Monday, April 29, 2024
4/29/2024
988 Alabama Building Capacity Improvement (988 ABC Improvement) project is to assist Alabama, primarily a rural state, with the improvement of capacity building efforts to ensure state originated crisis calls are properly routed and answered and sufficiently equipped to meet 988 demand. The goals of 988 ABC Improvement are to: Improve workforce recruitment, retention, and training efforts to ensure necessary capacity for Someone to Call, Someone to Respond, and Somewhere to Go to reduce the number of jail bookings and hospital ED boarding time due to a behavioral health crisis and increase crisis support services; Implement applicable technology and security measures to ensure effective coordination across the continuum to support the Someone to Call, Someone to Respond, and Somewhere to Go framework to increase coordinated services and prevent service delays; Improve Alabama capacity to readily assess and identify 988 service need as it relates to high-risk and underserved populations to effectively address health disparities and achieve health equity; Develop and implement quality assurance plans and processes that include systematic reviews to address the identification and review of critical incidents to ensure state crisis response criteria is achieved; and Implement the comprehensive 988 communication plan and ensure Alabama communication strategies are culturally relevant and align with the 988-partner toolkit developed by SAMHSA to support local 988 needs. The objectives are to: By January 2024, Alabama Lifeline centers will be at optimal capacity to obtain a state call answer rate, chat, and text response to meet or exceed 90% of total calls received; By February 2024, the specifications of technology and security measures will be outlined to ensure effective coordination with 911, mobile crisis response or crisis stabilization services as indicated by the mobile crisis service report and the joint report to the Alabama 911 Executive Director; By December 2023, establish statewide demographic data collection methods for analysis, evidenced by the development of quantitative and qualitative tools, while ensuring safeguards of individual information that is consistent with applicable state and federal laws to address high-risk and underserved populations; By September 2024, establish quality assurance protocols, evidenced by a quality assurance plan to be submitted to SAMHSA one year after the project award, for the identification and review of critical incidents as defined by state criterion and supported by SAMHSA; and By December 2023, fully implement the 988-communication strategy and messaging, measured by analytics reports, to reach universal populations, across the lifespan, within the state through platforms such as digital billboards, indoor screens, television, radio, print and online digital ads. The goals and objectives outlined will ensure every Alabamian, 5,074,296 individuals, have access to crisis care support and services as needed. Based on Vibrant's Broad State Metrics Report from June 2022 to May 2023, Alabama received 30,577 calls through the Lifeline. Understanding that the call demand is anticipated to increase, the annual number of persons served will include a 25% increase of the current call volume which is 38,221 annually and 114,663 persons over the three years of the project period. Persons served will be reflective of the entire demographic composition of the state. Service implementation will be available to all population characteristics and will ensure meeting the needs of persons underserved or unserved and providing equitable access to crisis care services.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
