Saturday, March 15, 2025
3/15/2025
To assure the successful launch and continuing operations of 988 beginning in July 2022, Vibrant Emotional Health (Vibrant) will apply $152M over two years to expand workforce and infrastructure for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline's national backup centers, text/chat centers, Spanish language centers, and specialized services for high-risk populations to effectively serve all persons in mental health or suicidal crisis seeking help through 988. 988 has the potential to benefit 39M people annually, with nearly 3.6M projected contacts to 988 in FY22 and over 7.5M in FY23. To fortify the network's safety net in preparation for 988's projected demand, an unprecedented increase in funding will be provided to the national phone backup and digital crisis centers to fully dedicate workforce resources (responders, trainers, supervisors, wellness supports) towards the goal of reaching a 911-equivalent standard of 95% of calls answered in 20 seconds. Vibrant will maximize workforce efficiencies in FY23 when all national phone, chat, and text counselors will be required to log into a unified platform, allowing 988 contacts to be immediately routed to the first available counselor across all national centers. To better assure continuing care and safety for individuals at risk contacting 988, Vibrant will enable all national services to have the training and staffing resources necessary to provide follow-up contacts for persons presenting with some suicidal risk. Vibrant will establish 988 national communities of practice with 911 (PSAPs) and mobile crisis response stakeholders, building and maintaining national databases of local resources, as well as co-creating and implementing optimal protocols for national centers' coordination of community dispatch for local crisis outreach and emergency services. Vibrant will continue its successful partnership with the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) to assure that veterans and their family members contacting 988 can readily access VCL or other support services specifically designed to address their needs. Further, Vibrant's new Equity and Belonging division will collaborate with a diverse range of experts and organizations towards establishing rapid access to culturally competent services to effectively address the needs of individuals from higher risk and historically marginalized communities. To achieve this goal, Vibrant will begin with implementing 988 pilot projects for optimally serving persons from LBGTQ+, American Indian/Alaskan Native, and Deaf/Hard of Hearing communities. Vibrant will enhance uniform service quality for all persons accessing 988 by developing and requiring an online training program for all 988 counselors, comprising best practices in engagement, assessment, and intervention for people in crisis. A Lifeline QI department will collect and monitor data on key performance indicators (KPIs) for centers, which will be used to refine supervision, training, and quality assurance efforts across all national services. Vibrant will work closely with states and local crisis centers to align KPI expectations across the network, as well as enhance network-wide 988 workforce recruitment, development, and management.
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).