Bring this to the care team

Parent discharge checklist after a suicidal crisis

Discharge is a handoff. Use this checklist with the treating team and ask for written instructions specific to your child.

If there is immediate physical danger, an active attempt, or a medical emergency, contact emergency services immediately.

What you can do now

Take these steps in order.

1
Ask for the written safety plan and after-hours number.
2
Confirm follow-up appointments and medication instructions.
3
Ask exactly what must be secured or changed at home.

Before leaving

Written discharge and safety plan
Medication list, dose, storage, and responsible adult
Next appointment date, location, and provider
After-hours and crisis contacts
Signs that require urgent reevaluation
Transportation and supervision plan

At home

Follow the care team’s means-safety instructions.
Decide who will supervise and when.
Use calm, direct safety check-ins.
Keep the plan visible and available.
Do not rely on a promise alone.

School reentry

Identify one school contact.
Agree on privacy limits and necessary safety information.
Plan workload, attendance, and a safe check-in place.
Write down what staff should do if concerns return.

Questions to carry forward

What part of the plan is hardest to use?
Who should we call if thoughts return?
What is the next step if we cannot maintain safety?
When will the plan be reviewed again?

Prepared by

Leah Matters

Professional review

Qualified review pending — not clinically endorsed. A licensed youth mental-health clinician and a suicide-prevention specialist must review this page. A licensed mental-health clinician with relevant clinical scope and a suicide-prevention specialist must review this page. A qualified privacy or youth-safeguarding reviewer must review confidentiality, caregiver-disclosure, and minimum-necessary-sharing language.

Last editorial update

July 30, 2026

Review schedule

Initial qualified review required before broad promotion

Editorial status

Cited editorial guidance. It is not clinically endorsed. A licensed youth mental-health clinician and a suicide-prevention specialist must review this page. A licensed mental-health clinician with relevant clinical scope and a suicide-prevention specialist must review this page. A qualified privacy or youth-safeguarding reviewer must review confidentiality, caregiver-disclosure, and minimum-necessary-sharing language.