Thursday, December 26, 2024
12/26/2024
The MA988 Improvement Project will reside within the Massachusetts (MA) Department of Public Health (MDPH) Suicide Prevention Program (SPP). MDPH SPP funds five crisis call centers that operate 24/7 to handle 988 Lifeline call responses. All 988 Lifeline calls are routed on a county-level basis to provide statewide coverage. With grant funding, MDPH will improve its response to 988 phone contacts, localize response to chats and texts, fulfill required activities outlined in the NOFO, and address operational gaps due to systems challenges, workforce shortages, and training needs through five goals with associated objectives. MDPH anticipates serving a minimum of 55,000 individuals in the first year of the project and 165,000 individuals over the total project period (3 years). MDPH aims to achieve and sustain a minimum in-state answer rate of 90% for calls, chats, and texts received on the 988 Lifeline (Goal 1) through the following objectives: distribute grant funds to five Lifeline centers; identify a chat/text vendor and collaboratively work with SAMHSA and Vibrant to locally provide these services; support centers in developing the capacity to report on workforce data, including but not limited to recruitment activity, staff hired, staff trained, and staffing vacancies; require centers to conduct an organizational scan to identify workforce gaps and create a staffing and hiring plan that identifies the positions, FTEs, and resources needed to achieve and maintain a minimum answer rate and 20 sec. avg. response speed; review the statewide 988 Lifeline routing map and adjust as necessary based on capacity and performance indicators; and develop a statewide sustainability plan to maintain workforce capacity and performance on key indicators on all calls, chats, and texts. MDPH aims to create a robust, coordinated, and comprehensive crisis service system that ensures services for anyone, anytime, and anywhere (Goal 2) through the following objectives: develop a report of the state's current mobile crisis system that identifies existing integration with 988 Lifeline and proposed improvements for connection; produce a joint report on the current 988 and 911 structures and collaborations across the state, including a trackable process improvement plan for the grant project period; engage with the funder and administrator of the MA Substance Use Helpline to review and modify appropriate protocols and referral resources for 988 contacts requiring substance use crisis care; have centers conduct an IT security audit and implement the best practices of infrastructure and site reliability to safeguard information and information systems against outages or threats; and deploy centralized training to the workforce that supports statewide policies and procedures. MDPH aims to improve 988 Lifeline services for high-risk and underserved populations (Goal 3) through the following objectives: centers will train their workforce on collecting demographic information and call disposition status; MDPH will submit a Behavioral Disparity Impact Statement; centers will develop the operational capacity to conduct follow-up activities on 988 contacts, including those in imminent danger or referred for mobile crisis support or crisis stabilization services; develop a plan to engage and support all Tribes and Tribal Organizations within the state to ensure effective 988 services are provided for tribal members; and collaboratively identify gaps in continuing education opportunities for the workforce and develop a universal training plan with Vibrant and centers. MDPH will increase awareness and utilization of 988 services among MA residents (Goal 4) by launching a comprehensive and informed statewide awareness campaign that aligns with the SAMHSA 988 partner toolkit. MDPH will deliver Lifeline services to reduce the incidence of suicide attempts and deaths across MA (Goal 5) by developing a comprehensive quality assurance plan.
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).