December 3, 2026: Community Members to Testify at Sunset Committee Hearing at the Capitol in Austin

We are mobilizing over a dozen family members to provide oral testimony at the Sunset hearings on HHSC in Austin.

Texas agencies are reviewed once every 12 years for “relevancy and efficiency” by the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission. This year Texas Health & Human Services (HHSC) is under Sunset Review.

The Sunset process is a critical opportunity for community members to provide insight to our lawmakers on gaps and barriers in the public health system that are directly driving incarceration of people with mental illness into Texas county jails.

This is our chance to reverse the horrific trend of the county jail system being used as the largest warehouse of Texans with mental illness and IDD. If you or a loved one has been criminalized for mental illness or a developmental disability, you can provide valuable input. Please contact us at info@texasjailproject.org

Leading up to the Sunset Hearing on Dec 3, Texas Jail Project will release a series of TikTok videos that document the mental health crisis-to-prison pipeline and offer solutions and recommendations to HHSC to provide care, not cages to our communities. Follow Texas Jail Project on TikTok.

Read more about the Sunset Review and TJP’s mobilization effort here: Texas Sunset Review offers chance to address the mental health crisis-to-prison pipeline.