每日大瓜

Daniel Pollack, professor at , examines the issues underlying the case of Michelle Carter texting Conrad Roy to kill himself, which he eventually did, in 鈥�.鈥� While he feels the First Amendment issues are important, Pollack wants to tease out from the event 鈥渨hat constructive role might a public human services agency or child protective services (CPS) play in discouraging this macabre text taunting to suicide activity.鈥� Agencies can:

• Evaluate the extent to which local patterns of suicide are following national trends
• Determine whether initiatives adopted elsewhere might be suitable in their locale
• Identify unique local risk factors and behaviors that may make suicides more likely
• Spearhead discussions and common misconceptions by underscoring that suicides are preventable

鈥淢any different stakeholders have a keen interest in suicide research and prevention,鈥� he concludes, 鈥渋ncluding academics, health and mental health practitioners, and policy planners. Public human services agencies and CPS must have a presence as well.鈥�