1
Suicidal Behavior in Job Corps
Valerie Cherry, Ph.D.Principal Mental Health Consultant
National Health and Wellness ConferenceJune 8, 2005
2
Suicide Threats, Attempts, and Suicides in Job CorpsPY01-PY04 YTD
88107
7861
1 4 2 3
8876 75
110
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
PY01 PY02 PY03 PY04 YTDNu
mb
er o
f su
icid
e th
reat
s,
atte
mp
ts, a
nd
su
icid
es
Threats
Attempts
Suicides
Job Corps averaged 90 suicide threats, 81 suicide attempts, and 3 suicides per year over the past 4 program years (including PY04 YTD).
3
Rate of Job Corps Suicide Attempts by Region* PY01-03
3.804.47
2.953.52
5.27
4.11
5.43
0.001.002.003.004.005.006.007.008.009.00
10.00
Boston Atlanta Chicago Philadelphia Dallas SanFrancisco
Overall
Regions
Nu
mb
er o
f su
icid
e at
tem
pts
p
er 1
,000
stu
den
ts
*Rates were calculated based on the number of separations in each region
4
Rate of Job Corps Suicide Threats by Region* PY01-03
*Rates were calculated based on the number of separations in each region
3.204.26
5.51
2.58
5.65
4.022.96
0.001.002.003.004.005.006.007.008.009.00
10.00
Boston Atlanta Chicago Philadelphia Dallas SanFrancisco
Overall
Regions
Nu
mb
er o
f su
icid
e at
tem
pts
p
er 1
,000
stu
den
ts
5
Location of Suicide-related Behavior(i.e., on or off center)PY01- PY04 YTD
237 21 8
348
292
050
100150200250300350400
Attempts Threats Suicides
Location of Incident
Nu
mb
er o
fIn
cid
ents
On Center
Off Center
6
Age of Job Corps Student at Time of Suicide Attempt*PY01-03
11
62
5256
27 25
16
74 4
1
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
Student Age
Tota
l
*Job Corps population is 16 to 24 years of age, however, there is a small percentage of students older than 24 years.
7
Length of Time in Job Corps at Time of Suicide AttemptPY01–03
17
37 37
3134
24
17
1015
813
7 5
14
0
10
20
30
40
<1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13+
Months in Job Corps
Num
ber o
f Att
empt
s
8
Job Corps Suicide DataPY01-PY04 YTD
Date of Incident Age Gender Months Enrolled Tertiary Incident Code1/16/2002 21 M 3 Unknown8/30/2002 23 F 4 Jump11/9/2002 20 M 11 Struck by Auto/Train4/3/2003 19 M 2 Suffocation/Hanging5/27/2003 20 M 1 Suffocation/Hanging7/7/2003 19 M 22 Jump6/23/2004 17 M 9 Gun-Shot Wound10/3/2004 18 M 1 Struck by Auto/Train12/30/2004 16 F 4 Suffocation/Hanging4/9/2005 18 F 1 Suffocation/Hanging
Of the 10 Job Corps students who committed suicide from PY01-PY04 YTD, 7 were male, the average age was 19, and the average time in the program was 6 months.
9
Methods of Suicide Attempts (Job Corps)
26%
60%
3%1% 2%
6%
2%
Cut/PierceDrug/Medicine OverdoseJumpJump in Front of AutoPoisoningSuffocation/HangingUnknown
The majority of suicide attempts among Job Corps students included Drug/Medicine Overdose (60%), followed by Cut/Pierce (26%).
PY 01-03
10
10.51
10.8410.57
3.14
6.14
1.491.45
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
2000 2001 2002 2003
Cru
de R
ate
per
100,
000
3
National data Job Corps data
Suicides for Ages 16-24National versus Job Corps
Suicides per 100,0002000-2004 YTD
Job Corps Suicide Data 1
PY00--1 (Total Pop. 69,361)PY01--1 (Total Pop. 66,979)PY02--4 (Total Pop.65,148)PY03--2 (Total Pop. 63,705)PY04 YTD*--3 (Total Pop. 45884)
National Suicide Data (Ages 16-24) 2
2000--3,811 (Total Pop. 35,164,487)2001--3803 (Total Pop. 35,986,078)2002--3846 (Total Pop. 36,600,467)2003--National Data for 2003 not available2004--National Data for 2004 not available
1 Job Corps Suicide Data based on # of incidents reported through the Job Corps Significant Incident Reporting System
2 Job Corps Populations are based on # of student separations per Program Year. National populations are post-censal estimates based on the 2000 census.
3 Crude Rate per 100,000 = (# of Incidents/Total Population)*100,000
* PY04 YTD includes data from 7/12004 through 5/19/2005. Total Population does not reflect the population for the entire Program Year and only includes separations through 3/31/2005. Therefore, an accurate yearly crude rate cannot be provided.