3674
E -mail: colcott@u.washington.edu

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