More About SafeUT

"Statistics devastatingly show that suicide is the number one cause of death of Utah children ages 10-12. In addition, our schools and communities are facing crisis-level safety concerns," said Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes. "Because of such alarming realities statewide, our office has worked closely in a very bipartisan manner with legislators, agencies, parents, and advocates to find the right solution."

Suicide is the leading cause of death for youth and young adults, ages 10-24, in the state of Utah. In 2014, School Safety Tip Line Commission (S.B. 232) legislation was introduced by Utah State Sen. Daniel Thatcher to explore solutions to both the mental health crisis and school safety threats. The commission was chaired by the Utah Attorney General’s Office and included legislators, state agencies, and members of the public with the intent to provide recommended solutions in the following state legislative general session. In 2015, the School Safety and Crisis Line legislation (S.B. 175) was introduced and passed, implementing a permanent commission that expanded to include the University of Utah’s Neuropsychiatric Institute (now Huntsman Mental Health Institute) as the crisis services provider. The SafeUT app became available to Utah’s middle and high schools in early 2016.

The SafeUT program was developed with state funding and the original app was designed and donated by a private company. After seeing its success, the University of Utah redesigned the SafeUT app to ensure its future capabilities to respond to mental health and school safety crises. Starting in 2018, SafeUT expanded its services to Utah elementary schools, higher ed institutions and colleges, the Utah National Guard (2019), and Utah’s first responders and their families (2020).