(a) The General Assembly makes the following findings:

(1) Every year in Georgia, approximately 850 people die from suicide;

(2) More Georgians die from suicide than from homicide;

(3) More teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung disease combined;

(4) Many who attempt suicide do not seek professional help after the attempt;

(5) In Georgia, three out of four suicide deaths involve a firearm;

(6) Factors such as aging, drug and alcohol abuse, unemployment, mental illness, isolation, and bullying in school contribute to causes of suicide; and

(7) Education is necessary to inform the public about the causes of suicide and the early intervention programs that are available.

(b) There is created the Suicide Prevention Program to be managed by the department.

(c) The department, in implementing the Suicide Prevention Program, shall:

(1) Establish a link between state agencies and offices, including but not limited to the Division of Aging Services and Division of Family and Children Services of the Department of Human Services, the Department of Public Health, local government agencies, health care providers, hospitals, nursing homes, and jails to collect data on suicide deaths and attempted suicides;

(2) Work with public officials to improve firearm safety;

(3) Improve education for nurses, judges, physician assistants, social workers, psychologists, and other counselors with regard to suicide education and prevention and expand educational resources for professionals working with those persons most at risk of suicide;

(4) Provide training and minimal screening tools for clergy, teachers and other educational staff, and correctional workers on how to identify and respond to persons at risk of suicide;

(5) Provide educational programs for family members of persons at an elevated risk of suicide;

(6) Develop standardized protocols to be used by the department in reviewing suicide death scene investigations;

(7) Work to increase the number of follow-back studies of suicides;

(8) Work to increase the number of hospitals that code for external causes of injury;

(9) Implement a state-wide reporting system for reporting suicides;

(10) Support pilot projects to link and analyze information on self-destructive behavior from various, distinct data systems; and

(11) Perform such other tasks as deemed appropriate to further suicide education and prevention in Georgia.

(d) The Suicide Prevention Program shall coordinate with and receive technical assistance from epidemiologists and other staff of the Department of Public Health to support the research and outreach efforts related to this program.