As youth suicide rates continue to rise across the United States, two national leaders in behavioral health and clinical education – KVC Health Systems and Relias – have launched an ambitious initiative aimed at strengthening the nation’s suicide prevention workforce. The partnership, which blends evidence-based assessment and training with a structured research study involving more than 400 clinicians, is being described by experts as a model that could reshape how organizations prepare professionals to recognize and respond to suicide risk in young people.

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An Urgent National Challenge

Suicide remains the second leading cause of death for youth ages 10 to 24, and indicators of distress among young people have intensified over the past decade. National surveys show that nearly 1 in 5 high school students have had suicidal ideation, and emergency department visits for suspected suicide attempts among adolescent girls have climbed sharply in recent years.

Researchers and clinicians warn that the current mental health system — strained by workforce shortages, inconsistent training requirements and varying state regulations — must rapidly innovate to keep pace with the escalating need. KVC Health Systems and Relias have partnered on this initiative to develop a practice-improvement model that aims to help close this gap.

KVC Health Systems and Relias Join Forces to Strengthen Clinical Competency and Confidence

KVC Health Systems, a nonprofit network with more than 2,800 employees across several states, is widely recognized for its work in mental health, child welfare and health-system transformation. The initiative from its KVC Institute for Health Systems Innovation is being led by:

• Chad Anderson, Chief Clinical Officer
• Dr. Sue Lohrbach, Executive Director of the KVC Institute for Health Systems Innovation
• Dr. Abyssinia Washington Tabron, Vice President of Clinical Engagement

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Relias, the trusted multi-solution workforce enablement partner to 13,000 healthcare organizations and 4.5 million caregivers. This organization is known for delivering research-supported learning solutions that improve clinicians’ knowledge, critical thinking and abilities— all of which lead to improved clinical competency, practice and organizational performance.

The collaboration aims to improve competency and close learning gaps in frontline caregivers’ knowledge, skills, and confidence in suicide prevention, particularly those working with children and adolescents.

An Unprecedented Commitment: More Than 400 Clinicians Required to Train and Participate in Research

In a move rarely seen at this scale, KVC is ensuring all licensed clinical staff — over 400 clinicians — participate in the suicide prevention and intervention training program. The study is structured in several phases:

1. Assessment: An initial 30-minute assessment which measures the clinician’s baseline knowledge, skills, and confidence in suicide prevention.

2. Learning phase: A 30-day time frame for participants to complete three Relias courses, which equates to approximately five hours of accredited training to evaluate and manage teen suicide risk.

3. Post-assessment: A second assessment following the baseline assessment and required training — also about 30 minutes —which measures changes in participants’ competency scores.

4. Ongoing clinician support: Additional resources are provided to participants based on their scores in order to reinforce practice improvements.

KVC has also aligned all Relias teen suicide education content with the organization’s comprehensive suicide prevention approach, that includes the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale, CAMS, the Stanley-Brown Safety Plan, the Safe & Connected™ practice model, and other evidence-based clinical practices. This integration helps ensure standardized practice across care settings and reduces variation around terminology or methodology across clinicians.

Scaling a Multi-State Study with National Implications

KVC’s first cohort completed the study intervention earlier this year, and a second cohort of 28 clinicians across multiple states is currently underway. Over the next several months, additional cohorts will participate until all licensed clinicians have received the study intervention.

While the study is designed to strengthen KVC’s own workforce, its architects emphasize that the ultimate goal is broader: to produce research findings and implementation insights that can be shared across the behavioral health, child welfare and education sectors.

Industry observers note that the model’s scalability — which combines structured assessments, evidence-based online education and training, and real-time practice improvement — positions this study’s approach as a potential national blueprint for suicide prevention workforce development.

A Model Other Behavioral Health Organizations Could Replicate

Behavioral health leaders across the country have expressed increasing interest in strategies that simultaneously improve clinical quality, reduce suicide risk, and support workforce retention. This initiative aims to do all three.

The approach taken by KVC and Relias is notable for several reasons:

• It blends evidenced-based assessment training with measurable outcomes, rather than relying solely on compliance-based education.
• It reaches clinicians across multiple states and service lines, making the intervention scalable.
• It supports frontline professionals who regularly engage with high-risk youth.
• It fits within existing regulatory and accreditation structures.

Organizational leaders who have reviewed early elements of the project say it offers a rare combination of evidence-based rigor and operational feasibility.

A National Call to Action

As youth mental health needs increase nationwide, there is growing pressure on behavioral health organizations, school systems, child welfare agencies and healthcare providers to respond with innovative, scalable solutions. The collaboration between KVC Health Systems and Relias represents one of the largest and most structured efforts to date aimed specifically at strengthening clinical suicide prevention competence.

The hope among leaders and observers is that the study’s findings and the implementation lessons drawn along the way will help equip clinicians across the country with the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to intervene in a timely and effective manner.

If widely adopted, this model has the potential to lower suicide risk, improve the quality of care for youth in crisis, and provide a new pathway for strengthening the behavioral health workforce at a time when it is urgently needed.