The MA988 Project will reside within the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) Suicide Prevention Program (SPP). MDPH SPP funds five crisis call centers that handle Lifeline responses, including Samaritans Inc., Mass211/Call2Talk, Samaritans on Cape Cod and the Islands, Samaritans Southcoast, and Samaritans of Merrimack Valley. All Lifeline calls are routed on a county-level basis to one of these centers, with geographic coverage in all 14 MA counties. In FY21, MA was routed approximately 46,285 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (NSPL) calls; 32,729 (71%) were answered in-state. The MA 988 project has three broad goals to effect meaningful systemic change by building statewide and crisis call center capacity to provide comprehensive and coordinated crisis care to Lifeline callers. MDPH SPP aims to increase MA in-state answer rate on the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to a minimum of 90%.
Goal 1 objectives: Centers will develop and begin implementing hiring plans to expand staff capacity to respond to calls; hiring plans will incorporate flexible staffing models to respond to increased demand upon the 988 program launch; by July 1, 2022, MDPH increase the number of local crisis centers that operate on a 24/7/365 basis from two centers to five centers; by September 1, 2022, all five crisis centers will develop surge capacity response plans following a public service announcement, disaster, or other traumatic events; by July 1, 2022, centers will develop the capacity to collect, report, and analyze core universal metrics; quarterly throughout the grant period, MDPH will meet with centers to discuss performance, progress, policies, and procedures; and every six months, MDPH will monitor the routing coverage map and adjust based on capacity and response structure. Second, MDPH will ensure MA 988 callers receive a comprehensive, coordinated, and appropriate level of care and follow-up across the statewide crisis services continuum.
Goal 2 objectives: MDPH will continue to convene the 988 Implementation Team to engage crisis services continuum partners across the state to establish uniform policies and procedures; on-demand training modules for centers on policies, procedures, transfer logistics, and resources for high-risk populations, including veterans will be developed; and by July 1, 2022, the 988 Implementation Team will develop a quality improvement plan for implementing referral emergency interventions and follow-up services for those callers identified at imminent risk of suicide. A state plan to sustain a 90% in-state answer rate of MA-initiated 988 calls and build capacity to respond to chat and text-based contacts will be developed.
Goal 3 objectives: Develop a sustainability plan to maintain center capacity and Lifeline metrics beyond the grant period; and develop a plan to expand the response to Lifeline chat and text requests. MDPH will implement all 988 required activities related to distributing SAMHSA funds, expanding surge capacity, data collection and reporting, ongoing communication. supporting staff expansion, aligning national, state and local performance measures, quality improvement, veteran and service member support, strengthening outreach and follow-up for at-risk callers, expanding capacity to respond to chat and text requests, sustainability, and workforce training. MDPH will partner with the University of Massachusetts to conduct an independent evaluation. The evaluation team will work closely with the 988 Implementation Team throughout the two-year grant period monitoring all grant activities and providing regular feedback on the Key Performance Indicators.