The Fond du Lac County YScreen Expansion Project

At a Glance

The Fond du Lac School District recognized that it needed to address the rates of suicide and suicide attempts among its students, and could better do so through the expansion of YScreen, an emotional health screening tool.

The project’s results suggest that expanded outreach and education around YScreen, and specifically targeting LGBTQ+ students, who are at higher risk for suicide, is effective for identifying and connecting at-risk students with critical services.

The Challenge

In Wisconsin, suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15-24 year olds. In Fond du Lac County, one in seven students considered suicide in the past year, and 153 students attempted suicide (2015 Fond du Lac County Health Priorities Report). In addition, research indicates that LGBT youth have significantly higher rates of suicide attempts and ideation —four times more likely than their heterosexual peers. Suicide attempts by LGBT youth are 4 to 6 times more likely to result in injury, poisoning, or overdose that requires treatment from a doctor or nurse, compared to their heterosexual peers.

Project Goals

This project aimed to normalize and expand the Fond du Lac area YScreen Program, a universal, voluntary, research-based emotional health screening program. YScreen is designed to improve identification and connection of youth at-risk of suicide, or suffering from other emotional health concerns, with critical, timely services.
In addition, the project aimed to evaluate the impact of targeted outreach and training opportunities specifically focused on the LGBTQ+ youth population as well as to sustain expansion and normalization of participation in screening and increase capacity for the program’s case management system.

Results

Over the course of the grant, the Fond du Lac Area YScreen Program achieved the following results:

• Successfully normalized screenings within outlying and referral sites throughout the county, as evidenced by increased parent consent and student assent to participate in screening.
• Improved outreach and training efforts across multiple levels to include parent, student and faculty presentations, Safe Zone training for community mental health providers, and Youth Mental Health First Aid training for the general public.
• Identified student ambassadors at each school site to assist with classroom presentations and established a strong relationship with the SAGE (Sexuality and Gender Equality) student group at one of the high schools. A focus group was conducted with SAGE students to review classroom presentation and demographic wording/options on forms. Students provided recommendations to consider to improve cultural sensitivity with the LGBTQ+ student population.
• Several communication methods were implemented to support the many methods identified by the communication audit already in place, and a sustainability plan was created and has been successfully implemented.

Ultimately, as a result of the expansion of YScreen, students are being identified early and connected to services, resulting in better outcomes. Project evaluation indicated that the percentage of students who have considered suicide and/or attempted suicide within the past year has decreased, and the team anticipates, that with continued efforts in suicide prevention, early identification and education, this number will continue to decrease. The project is continuing to explore how to better serve LGBTQ+ students who may not be self-reporting their LGBTQ+ status as part of the screening.

Lasting Impact

The project team has expanded and sustained the program through United Way funding and private donations.