Oklahoma 988 State and Territory Local Capacity Building Grant - The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) requests $2,246,946 through the FY 2026 Cooperative Agreements for States and Territories to Improve Local 988 Capacity program to strengthen Oklahoma's statewide 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and Comprehensive Crisis Response (OCCR) system. Building upon Oklahoma's successful statewide implementation of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and OCCR system, this project will strengthen behavioral health workforce capacity, improve quality and performance, enhance statewide coordination, expand public awareness and understanding of 988 services, and ensure the long-term sustainability of Oklahoma's behavioral health crisis response system. Rather than creating new services, the project will strengthen Oklahoma's existing statewide crisis infrastructure to improve access, quality, coordination, continuity of care, and long-term system performance. The project will serve all 77 Oklahoma counties by strengthening statewide capacity to respond to children, adolescents, adults, older adults, veterans, Tribal communities, rural and frontier populations, and other individuals experiencing suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts, serious mental illness, substance use crises, overdose-related emergencies, emotional distress, and other behavioral health crises requiring immediate intervention. Funding will support statewide workforce recruitment, retention, supervision, training, and workforce well-being initiatives; standardized referral, warm handoff, and follow-up protocols; enhanced quality assurance and continuous quality improvement; improved coordination among 988, mobile crisis response, crisis stabilization services, Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs), RideCARE, 911, Tribal Nations, and community partners; participation in SAMHSA's National Cross-Site Evaluation; Sentinel Event reviews; cybersecurity monitoring and incident reporting consistent with Appendix B; development of a comprehensive Sustainability Plan; and enhancement of statewide public awareness and communication activities. Project goals are to: (1) strengthen Oklahoma's statewide 988 workforce capacity and service quality; (2) improve statewide access, coordination, and continuity of behavioral health crisis care; (3) strengthen statewide system performance, quality improvement, evaluation, and long-term sustainability; and (4) enhance statewide public awareness and communication to improve understanding of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and Oklahoma's behavioral health crisis continuum. Measurable objectives include maintaining or exceeding a 90 percent in-state answer rate for 988 telephone contacts; improving in-state response rates for chat and text contacts; strengthening workforce recruitment, retention, supervision, training, and workforce well-being initiatives; implementing standardized referral, warm handoff, and follow-up processes; enhancing statewide coordination and public awareness; participating in all required National Cross-Site Evaluation activities; implementing statewide quality improvement and cybersecurity activities; and completing a Sustainability Plan at least six months prior to the end of the project period. These objectives advance SAMHSA's Strategic Priorities by strengthening crisis intervention services, improving access to evidence-based behavioral health care, enhancing continuity of care, supporting recovery, strengthening the behavioral health workforce, and improving statewide system performance and sustainability.
