U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Pilot Studies to Detect and Prevent Suicide Behavior, Ideation and Self-Harm in Youth in Contact with the Juvenile Justice System (R34 Clinical Trial Required)

This initiative supports research to test the effectiveness of combined strategies to both detect and intervene to reduce the risk of suicide behavior, suicide ideation, and non-suicidal self-harm (NSSI) by youth in contact with the juvenile justice system. Opportunities for detection and prevention start at early points of contact (e.g., police interaction, the intake interview) and continue through many juvenile justice settings (e.g., pre-trial detention, juvenile or family court activities, court disposition, placement and on-going care in either residential or multiple community settings.) Funding targets intervention strategies that are designed to be delivered in typical service settings using typically available personnel and resources, to enhance the implementation of interventions that prove effective, enhance their future uptake in diverse settings, and thereby reduce risk of suicide and self-harm in this population.

The purpose of the initiative is to support pilot work in preparation for future larger scale projects that will develop and test broadly implementable service system interventions to rapidly identify and effectively respond to reduce the risk of suicidal behavior, suicidal ideation, and non-suicidal self-harm in justice-involved youth. Applications focused on developmental work that would enhance the probability of success in a subsequent larger scale project are encouraged. Developmental work might include: working out the details of the assessment and intervention protocols, as well as the protocol for the comparison group and randomization procedures (if appropriate); examining the feasibility of recruiting and retaining participants into the study condition(s); and developing supportive materials such as training manuals for the interventionists. The collection of preliminary data regarding feasibility, acceptability, safety, tolerability, and target outcomes is appropriate. However, given the intended pilot nature of the R34 activity code, conducting formal tests of outcomes or attempting to obtain an estimate of an effect size may not be feasible.

The specific goal of this initiative is to support pilot work that might support the design and implementation of a subsequent larger scale project to: 1) develop a service system intervention that coordinates risk identification, evaluation, and linkage to needed treatment and services for justice-involved youth; 2) test the feasibility and effectiveness of the intervention in detecting and responding to vulnerable youth at and across various points within juvenile justice and relevant community settings; and 3) demonstrate the intervention’s implementation and potential for future uptake in diverse settings across the U.S. The ultimate goal of this is to develop and test the effectiveness of empirically based, integrated, and scalable strategies for detecting and preventing suicidal behavior, ideation, and self-harm among justice-involved youth. The focus is on systems interventions to improve outcomes for youth and is not intended to support the development of new screening tools or assessment instruments.

This solicitation is published in parallel to a companion R01 solicitation (https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-16-299.html) also targeting detection and intervention to reduce suicidality in youth in contact with the juvenile justice system, PAR-16-299 ,which uses the R01 funding mechanism.

Amount: A total of $1,300,000 is available for this competition and the companion R01 announcement, funding four awards through the R34 initiative. Awards range up to $225,000 per year and $450,000 total over the three year project period.

Eligibility: Higher education institutions; nonprofit organizations; for-profit organizations; governments; and other, including independent school districts, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations, faith-based or community-based organizations, and regional organizations.

Link: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-16-299.html#_Section_II._Award_1

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