HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 312-10 (2)
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TO: HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: COMMUNITY SERVICES
DATE: JULY 19, 2010 CMR: 312:10
REPORT TYPE: REFERRAL TO COMMITTEE
SUBJECT: Referral To Policy And Services Committee For Its Review And
Recommendations Of Project Safety Net Community Task Force Report On
Palo Alto Youth And Teen Suicide Prevention And Strategies For
Addressing Their Social And Emotional Health
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The purpose of this staff report is to provide Council with information regarding the plans,
actions and recommendations developed by the Project Safety Net (PSN) community task force.
The PSN community task force took shape during the summer of 2009 in response to the tragic
teen suicides in the community. The task force is broadly represented with parents, medical
professionals, youth-serving non-profits, city commission representatives, the Palo Alto Youth
Council and several other at large Members. The mission of the PSN community task force is to
develop and implement an effective, comprehensive, community-based mental health plan for
overall youth well-being in Palo Alto. The plan, as described in the attached report, includes
education, prevention and intervention strategies that together provide a Safety Net for youth and
teens in Palo Alto, and defines our community's teen suicide prevention efforts.
RECOMENDATION
Staff recommends the Project Safety Net (PSN) report be referred to Policy and Services
Committee for further review and recommendations; and for staff to return to Council with
specific policy recommendations from the Committee that support teen suicide prevention and
strategies for the social and emotional health of youth and teens in Palo Alto.
BACKGROUND
In response to the five teen suicides the Palo Alto community experienced between May 2009
and January 2010, the City of Palo Alto and the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD),
along with other community partners, have taken an active and progressive role in developing
short and long-term plans in support of suicide prevention and the social and emotional health of
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youth and teens in Palo Alto.
The PSN community task force effort is closely aligned with the 2010 Council priority
“community collaboration for youth well-being.” The City has played an important coordinating
role in bringing the community together to both plan and take action in support of youth well-
being. The PSN report attached describes the process that the Palo Alto community used to
investigate, intervene and strive to prevent further teen suicides. The report delineates specific
resiliency and mental health promotion strategies that have taken place, along with
recommendations for future action.
DISCUSSION
The PSN report provides a summary of how the Palo Alto community has come together in
response to the tragedy of teen suicide. The report describes a comprehensive, community-based
mental health plan for overall youth well-being in Palo Alto. The plan draws on our nation’s best
known practices for community-based mental health and suicide prevention. The report provides
a detailed description of twenty-two strategies that fall into three broad categories: Education,
Prevention and Intervention. Each of the twenty-two strategies is described in the following
manner:
• Strategy Defined
• Actions Taken
• Next Steps Recommended
The Palo Alto community has a long history of community collaboration in support of youth and
teens. The recommendations in the report should be viewed as building on the strengths of
existing community collaborations and efforts in support of youth and teens. Moreover, the PSN
report should be viewed as a work in progress by the Task Force. It is a beginning rather than an
end toward greater suicide prevention and social / emotional health for youth and teens in Palo
Alto.
The report represents the best collective thinking of local and national experts, Palo Alto’s
community leaders, parents and students on how we as a community should proceed, as we
strive to realize the PSN mission, as well as develop and implement an effective, comprehensive,
community-based mental health plan for overall youth well-being in Palo Alto.
The priority next steps defined in the report include the following actions:
1. Create an effective and sustainable structure for PSN to maximize and coordinate the
tremendous resources in the Palo Alto community for the planning and
implementation of effective strategies for “Youth Well-Being”.
• Assign a senior level position in PAUSD and the City to support the implementation
of PSN strategies.
• Apply for grant funding to complement the $50,000 School Emergency Response to
Violence (SERV) grant awarded for the PSN efforts in April 2010.
• Identify a PSN coordinator to further develop PSN strategies and the implementation
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plan.
2. Implement the 41 Developmental Assets and philosophy in the school district, city,
and community agencies for a common vision and language for youth and teen well-
being.
3. Train all school district staff and youth-serving agencies to be gatekeepers using
“Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR),” or related program.
4. Adopt a comprehensive K-12 health education curriculum that includes a strong
social-emotional, mental health component as described in the “Health Education
Content Standards for California Public Schools” of the California Department of
Education.
It is the collective recommendation of the PSN community task force that the recommendations
in the PSN report be used as a foundation for a sustainable community task force for youth and
teen wellbeing; and that policy makers, administrators and the broader community use the PSN
report as a supportive document to help inform community decision making in the interest of
youth and teen well-being.
RESOURCE IMPACT
There are no resource impacts recommended at this time. If the Policy and Services Committee
decides to recommend one or more specific policies or actions to Council, staff will define all
related resource impacts at that time.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
The recommendations of the Project Safety Net report respond to the City Council 2010 priority
of “Community Collaboration for Youth Well-being.” If the Policy and Services Committee
decides to recommend one or more specific policies or actions to Council, staff will define all
related policy implications at that time.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Project Safety Net Report – July 2010
PREPARED BY: ________________________________________________________
ROB DE GEUS
Division Manager, Recreation Services
APPROVED BY: ______________________________________________
GREG BETTS
Director of Community Services
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:____________________________________________
JAMES KEENE
City Manager