WeCare: A System of Care for Black Youth

The overall goal of this study is to respond to the urgent need for an effective suicide prevention strategy for Black youth by examining the effectiveness of a systems-level strategy to recognize and respond to suicide risk among Black adolescents who present to emergency departments (EDs). The proposed strategy, WeCare, combines combines three components: (1) universal screening using the Computerized Adaptive Screen for Suicidal Youth (CASSY), (2) a brief intervention designed for Black youth with elevated suicide risk in for ED settings, Connections for Safety (CFS), that combines safety planning and strategies to support linkage to outpatient mental health services, and (3) supportive text messages to youth and parent/caregivers for six weeks following the youth's ED visit. Study objectives are (1) to integrate input from multiple stakeholders to inform and facilitate WeCare implementation, and (2) to use a hybrid one effectiveness-implementation design to evaluate its effectiveness.

NCT Number	NCT05654207
Lead Sponsor	New York University Collaborators: University of Michigan
Conditions	Suicidal Ideation
Enrollment	2,200 participants
Start Date	2024-04-08
Primary Completion	2027-04-01 (estimated)
Study Completion	2027-04-01 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-06-10