State health officials, unsure they have the money or staff to respond to an expected flood of calls to 988 — the new mental health hotline number — are tempering expectations just days ahead of its launch
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The concerns come at a time when the Biden administration, Congress and public health experts say mental health challenges are too often unaddressed, and at least partly responsible for increases in drug overdose deaths,Becerra earlier this month lamented that most states — more than half of which were still sending a significant chunk of their crisis calls to an out-of-state backup call center as of May — still have not secured the needed funding and workforce for an expected surge in...
But local centers’ capacity to answer calls, texts and chats varies significantly. Some states have had 24/7 crisis call centers, while others are only now expanding to round-the-clock operations. Some have more than a dozen call centers, while others have one. Some have long paid their staff while others are only now supplementing their volunteer teams with paid employees.
The legislature in May 2021 voted to allow the Board of Health to establish a cell phone fee to fund 988 to bring in more money to enhance the program but implementation has been stalled by bureaucratic delays and technical issues over how to transfer the money from telecommunications companies to the state.
that will increase to 40 cents in January. It is expected to generate $36.1 million this fiscal year, according to. Colorado has put in place an 18 cent fee and both states are using that funding to hire additional staff in an effort to boost their in-state call answer rates of 63 percent and 51 percent, respectively.
Tara Gamboa-Eastman, senior advocate at the Steinberg Institute, a mental health care advocacy group that has been advocating for the passage of the 988 fee in California, said she believes the state’s 13 centers are prepared for the July 16 launch but that the program won’t work as it is envisioned in the long-term without a stable revenue stream.
“It’s certainly comforting for callers if you know that your call is being answered, at least within your own region and, in our case, within your own state,” said Matthew Wintersteen, an associate professor at Thomas Jefferson University who has been working with Pennsylvania to boost its in-state answer rate. “If they’re not more local to you, within your own state, for example, it’s harder for them to connect to the available services that might be in those communities.
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