Legis
Healthcare
AB 1956, Chapter 163, Statutes of 2026 · Friday 28 August 2026

Suicide prevention

California authorizes its suicide-prevention office to give special attention to boys and young men and requires a 2028 strategy report.

The law adds boys and young men to the populations the state may prioritize in suicide-prevention work. It also requires public reporting on how those targeted activities could be carried out if the office is established.

What the law does

  • Allows the Office of Suicide Prevention to give special attention to boys within its youth-focused activities.
  • Allows the office to focus activities on young men.
  • Requires the office, if established, to report to the Legislature by July 1, 2028, on strategies for implementing activities focused on boys and young men.

Who it affects

  • Boys and young men who may be the focus of state suicide-prevention activities.
  • The State Department of Public Health and its Office of Suicide Prevention, if established.
  • The Legislature, which must receive the implementation-strategy report.

Context

The Office of Suicide Prevention remains optional for the State Department of Public Health to establish, and the report requirement ends July 1, 2032.