Essential Question: How can the United States governments help maintain and or improve current policies and programs to decrease suicide?
Suicide rates are on the rise again. “Since 2009 suicide has had an increase of 3.9 percent”(FP-AFSP). This rate is the highest it has been in the past fifteen years. This paper focuses on how the United States government can help maintain and or improve current policies or programs to decrease suicide.
The recent research has shown that suicide is the “third leading cause of death among young people fifteen to twenty four, fourth leading cause of death for ages between twenty five to forty four, the eighth leading cause of death for ages forty five to sixty four” (2012). Over all suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States. One of the main questions about suicide is why. The research shows that the “number one reason of suicide among youth is untreated, undiagnosed or ineffectively treated depression”(Gould).
The federal government has numerous policies to help treat suicide but, since suicide is on the rise, what can be done? The first policy is it is illegal to kill one’s self. If anyone is found trying to kill themselves those people need to have an immediate psych evaluation which the federal government does. What needs to be done though is a mandatory three day stay observational period to decide if those people are stable enough to go back to their normal lives. Another policy that is efficient that is in effect is mandated reporters. A mandated reporter is a person who by law has to tell a supervisor or boss if a person is threatening to harm themselves or others, or if they have admitted to harming themselves or others. A teacher for example is a mandated reporter or a guidance counselor. All around the United States there are hotlines open twenty four/seven for teens to call. “There is a lot of controversy over suicide hotlines”(CDC). There is a
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