15th Edition Summary of Significant Changes

As an international accrediting body for organizations that provide crisis and suicide prevention services, the American Association of Suicidology (AAS) regularly evaluates and updates its accreditation standards. The 15th Edition reflects changes in the field so that everyone who contacts an AAS-accredited service receives high-quality care, and it strengthens the connections among services across the continuum of suicide prevention and crisis care.

Significant changes in the 15th Edition include:

Ethical Standards for Suicide Prevention: The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) has released the NASW Standards of Care for Suicide Prevention. These standards are now an ethical mandate for all social workers, and the 15th Edition incorporates them into accreditation expectations, including conversations about the safe storage of lethal means.
 
Trauma-Responsive Approaches: Being trauma-informed does not always lead to trauma-responsive practice. People in crisis are experiencing a traumatic event, and understanding how trauma affects the brain is critical to an effective response.
 
Choice and Voice: The 15th Edition emphasizes giving people seeking help options and honoring their autonomy. Crisis specialists should support each person’s voice and choice, using involuntary care only as a last resort when engagement is not de-escalating the crisis.
 
Peer Support Professionals: Previous standards limited the services Certified Peer Support Professionals could provide. The 15th Edition recognizes the broader role of professionals who hold state or national certification as a Certified Peer Specialist. Peer support credentials now qualify a person to serve in AAS-accredited services as a crisis specialist or community responder.
 
Clinical Consultation: All crisis and suicide prevention modalities must have access to clinical consultation to support direct practice staff.
 
Enhanced Partnership Expectations: Connection to emergency services has long been required. The 15th Edition also requires county and regional 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline centers, suicide prevention helplines, chat and text providers, and mobile crisis providers to build collaborative relationships with specialized emergency response approaches in their communities, such as Alternative Response Teams, co-responder teams, and local Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) programs. The goal is for accredited services to engage a known partner with established protocols, rather than relying only on 911, when emergency services are needed.

Population-Specific National Services: AAS recognizes the importance of resources that reflect a person’s culture, identity, or professional background. Suicide prevention helplines and chat and text providers that serve a specific population have adjusted requirements for resource databases and emergency services.
 
Accredited Services: AAS has accredited suicide prevention services since 1976. The 15th Edition defines five accredited services and offers additional accreditation for multi-language service delivery in any modality provided proficiently in a language other than English:

• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Crisis call centers that are part of the 988 network or choose to meet its standards. These centers must meet the highest standards in the field and operate 24/7, directly or through an agreement with another crisis call center.
• Suicide Prevention Helplines: Helplines or warmlines offering a wide range of support. They are not required to meet every 988 standard, but staff must meet crisis specialist training standards for assessing and responding to suicidality.
• Chat or Text: Accredited as a standalone service or as part of a 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline center or suicide prevention helpline.
• Mobile Crisis Teams: “Someone to respond” is central to SAMHSA’s vision for the crisis continuum. The 15th Edition sets clear expectations so accredited teams are prepared to provide a critical community response.
• Alternative Response Teams: Communities fund a range of alternative response models involving certified peer specialists, EMTs, police social workers, and other credentialed professionals. Because a trained community-based response serves people experiencing acute suicidality, AAS now accredits these teams.

Crisis Care Continuum Certification: SAMHSA’s vision has elevated crisis response from individual services to a system of care. Counties and service regions can now seek certification as an AAS Certified Crisis Care Continuum by showing that each service in the full continuum holds accreditation from a national accrediting body.

Setting the Gold Standard in Suicidology

As the only U.S.-based accreditation program dedicated specifically to suicidology, the American Association of Suicidology is a global leader in accrediting crisis centers against internationally recognized standards. Our evaluation process is accepted by the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and aligned with multiple state and federal accreditation requirements.

Accreditation from AAS strengthens program quality and accountability, provides a framework for ongoing self-evaluation, and signals credibility to funding agencies and insurance providers. Accredited programs serve as benchmarks of excellence in the field and assure staff and volunteers that their organization is committed to the highest standards in suicide prevention.

Accreditation encompasses a range of crisis service modalities, including telephone crisis services, text-based crisis services, web-based (emotional support) applications, mobile crisis services, and other 24-hour crisis support services. Accreditation is awarded for a three-year term.

Questions? Email Dr. Amy Sagen, LSW, Chief Transformation Officer (asagen@suicidology.org).

Get Accredited

Take the first step toward accreditation and join leading crisis service and suicide prevention organizations recognized for excellence in suicidology.

Public Complaint Process

The American Association of Suicidology (AAS) welcomes members of the public to submit concerns regarding the operations of an AAS-accredited program, including call centers and suicide prevention organizations.

To submit a grievance, please email Dr. Amy Sagen at asagen@suicidology.org and include specific details explaining why you believe the call center or service in question did not provide high-quality care or service.

AAS will acknowledge receipt of your complaint and review the program to ensure compliance with all accreditation standards. Please note that, while AAS takes all concerns seriously and may engage in quality improvement discussions with the program, we are unable to share the outcomes of those discussions with complainants.