AB 1540

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: LGBTQ+ youth

AB 1540 — 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: LGBTQ+ Youth CFC Position: OPPOSE The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is a national mental health resource designed to help anyone in crisis reach help quickly. AB 1540 would require California to build a specialized routing system within 988 so that callers who press "3" are automatically connected to LGBTQ+-focused crisis providers. The bill also creates a $5 million grant program to fund organizations that provide these specialized services. Every child struggling with mental health deserves compassionate, effective care. CFC's concern is not with helping hurting youth — it's with how they are helped. This bill steers vulnerable young people toward providers ideologically committed to affirming LGBTQ+ identities, rather than offering neutral, evidence-based support. Families have a God-given right to guide their children's care, especially during a mental health crisis. Routing minors to advocacy-driven organizations — without parental knowledge or consent — bypasses that authority entirely. California families deserve a 988 system that helps every child, not one that advances a particular social agenda at taxpayer expense. AB 1540 is currently moving through the California State Legislature.

Existing federal law, the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020, designates the 3-digit telephone number “988” as the universal number within the United States for the purpose of the national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline system operating through the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Existing law, the Miles Hall Lifeline and Suicide Prevention Act, requires, among other things, the Office of Emergency Services (OES) to verify that technology that allows for transfers between 988 centers, as well as between 988 centers and 911 public safety answering points, is available to 988 centers and 911 public safety answering points throughout the state, to appoint a 988 system director, and to verify interoperability between and across 911 and 988. Existing law establishes the 988 State Suicide and Behavioral Health Crisis Services Fund and provides that 988 surcharge revenue in the fund is available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for purposes of the act. This bill would require OES to, no later than June 1, 2027, request the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to enable a press 3 function for calls originating in the State of California to allow callers to dial 988 and press “3” to be automatically routed to a specialized call center. The bill would require OES to, no later than 12 months following the approval by SAMHSA, ensure that the specified technologies are available. This bill would require, no later than 12 months following approval by SAMHSA, the California Health and Human Services Agency to identify and contract with a qualified entity or entities that specialize in LGBTQ+ suicide prevention services. The bill would require the agency to determine the eligibility criteria, establish an application process, and administer funds to the qualified entity, as specified. The bill would require a qualified entity to comply with various requirements, including having a primary objective of reducing suicide rates or addressing mental health crises. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.