Nevada 988 Capacity and Integration Project - Project Name: Nevada 988 Capacity and Integration Project Nevada will strengthen statewide 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline capacity to improve timely access to behavioral health crisis services for all Nevadans. The project will expand 988 capacity, improve follow-up and referral coordination, strengthen crisis system partnerships, and enhance cybersecurity and privacy protections to improve crisis response quality, reduce service delays, and support long-term sustainability of Nevada's Crisis Response System. The Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health will implement this three-year project to serve individuals across all 17 Nevada counties, including urban, rural, and frontier communities. The project will support children, adolescents, adults, and older adults experiencing suicidal ideation, mental health crises, substance use crises, and co-occurring behavioral health needs who access services through 988 calls, texts, and chats. Nevada will implement strategies to improve statewide 988 access and outcomes by increasing call, text, and chat answer rates through standardized protocols, performance monitoring, and quality improvement activities; expanding follow-up services through consistent referral procedures, care coordination, and substance use crisis referral protocols; strengthening collaboration among 988, 911, Tribal Nations, crisis providers, and community partners; and enhancing cybersecurity governance, privacy protections, and incident reporting processes consistent with SAMHSA, Vibrant, and State requirements. The project goals are to strengthen 988 system oversight, quality assurance, and sustainability; improve continuity of care through enhanced follow-up and referral coordination; increase integration across Nevada’s crisis response system through statewide partnerships and evaluation efforts; and maintain a secure, resilient, and compliant 988 network. Key objectives include achieving and maintaining a 90% answer rate across 988 call, text, and chat modalities; conducting ongoing quality and performance reviews of 100% of Nevada 988 Crisis Contact Centers; implementing statewide follow-up, referral, 988-911 coordination, and sentinel event review processes; engaging Tribal and crisis system partners; participating fully in SAMHSA evaluation activities; and maintaining cybersecurity governance and reporting processes. Nevada anticipates serving approximately 59,626 individuals in Year 1, 68,013 individuals in Year 2, and 76,399 individuals in Year 3 through 988 call, text, and chat services, for an estimated total of 204,038 individuals served throughout the project period.
