Dhcs 988 cooperative agreement - the state of california's department of health care services (dhcs) will partner with didi hirsch mental health services to oversee workforce expansion, training, data…

Dhcs 988 cooperative agreement - the state of california's department of health care services (dhcs) will partner with didi hirsch mental health services to oversee workforce expansion, training, data collection and analysis, and collaboration among california's 13 lifeline crisis centers in preparation for the launch of 988. Dhcs will work with didi hirsch to develop plans that ensure all lifeline crisis centers throughout the state have the appropriate workforce, technology, and other capacity needs to meet the anticipated increase in call, chat, and text volume. As the nation's most populous state, california experiences the largest amount of calls to the national suicide prevention lifeline. In 2020, about 1 out of 8 calls to the lifeline originated in california. Of 304,222 calls, 20% were transferred to the veteran's crisis line and 8,810 were handled through the spanish language line. Between 2016 and 2020, california lifeline volume increased 67%. The anticipated demand for calls, chats, and texts from the state of california for the first year of 988 implementation is 899,100. This represents nearly a 300% increase from the 312,261 calls, chats, and texts originating throughout the state during 2021. To handle over 1.5 million individuals over expected calls, chats, and texts throughout the two-year project period, dhcs will distribute funds to each crisis center and coordinate statewide planning to ensure the adoption of consistent policies and procedures that maximize the effectiveness of suicide crisis services throughout california, including the ability of all 13 call centers to link 988 callers with 911 and relevant local mental health and substance use disorder services. By the end of the grant period, dhcs will meet the following goals and objectives with the support of didi hirsch as its lead partner: goal 1: recruit, hire, and train behavioral health workforce to staff california lifeline centers to respond, intervene, and provide follow-up to individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis. Objective 1.1: dhcs will directly support the workforce of state selected lifeline crisis centers via subcontracts to ensure 100% state or territory coverage of calls and greater than 90% answer rate by end of grant. Objective 1.2: by june 2023, staff and volunteers at all 13 california lifeline crisis centers will have access to a statewide directory of behavioral health resources (e.g. behavioral health access lines, crisis lines, warm lines, behavioral health crisis triage services, peer warm lines, and health plans) for information, linkage, and referrals when appropriate. Goal 2: engage lifeline crisis centers to unify 988 response across california. Objective 2.1 by april 2022, dhcs will develop and disseminate a standard data collection and analysis protocol among the 13 california lifeline crisis centers. Goal 3: expand california's crisis center staffing and response structure needed for the successful implementation of 988. Objective 3.1 by july 2022, all 13 california lifeline crisis centers will answer at least 90% of nspl calls. Objective 3.2 by july 2023, all california lifeline crisis centers will provide at least 8 hours of nspl chat/text services.