H.R. 8070 — Child Suicide Prevention Act

This section establishes a grant program, to be administered by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) beginning one year after enactment, under which eligible entities—including states, state or local health departments, professional health care organizations, hospitals serving youth, nonprofits, and institutions of higher education—may receive funds to establish or expand evidence-based training programs for health care providers aimed at reducing youth suicide rates. Grant recipients must use funds to train providers on (1) screening and risk assessment for at-risk youth; (2) lethal means safety counseling, including safe firearm storage; (3) youth suicide risk factors, prevention, intervention, and post-attempt support; (4) racial/ethnic disparities in youth suicide attempts; (5) methods of youth suicide attempts and related safety plans; (6) state and federal firearm laws and communication strategies; and (7) referral procedures to other services or crisis resources. Up to 15% of grant funds may be used to provide secure gun storage or safety devices at reduced or no cost to residences with at least one youth, contingent on including a community-needs-based strategy in the grant application and providing usage counseling; HHS must also provide technical assistance to grantees and providers on best practices. Grantees must submit annual reports to HHS through FY2029, which HHS will post publicly online, and HHS must submit a summary report with recommendations to Congress by the end of FY2029. This section authorizes $20 million for FY2027 through FY2030.

This section establishes a grant program under which the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), beginning one year after enactment, awards grants to eligible schools (i.e., accredited medical schools, nursing schools, physician assistant programs, mental or behavioral health programs, health care residencies or fellowships, and other HHS-determined health education schools) to develop and integrate suicide prevention and lethal means safety curricula into school curricula and continuing education. The required curricula content addresses (1) lethal means safety and injury prevention, including safe firearm and ammunition storage and applicable state and federal laws; (2) evidence-based, culturally appropriate communication with patients and families; (3) suicide prevention, intervention, and post-suicide support strategies emphasizing covered individuals and high-risk groups; (4) validated screening and risk assessment for suicide and firearm use; (5) covered risk factors; and (6) safety plans addressing suicide methods used by covered individuals. HHS must provide technical assistance to applicants and grantees; grantees must submit annual reports through FY2029, which HHS will post publicly; and HHS must report to Congress by the end of FY2029 summarizing grantee activities and recommending suicide prevention curricula. The section authorizes $10 million for FY2027 through 2030.

This section directs the Secretary to develop and maintain, not later than one year after the date of enactment, a website informing covered individuals, their family members or guardians, schools educating health care providers, and health care providers on best practices for suicide prevention and the use of firearms in suicide attempts by covered individuals. The section requires the Secretary to update the website based on reports submitted under sections 2(f) and 3(f) and, in developing it, to consult with specified stakeholders (i.e., the individuals and entities listed in subsection (a); nonprofit organizations; professional associations; local health departments; hospitals serving covered individuals; institutions of higher education; the Department of Veterans Affairs; federal firearms licensees and instructors; and others as determined by the Secretary).

This section establishes definitions for terms used in the Act. It defines (1) "covered individual" as an individual who has not attained 26 years of age; (2) "covered risk factors" as factors increasing the risk of suicide or self-harm for a covered individual (e.g., alcohol or substance use disorder, sexual or physical abuse, psychiatric diagnosis associated with suicide risk, lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/queer status, membership in a racial/ethnic group with high suicide rates, previous suicide/self-harm attempts, or other evidence-based factors such as family issues or bullying); (3) "institution of higher education" as having the meaning given in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (i.e., public or nonprofit postsecondary institutions—including those offering bachelor's degrees, two-year programs acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor's, or vocational programs of at least one year leading to gainful employment—that admit only students with a high school diploma or equivalent, are state-authorized, and accredited or preaccredited); (4) "Secretary" as the Secretary of Health and Human Services; (5) "secure gun storage or safety device" as having the meaning given in 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(34)(A) and (B) (i.e., a device designed to prevent unauthorized use or access to a firearm); and (6) "State" as each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories/possessions, Indian tribes/tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations.