The Los Angeles (LA) County Department of Public Health Office of Violence Prevention received funding from the California Department of Public Health to participate in the Youth Suicide Prevention Pilot (YSPP) program. In this evaluation, the authors provide critical insights into YSPP's operational strengths and areas for improvement, thus contributing to more-effective public health responses to youth suicide in LA County.

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Youth Suicide Prevention Pilot Program Evaluation

Shannon D. Donofry, Lu Dong, Nabeel Qureshi, Chloe Gomez, Nina V. Ozbardakci, Deborah Kim, Jane Bai, Stacey Yi, Mallika Bhandarkar, Amy L. Shearer, et al.

ResearchPublished Jun 17, 2025

The Los Angeles (LA) County Department of Public Health's Office of Violence Prevention (OVP) received funding from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to participate in the Youth Suicide Prevention Pilot (YSPP). YSPP's purpose was to develop effective public health approaches that could effectively respond to and prevent suicide deaths and attempts for youth under the age of 25. OVP leads efforts to coordinate violence prevention activities across county departments, community-based organizations, private businesses, and community members.

OVP hired RAND to provide technical assistance and evaluation services related to YSPP activities in LA County, focusing on evaluating challenges and successes in the program's implementation. As part of the evaluation, the authors conducted a systematic search and scoping review of relevant empirical literature to identify measures that could be used to operationalize program implementation and outcomes. The authors interviewed YSPP program staff and community partners to identify any barriers to and facilitators of program implementation. The authors also developed a logic model and evaluation strategies to support YSPP's future evaluations, when program components are fully operational.

Through these approaches, the authors provide critical insights into the program's operational strengths and areas for improvement, thus contributing to more-effective public health responses to youth suicide deaths and attempts in LA County.

Key Findings

  • YSPP is poised to help prevent suicide deaths and suicide attempts in LA County; however, structural barriers prevent YSPP from effectively serving its community.
  • CDPH funds YSPP to implement programs and initiatives aimed at enhancing the state’s ability to effectively respond to and prevent suicide deaths and suicide attempts among youth under the age of 25. LA County is one of ten California counties selected to participate in the pilot.
  • Program staff developed a comprehensive, ambitious implementation plan that targeted suicide prevention from multiple angles. They successfully built partnerships with a variety of organizations that interface with youth in LA County.
  • The two-year timeline for the program's development and implementation was insufficient to effectively roll out all planned components, particularly given the required coordination of multiple local government and community organizations. This was exacerbated by lengthy internal approval processes that caused significant delays in hiring staff, executing contracts, and procuring supplies and services.
  • Staff described unanticipated barriers to accessing and reporting on data related to youth suicide deaths and suicide attempts, making it difficult for them to gather timely information about where in the community resources might be needed most.
  • The program's lack of ongoing funding meant that existing efforts could not be sustained. Staff expressed that the absence of ongoing funding could affect community trust in the continuity and credibility of local government efforts.

Recommendations

  • OVP should investigate other funding sources (e.g., city, county, and state governments; foundations) to support the continued implementation of YSPP in LA County.
  • OVP should explore ways of reducing inefficiencies in internal approval processes to facilitate the timelier implementation of programs and initiatives.
  • OVP should determine how to best prioritize program efforts given limited resources and timelines.
  • OVP should proactively plan for a program evaluation before program components are implemented.
  • CDPH should provide continued funding for youth suicide prevention activities in LA County and across the state.
  • CDPH should explore ways of making suicide deaths and attempts reportable events and provide support to counties in negotiating data-sharing agreements for syndromic surveillance activities.
  • For future pilot initiatives, CDPH should develop more-realistic timelines that are appropriately scoped to the work being funded.

Topics

Document Details

  • Copyright: California Department of Public Health
  • Publisher: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web-Only
  • Year: 2025
  • Pages: 44
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.7249/RRA3826-1
  • Document Number: RR-A3826-1

Citation

Chicago Manual of Style

Donofry, Shannon D., Lu Dong, Nabeel Qureshi, Chloe Gomez, Nina V. Ozbardakci, Deborah Kim, Jane Bai, Stacey Yi, Mallika Bhandarkar, Amy L. Shearer, Helin Hernandez, and Jacobo Pereira-Pacheco, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Youth Suicide Prevention Pilot Program Evaluation. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2025. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA3826-1.html.
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This research was funded by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Office of Violence Prevention and conducted in the Social and Behavioral Policy Program within RAND Social and Economic Well-Being.

This publication is part of the RAND research report series. Research reports present research findings and objective analysis that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND research reports undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity.

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