988 State and Territory Cooperative Agreements

The purpose of these cooperative agreements is to improve state and territory response to 988 contacts (including calls, chats, and texts) originating in the state/territory by: (1) recruiting, hiring and training behavioral health workforce to staff local 988/Lifeline centers to respond, intervene, and provide follow-up to individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis; (2) engaging Lifeline crisis centers to unify 988 response across states/territories; and (3) expanding the crisis center staffing and response structure needed for the successful implementation of 988. It is expected that these grants will: (1) ensure all calls originating in a state/territory first route to a local, regional and/or statewide Lifeline crisis call center; (2) improve state/territory response rates to meet minimum key performance indicators; and (3) increase state/territory support capacity to meet 988 crisis contact demand.