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SALT LAKE CITY — Last year, Utah's suicide count dropped by 4 percent to 548 incidents. But suicides among children ages 10 to 17 increased by 25 percent from the previous year.
Laura Warburton's daughter was one of them.
In 2013, the 16-year-old was injured in a car accident, and the emotional stress of recovery bore down heavily despite neuropsychiatric and physical treatment.
While Warburton is confident the family did everything it could to help, she wonders how outside resources, such as a crisis phone line, could have made a difference for her daughter and other youth that struggle.
"I would much rather have had my daughter call a stranger than take her life if that was the last straw," Warburton said.
Legislators hope to permanently implement a student crisis line that began as a pilot program last year. SB175, which got unanimous support from House lawmakers Tuesday, would direct $150,000 in ongoing money to expand the program and deploy a smartphone application for students to text in anonymous reports of suicidal thoughts, violence, harassment and crime at schools.
The app, which would be donated to the state, would act as a 24-hour triage program, sending crime reports to a school resource officer, connecting students in immediate danger with 911, or connecting suicidal youth with a licensed social worker from the University of Utah's Neuropsychiatric Institute.
The app would allow students to text in reports and maintain total confidentiality — both key pieces to the puzzle. Since the pilot program started last year, 96 percent of kids responded through a text line, and only 4 percent called in, according to Missy Larsen, spokeswoman for the Utah Attorney General's Office.
Higher education students would also have access to the app, which lawmakers hope will help increase safety on Utah's college and university campuses.
The bill's floor sponsor, Rep. Steven Eliason, R-Sandy, said he also plans to pursue an amendment to the bill that would include resources to help students who are dealing with sexual abuse at schools.
Rep. Marie Poulson, D-Salt Lake City, expressed support for the bill as a former school teacher.
"If you've ever had one of your students during your time there or after who has committed suicide, it's something that haunts you really for the rest of your life. I'm still haunted by a couple of those things," Poulson said. "I think that this (bill) is a really good move."
Warburton said that while the program can't bring her daughter back, and it can't prevent every incident, it would add another layer of resources for teachers and parents to keep their kids safe.
"Not all parents are great. We all want to do the best, we all try our best, but not all parents are great," she said. "This crisis line is not going to prevent every problem, every suicide. It's one of many things that we're trying to institute to help."
The bill now goes to the House for consideration.
