BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2809

By: Rose

Human Services

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

According to the 2024 update to the Report on Suicide and Suicide Prevention in Texas published by the Statewide Behavioral Health Coordinating Council, youth in foster care are almost four times more likely to have thought about or attempted suicide than those who have never been in foster care. The report also indicated that the rate of suicide mortality for youth in the foster care system was more than twice the rate for youth in Texas for two years in 2020 and 2021, and that one reason for this higher rate could be that youth in the foster care system experience higher rates of trauma and adverse childhood experiences than children outside that system. While the suicide rate for youth in the foster care system recently decreased to zero suicide deaths in 2022 and in 2023, this is a small population, which can result in the suicide mortality rate fluctuating significantly, and a suicide mortality rate of zero does not mean there were zero suicide attempts among youth in foster care.

C.S.H.B. 2809 seeks to address this issue by requiring the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to include in its annual report of child protection statistics the number of children who attempted suicide while in DFPS managing conservatorship in the preceding year and by classifying a suicide attempt as a significant change in medical condition that triggers requirements for DFPS to provide notice to certain individuals with respect to a child in DFPS managing conservatorship.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2809 amends the Family Code to change the deadline by which the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) is required to provide to the legislature its annual report of child protection statistics, publish the report, and make the report available electronically to the public from not later than February 1 of each year to not later than August 1 of each year. The bill requires DFPS to include in the report the number of children who attempted suicide while in DFPS managing conservatorship in the preceding year. The bill classifies a suicide attempt as a significant change in medical condition that triggers requirements for DFPS to provide notice to certain individuals with respect to a child in DFPS managing conservatorship.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 2809 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute includes a provision absent from the introduced that changes the deadline by which DFPS is required to provide to the legislature its annual report of child protection statistics, publish the report, and make the report available electronically to the public from not later than February 1 of each year to not later than August 1 of each year.