Project Grant H79FG001481

The Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma $1.5 million on September 30, 2026, under the 988 and Behavioral Health Crisis Services Programs (CFDA 93.00R) to expand tribal access to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline for American Indian and Alaska Native individuals across north-central Oklahoma.

The Iowa Tribe will place a trained Native liaison at a state 988 call center, maintain dedicated crisis therapists, and operate school-based suicide prevention programming at Perkins-Tryon Elementary, Middle, and High School. The tribe will lead a statewide Oklahoma Tribal 988 Workgroup to connect tribal nations with 988 crisis centers, building on two prior federally funded projects to close gaps in culturally responsive crisis care for AI/AN individuals. The project serves a catchment area spanning Payne, Lincoln, and Logan Counties, home to 16,306 AI/AN residents, with particular emphasis on youth and families experiencing elevated suicide risk.

Performance runs through September 29, 2029, with place of performance at Perkins, Oklahoma. Direct services reach AI/AN children, youth, and adults across the catchment area. The funding supports the Iowa Tribe's role as a coordinating hub for tribal 988 crisis response within Oklahoma's tribal crisis system, addressing persistent capacity gaps in the statewide 988 network's ability to identify, serve, and warm-transfer AI/AN callers to tribal resources.