Section 7-504 - Eligibility guidelines; authorized programs(a)(1) The Department shall adopt regulations that set eligibility guidelines for State funding of Youth Suicide Prevention School Programs under this subtitle.(2) The regulations shall: (i) Establish procedures for developing local programs, in cooperation with local education agencies, youth service bureaus, and community mental health centers; and(ii) Establish standards and policies for programs to offer: 1. Individual, family, and group counseling related to youth suicide prevention;2. Referral, crisis intervention, and information for students, parents, and school personnel; and3. Training for school personnel, and others responsible for counseling or supervising student activities.(b) A Youth Suicide Prevention School Program established under this subtitle shall plan, fund, and implement educational programs, which may include any of the following:(1) Classroom instruction designed to achieve any of the following objectives: (i) Encourage sound decision making and promote ethical development;(ii) Increase pupils' awareness of the relationship between drug and alcohol use and youth suicide;(iii) Teach pupils to recognize signs of suicidal tendencies, and other facts about youth suicide;(iv) Inform pupils of available community youth suicide prevention services;(v) Enhance school climate and relationships between teachers, counselors, and pupils; and(vi) Further cooperative efforts of school personnel and community youth suicide prevention program personnel;(2) School or community based alternative programs outside of the classroom, including: (i) Positive peer group programs;(ii) A 24-hour "hotline" telephone service, staffed by trained professional counselors;(iii) Programs to collect data on youth suicide attempts;(iv) Intervention and follow-up;(v) Mental health programs to promote mental health awareness and encourage pupils to seek help as soon as it is needed; and(vi) Parent education and training programs; and(3) Teacher training programs.(c) Any program established under this subtitle shall: (1) Assist in increasing the awareness, among school personnel and community leaders, of the incidence of teenage suicide;(2) Train school personnel in individual and schoolwide strategies for teenage suicide prevention;(3) Develop and implement school-based teenage suicide prevention programs and pilot projects;(4) Develop and implement school-based pilot mental health programs and peer-to-peer support to address the needs of students suffering from mental illness; and(5) Through cooperative efforts, utilize community resources in the development and implementation of teenage suicide prevention programs under this subtitle.(d) The Department may assist local school systems in implementing pilot peer-to-peer mental health awareness programs.