Although suicide is well recognized as a critical problem within jails, the issue of prison suicide has not received comparable attention, primarily because the number of jail suicides far exceeds the number of prison suicides. Suicide ranks third, behind natural causes and AIDS, as the leading cause of death in prisons. The suicide rate in prisons remains greater than in the general population. The American Correctional Association standards for suicide prevention require that correctional facilities maintain a suicide prevention program that includes procedures for staff training, identification, and supervision of suicidal inmates. The standards of the National Commission on Correctional Health Care are more descriptive and include the following requirements: suicide prevention training for correctional, medical, and mental health staff; identification of suicide risk through intake screening; procedures for referral to mental health and/or medical personnel, with reassessment following a crisis period; effective communication between correctional, medical, and mental health staff when managing suicidal inmates; supervision and safe housing options for suicidal inmates; timely medical intervention following suicide attempts; and proper and/or clinical review of suicide as well as availability of critical incident debriefing for staff and inmates. Consistent with national correctional standards, the author of this article has developed an eight-step protocol for a comprehensive suicide prevention program. The components form a continuum of care aimed at minimizing suicidal behavior within adult correctional facilities. The components are outlined in this article. 39 references