Tuesday, March 21, 2023
3/21/2023
This project will establish a new 988 coordinating position embedded in Maine’s statewide crisis call center—the Maine Crisis Line (MCL). The MCL 988 Coordinator will actively partner with Maine’s Office of Behavioral Health to build the foundational collaborations and cross-sector connections being forged across the crisis system as Maine plans for 988 implementation. As an integral part of the state and local 988 Community of Practice, the 988 MCL Coordinator will play a pivotal role in the success of 988 by strengthening state and local efforts to effectively leverage 988 as a catalyst for Maine’s broader crisis system transformation. Additionally, as 988 is activated and marketed locally and nationally, the corresponding projected rise in call volume will necessitate increased staffing infrastructure in order to achieve SAMHSA’s national standard of a 90% in-state call answer rate. The MCL 988 Coordinator will be fully trained to serve as auxiliary crisis call answering staff, enhancing MCL’s ability to maintain effective operations in the case of an unexpected surge in demand or a workforce shortage. This enhanced staffing capacity and resilience will serve to ensure effective and appropriate care for those in crisis, and to enhance and accelerate coordination of Maine’s 988 crisis system. Goals and objectives: Goal 1 - Enhance and strengthen coordination between state and local entities for the implementation of 988 crisis response system to ensure successful launch and ongoing development of 988 crisis call center in the context of broader crisis system development. Objective 1 - A robust system of collaboration, planning and reporting between DHHS-OBH, Maine’s crisis call center, and crisis system stakeholders. Objective 2 - A dynamic, issue-focused 988 Crisis Response Community of Practice (988 COP), holding monthly meetings to strategize efficient and effective cross-sector crisis response. Goal 2 - Increase integration and interoperability of crisis call center with key elements of the crisis response system to ensure seamless and appropriate crisis response. Objective 1 - Define 3-5 priority issues to solve, starting with 911/988 interoperability. Objective 2 - Develop proposals, implementation plans and trainings for operational and policy changes required to solve the identified priority issues, starting with 911/988 interoperability. Goal 3 - Expand 988 crisis call center capacity to meet national operational standards. Objective 1 - Increase staffing capacity. Objective 2 - Achieve target answer rate of 90% Objective 3 - Develop chat/text and follow-up plans. Objective 4 - Support adoption of real-time service locator tool.
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).
