Arkansas
Arkansas suicide prevention plans and initiatives
The Arkansas Department of Health’s (ADH) Injury and Violence Prevention Section is the designated state agency in charge of suicide prevention. The ADH Suicide Prevention Program works to provide educational programs that encourage people from all walks of life to become knowledgeable about suicide prevention. Arkansas law (§ 20-45-302) establishes the Arkansas Suicide Prevention Council to serve as a central body on suicide prevention efforts and make recommendations for implementing a statewide program to be funded by the Department. ADH, the Council, AFSP Arkansas Chapter, and others work together to promote prevention programs including Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), safeTALK, Question, Persuade and Refer (QPR), and the Arkansas Lifeline Call Center (ALCC). In 2021, the legislature created the Arkansas Legislative Study on Mental and Behavioral Health to study the strengths and weaknesses of the mental and behavioral health resources and care in Arkansas and to provide legislative recommendations. In 2023, the legislature extended the study to October 31, 2024.
Arkansas laws
Key:
- Required by law
- Encouraged by law
- No law in place
Crisis lines and 988 implementation
- Addresses 988 infrastructure and provides for telecom user fee
- Addresses 988 infrastructure but does not include telecom user fee
- 988 law limited to creating an exploratory commission, advisory committee, or task force
Mental health parity
- Public health plans (e.g., Medicaid) regularly submit parity compliance analyses to state regulators
- Private health plans (individual and group) regularly submit parity compliance analyses to state regulators
K – 12 school suicide prevention
- Inclusion of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and/or other crisis line(s) on student ID cards
- Student allowances for excused mental health absences
- School personnel must report student suicide risk to a parent and/or guardian
- Suicide prevention and/or mental health training for certain school personnel, annual
- Suicide prevention and/or mental health training for certain school personnel, not annual
- Suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention policies/programming
- Student education on suicide prevention
Health professional training in suicide assessment, treatment and management
- Mental health professionals receive regular training
- Mental health professionals receive one time training
- Medical/surgical professionals receive regular training
- Medical/surgical professionals receive one time training
Conversion therapy bans
- Prohibits licensed/board certified mental health providers from engaging in conversion therapy with minors under 18 years of age
- Prohibits licensed/board certified mental health providers from engaging in conversion therapy with vulnerable adults
- Prohibits use of state funds for any purpose related to conversion therapy (e.g., conducting, making a referral for, or extending health benefits coverage for)
University and college campus suicide prevention
- Inclusion of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and/or other crisis line(s) on student ID cards
- Students receive information on available mental health and/or suicide prevention services and/or resources
- Adoption of suicide prevention/awareness policy or program