WHEREAS, Idaho consistently ranks in the top ten states in number of completed suicides per capita; and

            WHEREAS, Idaho’s suicide rate is consistently higher than that of the United States as a whole; and

            WHEREAS, Idaho ranks third in the United States in youth suicides and suicide is the second leading cause of death among Idahoan’s age 15 to 34; and

            WHEREAS, during 1999 to 2001, 559 Idahoans died by suicide, and an average of 187 Idahoans die by suicide each year, that is one suicide every two days; and

            WHEREAS, compared to the rate of suicide in the United States, Idaho’s teenaged males and working-aged males have a suicide rate more than twice as high as the national average, Idaho’s older men have a rate more that eight times higher than the national average and Idaho’s Native American teenage males have a rate more than eleven times higher than the national average; and

 WHEREAS, suicide is particularly devastating in the rural and frontier areas of Idaho where one suicide significantly impacts entire small communities for years, even generations; and

            WHEREAS, in 2000, suicides of those under age 25 in Idaho resulted in the estimated direct costs of $3.77 million and lost earnings of $81 million; and

            WHEREAS, in response to this serious public health issue the Idaho Suicide Prevention Plan was developed and distributed in 2003; and

            WHEREAS, a state leadership organization in suicide prevention, Suicide Prevention Action Network of Idaho (SPAN Idaho) began implementing key components of the Idaho Suicide Prevention Plan in 2004; and

            WHEREAS, a network of regional leaders and community volunteers for suicide prevention branching into every community in the state is being created in 2005; and

            WHEREAS, completion of an effective suicide prevention infrastructure in Idaho requires an appropriate entity to oversee the implementation of the Idaho Suicide Prevention Plan,

            NOW, THEREFORE, I, JAMES E. RISCH, Governor of the State of Idaho, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the State of Idaho, do hereby establish the Idaho Council on Suicide Prevention.

            I. The Council’s responsibilities shall be:

A.        To oversee the implementation of the Idaho Suicide Prevention Plan;

B.        To ensure the continued relevance of the Plan by evaluating implementation progress reports and developing changes and new priorities to update the Plan;

C.      To be a proponent for suicide prevention in Idaho;

D.    To prepare an annual report on Plan implementation for the Governor and Legislature.         

            II. The Governor shall appoint all members of the Council. The Council shall include representatives from:

A.    The Office of the Governor

B.     The Idaho State Legislature

C.     The Department of Health and Welfare

D.     The Department of Education or School Districts

E.     The Department of Juvenile Justice

F.     SPAN Idaho

G.    Suicide Prevention Services

H.     The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill

I.        Suicide survivors

J.       Tribes

K.     The youth community

L.      The aging community or aging services

III. Council members shall:

A.     Serve for a term of two (2) years.

B.     Council members may serve up to three (3) terms.

C.    The Governor shall appoint the Chair of the Council.

D.    The Council shall meet in person annually.

E.     The Council shall not exceed eighteen (18) members.

F.     Staff for the Council will be provided by SPAN Idaho.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the Great Seal of the State of Idaho at the Capitol in Boise on this 5th day of October in the year of our Lord two thousand and six, and of the independence of the United States of America the two hundred thirty-first and of the Statehood of Idaho the one hundred seventeenth.

BEN YSURSA
SECRETARY OF STATE