Strengthening 911/988 coordination and follow-up services - compass health network (CHN) proposes a three-year initiative to expand and strengthen coordination between missouri's 988 suicide &…

The Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded Compass Health, Inc. (doing business as Pathways Community Behavioral Healthcare) $250,000 on September 30, 2026, under the 988 and Behavioral Health Crisis Services Programs (CFDA 93.00R).

The award funds a three-year initiative to expand and strengthen coordination between Missouri's 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and local public safety answering points (PSAPs) across a 26-county service area. The project expands 911 diversion efforts, enhances post-crisis follow-up services, and strengthens 911/988 system coordination to improve continuity of care, reduce suicide risk, and increase engagement in treatment and recovery supports. Compass Health serves as the designated 988 provider for 26 Missouri counties and operates mobile crisis outreach teams, behavioral health crisis centers, and Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic services. The organization maintains memoranda of understanding with 19 PSAPs and coordinates across the behavioral health crisis continuum. The target population includes youth and adults experiencing behavioral health crises, with particular focus on individuals expressing suicidal ideation, behavior, or risk.

The service area encompasses four regions serving predominantly rural communities with barriers to behavioral health access. More than 10,500 individuals received mental health-related services through emergency department encounters in the past performance period, demonstrating substantial demand for crisis services and follow-up care.

Performance runs through September 29, 2029, with work based at Raymore, Missouri.

Strengthening 911/988 coordination and follow-up services - compass health network (CHN) proposes a three-year initiative to expand and strengthen coordination between missouri's 988 suicide & crisis lifeline and local public safety answering points (PSAPS) across a 26-county service area. The project will expand 911 diversion efforts, enhance post-crisis follow-up services, and strengthen coordination between 911 and 988 systems to improve continuity of care, reduce suicide risk, and increase engagement in treatment and recovery supports. CHN serves as the designated 988 suicide & crisis lifeline provider for 26 missouri counties and operates a comprehensive crisis continuum that includes mobile crisis outreach teams (MCOTS), behavioral health crisis centers (BHCCS), and certified community behavioral health clinic (CCBHC) services. CHN also maintains memoranda of understanding (MOUS) with 19 public safety answering points (PSAPS) and has established partnerships that support coordination across the behavioral health crisis continuum. Many communities within the service area are rural and experience barriers to behavioral health access, requiring strong coordination across emergency response, crisis intervention, and treatment systems. The project will address identified capacity needs related to 911/988 interoperability, behavioral health crisis diversion, and post-crisis follow-up services. Across CHN's four regions included in the proposed project, more than 10,500 individuals received mental health-related services through an emergency department encounter, demonstrating substantial demand for crisis services and follow-up care. The population of focus for services includes youth and adults experiencing behavioral health crises, including individuals identified through 988 contacts and local public safety answering points (PSAPS), with a particular focus on individuals expressing suicidal ideation, behavior, or risk; individuals identified at imminent risk who require emergency intervention or mobile crisis outreach team (MCOT) services; and individuals experiencing substance use-related crises. Through expanded psap partnerships, standardized diversion protocols, follow-up services, training and technical assistance, stakeholder engagement, and continuous quality improvement activities, CHN will strengthen local crisis response capacity and improve coordination between 911 and 988 systems throughout the service area. Goals for this project include: goal 1: strengthen stakeholder engagement & collaboration between 911 and 988 systems. Key objectives include establishing MOUS with PSAPS and updating stakeholder engagement plans. Goal 2: improve diversion and coordination of behavioral health crisis calls. Key objectives include increasing 911/988 call transfers and implementing a familiar caller engagement plan. Goal 3: enhance post-crisis follow-up and connections to care through evidence-based interventions. Key objectives include conducting risk assessments and safety plans, dispatching MCOTS, linking individuals to services following 988 contact or 911 diversion referral. Goal 4: build workforce capacity through training and technical assistance. Key objectives include providing cross-training to all CHN's crisis line staff and at least 100 psap personnel. Goal 5: monitor program performance and support continuous quality improvement. Key objectives include collecting and analyzing project data, conducting stakeholder interviews, and providing reports for project evaluation and samhsa-required reporting. Goal 6: strengthen the long-term sustainability of 911/988 diversion efforts. Key indicators include convening a grant advisory committee and seeking opportunities to support long-term sustainability.