Saturday, September 7, 2024
9/7/2024
South Dakota 988: State Improvement is a continuation of the joint venture undertaken by the state's only Lifeline crisis center, Helpline Center, and the Department of Social Services (DSS), Division of Behavioral Health (DBH) to assure calls, chats, and texts from South Dakotans experiencing mental health crisis are assisted by in-state resources. The South Dakota 988 State Improvement project will dedicate resources to assuring statewide awareness of available resources to all South Dakotans including Native American and high-risk populations across the state. DSS will allocate funds to launch statewide marketing campaigns. DSS dedicate additional funds to assure comprehensive evaluations of mental health crisis services will be complete as part of this project. Additionally, DSS will continue to engage the Behavioral Health Crisis Response Stakeholder Coalition (BHCRSC), formed in February 2021 as part of the 988 Planning Grant from Vibrant, to inform the evolution of the state's 988 and mental health crisis response systems. This project builds upon the work completed and outlined by the 988 planning coalition, and the 988 implementation and supplemental grants. The Helpline Center is the only entity in the state accredited by the Alliance for Information and Referral Systems, and the only entity in the state that provides a certified crisis line through the American Association of Suicidology. In July 2022, The Helpline Center launched a separate division to house the 988 call center, with shared administration services provided by existing Helpline Center staff. The new 988 call center is housed in the same location as the existing 211-based information and referral call center, but staff separately due to the unique staff and qualifications required for answering 988 calls. The service continuation and improvement approach centers on four key goal areas, all of which build off of initial planning efforts outlined in the state's 988 implementation plan. Key areas of focus center around workforce capacity building, statewide targeted communication plans, evaluation of services including the three pillars of the Crisis Now model (1-Someone to Talk To, 2-Someone to Respond, and 3-Somewhere to Go), and building relationships across mental health crisis response services providers including 988. All four goals will be managed by the Project Director and Co-Director, with considerable input from the Lifeline crisis center / Helpline Center leadership and 988 call center staff. The BHCRSC will continue to convene as an advisory resource for the Directors and Helpline Center team and will be instrumental in ultimately increasing access to quality, responsive behavioral health care for South Dakotans experiencing crisis. Key performance indicators and other measures have been identified in alignment with existing 988 metrics, the required SAMHSA infrastructure, the prevention and promotion indicators, and those that will aid the state in understanding 988 call center workforce staffing, partnership development, and the disposition of people supported by 988 call center staff as capacity expands and public awareness increases.
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).
