Commissioner of health authorized to award grants for peer-to-peer suicide prevention programs and programs to train high school students as peer mentors.

A bill for an act

relating to health; authorizing the commissioner of health to award grants for

peer-to-peer suicide prevention programs and programs to train high school students

as peer mentors; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 145.56, subdivision

2, by adding a subdivision.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 145.56, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Community-based programs.

To the extent funds are appropriated for the

purposes of this subdivision, the commissioner shall establish a grant program to fund:

(1) community-based programs to provide education, outreach, and advocacy services

to populations who may be at risk for suicide;

(2) community-based programs that educate community helpers and gatekeepers, such

as family members, spiritual leaders, coaches, and business owners, employers, and

coworkers on how to prevent suicide by encouraging help-seeking behaviors;

(3) community-based programs that educate populations at risk for suicide and community

helpers and gatekeepers that must include information on the symptoms of depression and

other psychiatric illnesses, the warning signs of suicide, skills for preventing suicides, and

making or seeking effective referrals to intervention and community resources;

(4) community-based programs to provide evidence-based suicide prevention and

intervention education to school staff, parents, and students in grades kindergarten through

12, and for students attending Minnesota colleges and universities
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. Programs funded under

this clause may include peer-to-peer suicide prevention programs for students in grades 9

through 12 and programs to train students in grades 9 through 12 to serve as peer mentors

in peer-to-peer suicide prevention programs, according to subdivision 2a
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;

(5) community-based programs to provide evidence-based suicide prevention and

intervention to public school nurses, teachers, administrators, coaches, school social workers,

peace officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, advanced emergency medical

technicians, paramedics, primary care providers, and others; and

(6) community-based, evidence-based postvention training to mental health professionals

and practitioners in order to provide technical assistance to communities after a suicide and

to prevent suicide clusters and contagion.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 145.56, is amended by adding a subdivision to

read:

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Subd. 2a.

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Peer-to-peer suicide prevention programs and training programs.

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The

commissioner may award grants available through the grant program under subdivision 2

to school districts, charter schools, contract alternative schools, and nonprofit organizations

to fund peer-to-peer suicide prevention programs for students in grades 9 through 12 and

programs to train students in grades 9 through 12 to serve as peer mentors in a peer-to-peer

suicide prevention program. A peer-to-peer suicide prevention program funded under this

section must be a research-based program in which trained students in grades 9 through 12,

under the supervision of qualified adults, serve as peer mentors for other students, engage

in supportive conversations, identify warning signs of mental health crises, and refer peers

to trusted adults when appropriate. A training program funded under this section must

provide research-based training, in accordance with standards established by the

commissioner, on recognizing the signs of suicide risk, active listening skills, and how to

support peers in connecting with trusted adults. A grant recipient may collaborate with other

school districts, charter schools, contract alternative schools, nonprofit organizations, and

community partners in developing and implementing a peer-to-peer suicide prevention

program or a training program.

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