06 LC 33
1102
House
Bill 1092
By:
Representatives Manning of the
32nd,
Stephens of the
164th,
Cooper of the
41st,
Brown of the
69th,
Buckner of the
130th,
and others
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Chapter 2 of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to the Department of Human Resources, so as to provide for legislative findings;
to provide for the creation of the Suicide Prevention Program; to provide for
the duties and powers related to the program; to provide for staff for the
program; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for
other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Chapter
2 of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the
Department of Human Resources, is amended by adding a new Code section to the
end of such chapter to read as follows:
∀31-2-9.
(a)
The General Assembly makes the following findings:
(1)
Every year in Georgia, approximately 850 people die from suicide;
(2)
More Georgians die from suicide than from homicide;
(3)
More teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from cancer, heart
disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung
disease combined;
(4)
Many who attempt suicide do not seek professional help after the
attempt;
(5)
In Georgia, three out of four suicide deaths involve a firearm;
(6)
Factors such as aging, drug and alcohol abuse, unemployment, mental illness,
isolation, and bullying in school contribute to causes of suicide;
and
(7)
Education is necessary to inform the public about the causes of suicide and the
early intervention programs that are available.
(b)
There is created the Suicide Prevention Program to be managed by the injury
prevention section of the Division of Public Health of the
department.
(c)
The injury prevention section, in implementing the Suicide Prevention Program,
shall:
(1)
Establish a link between state agencies and offices, including but not limited
to the
department́s
Division of Aging Services, Division of Family and Children Services, and
Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Addictive Diseases,
local government agencies, health care providers, hospitals, nursing homes, and
jails to collect data on suicide deaths and attempted suicides;
(2)
Work with public officials to improve firearm safety;
(3)
Improve education for nurses, judges, physician assistants, social workers,
psychologists, and other counselors with regard to suicide education and
prevention and expand educational resources for professionals working with those
persons most at risk of suicide;
(4)
Provide training and minimal screening tools for clergy, teachers and other
educational staff, and correctional workers on how to identify and respond to
persons at risk of suicide;
(5)
Provide educational programs for family members of persons at an elevated risk
of suicide;
(6)
Develop standardized protocols for death scene investigations;
(7)
Work to increase the number of follow-back studies of suicides;
(8)
Work to increase the number of hospitals that code for external cause of
injuries;
(9)
Implement a state-wide reporting system for reporting suicides;
(10)
Support pilot projects to link and analyze information on self-destructive
behavior from various, distinct data systems; and
(11)
Perform such other tasks as deemed appropriate to further suicide education and
prevention in Georgia.
(d)
The Suicide Prevention Program shall be provided staff to consist of a full-time
coordinator, half-time data analyst/epidemiologist, and administrative support,
all subject to available
funding.∀
SECTION
2.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.