TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – The Kansas State Department of Education has updated their 2018 suicide prevention plan and are prompting all of their Kansas school districts to do the same.

The Kansas Suicide Prevention, intervention, reintegration and postvention toolkit is a comprehensive guide that provides step-by-step guidance for setting up a systematic approach to suicide prevention, response and postvention for schools.

“We don’t think any student who makes a statement of self-harm is just telling a story or trying to get attention. We take every statement serious,” says Dr. Joy Grimes, Principal at Avondale Academy.

All 286 school districts are required to come up with a response plan that meets the needs of their specific community using the toolkit.

The principals, admins and all their support staff have been training teachers when that child needs to have a critical conversation, a conversation that is supportive but also allows the child to express what it is that is troubling them,” says Susan Mills Coordinator of Social Services for USD-501.

Trish Backman with KSDE says they have added new language and resources like the 988 hotline and their new reintegration plan, one that Backman says she is especially proud of.

“So that reintegration part had never been broken out specifically until this year because it had always been looked at as prevention intervention and postvention, if that reintegration piece isn’t in place a lot of times that safety net isn’t there and the kids continually stir from one crisis to the next,” says Backman.

Backman says each staff member is required to undergo at least one hour of suicide prevention training.

“So one of the recommendations we make in the toolkit is when you have your plan if you’re comfortable posting the skeleton or the basics that you want everybody to know about your plan put it on your website. The thing I would really encourage every district to do is put who your school mental health team is. If your kid is having a crisis then the people in the community can look that up on your website and they know who to contact,” she says.

She also says the number of student suicides have started to come down slowly.

“With our new graduation requirements where kids have to be actively engaged in something one of the things that they can do join some kind of a youth empowerment group and every group gets to pick what their topic is going to be and a lot of them have chosen suicide,” says Bachman.

Backman says more resources for staff and families in need are now available here.

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A Kansas mother whose 2-year-old son fatally shot his 4-year-old sister has been sentenced to life in prison. The AP reports Mariann Belair, 24, won’t be eligible for parole until she’s served 25 years under the sentence imposed Tuesday in Shawnee County District Court. Jurors found her guilty in May of aggravated child endangerment and first-degree murder in the commission of a felony.

Belair testified at her trial that she removed a loaded 9mm handgun from her diaper bag and placed it on the couch next to her in October while she was home with her 4-year-old daughter, Lawrencia Perez-Belair, and her 2-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter. She said she had planned to go get food with her family and was making sure she had everything she needed in the bag. She said Lawrencia then “distracted” her by asking her to shoot a cellphone photo of them together.

Deputy District Attorney Lauren Amrein told jurors that the gun sat on the couch at least 12 minutes before Belair’s son, who was about to turn 3, picked it up and shot his sister. She said no reasonable person would have let the gun sit there so long with small children present. Court records show Belair complained in a handwritten motion that her trial attorney discouraged her from taking a plea that would have resulted in her being sentenced to 10 years and three months in prison. A new attorney assigned to the case has requested a new trial.

(More fatal shooting stories.)

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Patrick and Brittany Mahomes are back in Kansas City Chiefs game mode.

The longtime couple showed up to Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday, August 17 in matching NFL by Abercrombie Chiefs T-shirts. The $50 T-shirts feature a Super Bowl ring, amid other images like a Chiefs helmet, the logo, and the fact that they are Super Bowl champions.

Patrick, 28, paired the vintage-looking T-shirt with ripped black jeans and bright red Adidas Pharrell x Samba Human Race sneakers. He accessorized with a vintage-inspired Chiefs baseball cap, and a shimmery black cross necklace.

Brittany, 28, sported the same T-shirt along with red sneakers, black shorts, a little red purse, and oversized sunglasses. The Sports Illustrated model — who is pregnant with the couple’s third child — arrived with their children in tow, who were also dressed in Chiefs gear.

Their son Patrick “Bronze” Lavon Mahomes III, 1, wore a black Adidas shirt, and shorts that appeared to say “Mahomes,” while Sterling Skye, 3, sported a red dress covered in footballs, KC pennants, and her dad’s number.

Brittany shared a carousel of images to Instagram to celebrate the football season returning. “Gamedays are here ❤️💛,” she captioned the photos of her family in their coordinating outfits on the field.

Patrick also shared his look to Instagram, posting a dramatic video of himself heading into the stadium. The three-time Super Bowl champion kept the caption simple, posting only an alarm clock, seemingly declaring it is game time.

That same day, Brittany, Patrick, and some of his Chiefs teammates were all seen cheering on the Kansas City Current. Travis Kelce, Creed Humphrey, Justin Watson, Isiah Pacheco, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and their significant others joined Patrick and Brittany, the latter of whom is a founding co-owner for the team.

The Kansas City Chiefs next take on the Chicago Bears on Thursday, August 22.