(a) There is established a Youth Suicide Advisory Board, within the Department of Children and Families, which shall be a coordinating source for youth suicide prevention. The board shall consist of twenty members, which shall include one psychiatrist licensed to practice medicine in this state, one psychologist licensed in this state, one representative of a local or regional board of education, one high school teacher, one high school student, one college or university faculty member, one college or university student and one parent, all appointed by the Commissioner of Children and Families, one representative of the Department of Public Health appointed by the Commissioner of Public Health, one representative of the state Department of Education appointed by the Commissioner of Education and one representative of the Board of Regents for Higher Education appointed by the president of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities. The balance of the board shall be comprised of persons with expertise in the mental health of children or mental health issues with a focus on suicide prevention and shall be appointed by the Commissioner of Children and Families. Members of the board shall serve for two-year terms, without compensation. Any member who fails to attend three consecutive meetings or fifty per cent of all meetings held during any calendar year shall be deemed to have resigned from the board. The Commissioner of Children and Families shall be a nonvoting, ex-officio member of the board. The board shall elect a chairman, and a vice-chairman to act in the chairman's absence.

(b) The board shall: (1) Increase public awareness of the existence of youth suicide and means of prevention; (2) make recommendations to the commissioner for the development of state-wide training in the prevention of youth suicide; (3) develop a strategic youth suicide prevention plan; (4) recommend interagency policies and procedures for the coordination of services for youths and families in the area of suicide prevention; (5) make recommendations for the establishment and implementation of suicide prevention procedures in schools and communities; (6) establish a coordinated system for the utilization of data for the prevention of youth suicide; (7) make recommendations concerning the integration of suicide prevention and intervention strategies into other youth-focused prevention and intervention programs; and (8) periodically offer, within available appropriations, youth suicide prevention training for health care providers, school employees and other persons who provide services to children, young adults and families.

(P.A. 89-191, S. 1; P.A. 93-91, S. 1, 2; 93-381, S. 14, 39; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 06-196, S. 120; P.A. 11-48, S. 285; P.A. 15-242, S. 52; P.A. 16-15, S. 36.)

History: P.A. 93-91 substituted commissioner and department of children and families for commissioner and department of children and youth services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-381 replaced commissioner and department of health services with commissioner and department of public health and addiction services and made technical changes, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 06-196 made a technical change in Subsec. (b)(4), effective June 7, 2006; pursuant to P.A. 11-48, “Department of Higher Education” and “Commissioner of Higher Education” were changed editorially by the Revisors to “Board of Regents for Higher Education” and “president of the Board of Regents for Higher Education”, respectively, in Subsec. (a), effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 15-242 amended Subsec. (b) by adding Subdiv. (8) re youth suicide prevention training; P.A. 16-15 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing “president of the Board of Regents for Higher Education” with “president of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities”, effective July 1, 2016.