October 7, 2025- Suicide rates among children and adolescents increased 62% in the U.S. from 2007 through 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; suicide is now the second leading cause of death among young people 10-14 years old and the third leading cause of death for those between the ages of 15 and 24.Yet experts believe that children’s death by suicide is preventable. That is why the Cardinal Health Foundation, in partnership with the Children’s Hospital Association and Zero Suicide Institute at Education Development Center (EDC), created its Preventing Youth Suicide Collaborative, first launched as a pilot in 2020.
The Collaborative brought together 39 children’s hospitals across the country to accelerate improvement in the identification and care of children at risk for suicide. For several years, teams within each of the hospitals participated in the Collaborative’s community of practice webinars and an annual academy to accelerate learning and culture change.
Participating hospitals have adopted universal suicide screening protocols and built tools into electronic health records (EHRs) to create standardized documentation. Because access to firearms increases the likelihood of death by suicide for children and adolescents more than fourfold, most of the children’s hospitals have increased or improved counseling for families on safer firearm storage (called lethal means counseling).