History

In 2014, the Oregon Legislature mandated development of a five-year Youth Suicide Intervention and Prevention Plan (YSIPP). The Oregon Health Authority’s Health Systems Division (HSD) and Public Health Division (PHD) worked with interested parties from across Oregon to adopt strategic directions, goals and objectives from the 2012 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention (NSSP), develop actions to operationalize and start discussions to implement the plan in 2016.

Annual reports of accomplished work can be found here

where we are now

With the first version of the plan ending in 2020, OHA worked to update the plan with accomplished and future work by partnering with more than 100 dedicated suicide prevention advocates who gave feedback, participated in focus groups, surveys, committee meetings, and bonus meetings. The culmination of this work resulted in the state’s next 5-year plan for 2021-2025.

This next plan is not “the new” Youth Suicide Intervention and Prevention Plan (YSIPP). The YSIPP 2021–2025 represents and honors the incredible work done for years by suicide prevention champions across Oregon. This plan is the natural continuation of that work. It continues many initiatives we know are working. It captures the lessons we have learned over five years and lays out a vision for what else we must address to keep moving toward health and wellness for Oregon’s youth. While the YSIPP 2021–2025 has some new and innovative pieces, it is firmly rooted in rich soil.

The YSIPP 2021–2025 was originally to be published in January 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, OHA could not carry out the planned collaborator feedback process from March 2020–September 2020. This, along with COVID-19-related work reassignments within OHA, caused the delay.

PURPOSE

A need for the original YSIPP arose from Oregon’s high rate of youth and young adult suicide death. When the first plan was created, suicide was the second leading cause of death among youth aged 10 to 24 years
in Oregon and Oregon rates were higher than the national average. 

HOPE

The original planning group adopted the aspirational goal of eliminating suicides among youth aged 10–24 years in Oregon. An initiative known as “Zero Suicide” has been modeled successfully in health systems and it is a theme that runs through the original plan. Zero Suicide requires every one of us to take a role in suicide prevention.

FOCUS

The YSIPP was designed to address the need to guide individuals, health care providers, health systems, institutions, and government in taking that action to intervene to help our loved ones.

The First YSIPP

  • Covered years 2016-2020
  • Consisted of 4 strategic directions: Healthy and empowered individuals, families and communities; Clinical and community preventive services; Treatment and support services; and Surveillance, research and evaluation 
  • The 4 strategic directions had a total of 11 overall objectives which contained about 73 specific goals / initiatives
  • All objectives and goals / initiatives were to cover the lifespan of the plan

Read the plan here

The Current YSIPP

  • Covers years 2021-2025
  • Continues existing initiatives and work while addressing new areas to focus on
  • Stands on a foundation of equity, trauma informed practices, lived experience voice, collective impact, and collaboration
  • Consists of 3 pillars: Healthy and empowered individuals, families and communities; Clinical and community preventive services; and Treatment and support services
  • The 3 pillars include 11 strategic goals which consist of strategic pathways and their initiatives
  • The strategic pathways are not likely to change over five years and are rooted in the centering values and foundation. They represent measurable areas of focus and are more specific to populations or settings.
  • Strategic initiatives will be adapted, adjusted and added to annually. They are specific actions designed to support the broader pathways and goals.

Read the plan here