Iowa 988 Improvement Cooperative Agreement - Iowa 988 Improvement Cooperative Agreement Project Summary The Iowa Departments of Human Services and Public Health have joined to form the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (Iowa HHS). The Department of Human Services is the applicant agency but will be referred to as Iowa HHS throughout the application. Iowa’s 988 State Planning Team, comprised of Iowa HHS staff, will collaborate with Iowa’s two 988 Centers (Centers), CommUnity Crisis Services and Food Bank (CommUnity) and Foundation 2 Crisis Services (Foundation 2) to improve 988 services in Iowa. Increasing Iowa’s capacity to answer 988 contacts originating from Iowa will improve answer rates in Iowa, ensure Iowa contacts are first routed to Iowa’s Centers, and increase access to local behavioral health services. Iowa HHS will work with Iowa’s two 988 Centers to identify, recruit, hire, and train the needed behavioral health workforce for the successful implementation of 988. Iowa’s target population is any Iowan experiencing a behavioral health crisis. Iowa anticipates 236,044 individuals to be served through this grant, 52,140 during year one, 83,593 during year 2, and 100,311 during year 3. During the first year of 988, Iowa answered 24,820 total contacts comprised of 17,744 calls, 4,022 chats, and 3,054 texts. Iowa HHS will continue to work closely with the Centers on building capacity to answer 988 calls, chats, and texts. Iowa will continue to build off work completed during the 988 Capacity Building Cooperative Agreement to connect individuals entering Iowa’s behavioral health system through 988 with community-based services including but not limited to mobile response. Utilizing a centralized resource and referral system will increase the connection between the Centers and community-based services including crisis services, substance use services, and certified community behavioral health clinics. Iowa HHS will develop a statewide education and marketing campaign utilizing SAMHSA’s 988 toolkit to increase awareness of 988 services. Iowa HHS will continue to work closely with Iowa’s 911 program manager, public safety answer centers, and the Centers on how to best serve Iowans through both systems.
