Let's set our hearts and champion the needs of our young people. #TimetoThrive
Let's set our hearts and champion the needs of our young people. #TimetoThrive
988 Implementation & Crisis Response
988 Implementation & Crisis Response: The federal National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020 (“Designation Act”) designated “988” as "the universal telephone number for reaching a national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline system operating through the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.” The new 3-digit number for the Lifeline will be operational nationwide by July 16, although the current 10-digit number (800-273-8255) will remain operational during and after the transition. Since early 2021, the Missouri Department of
Mental Health (DMH) and stakeholders within the Missouri 988 Planning Grant Task Force have been addressing crisis coordination, capacity, funding, and communication strategies, which are foundational to a comprehensive 988 crisis response continuum. This continuum includes:
1. Someone to talk to (24/7 crisis call centers)
2. Someone to respond (mobile crisis response teams)
3. Somewhere to go (crisis respite and stabilization centers).
Currently, Missouri's top priority is to build enough capacity to ensure 24/7 statewide coverage to answer 988 calls, chats, and texts for each of the state's 114 counties and the City of St. Louis. Federal funding is minimal for Lifeline call centers, so our call centers in Missouri therefore rely on and need ample, reliable, and sustainable funding from state and local contributors to operate and meet growing community crisis needs. Since 2020, state budget funding has allowed Missouri to expand from two call centers to seven, and from five crisis stabilization centers to eleven. Each of the state’s counties will be covered by one of the seven 988 call centers, which meet monthly to integrate their systems to coordinate and help reach rural areas of the state where complete coverage is more challenging. To support DMH and the task force in continuing this work, we strongly encourage the legislature to:
Support future legislative efforts to provide sustainable funding for 988 services in Missouri. The Designation Act included language to allow states to enact laws that provide for 988 and crisis service funding in the same way that 911 is funded, through state-managed monthly telecom user fees. Implementing a 988 fee would create a permanent, consistent, and reliable funding mechanism for suicide and mental health crisis response in much the same way we fund 911 and EMS response. It would allow Missouri to create a full continuum of crisis care, and fee revenue would have the potential to increase beyond the upcoming biennium.
Dedicate state general funds for the 988 crisis response system. Please support the $28.5 million set aside for 988 in the Governor’s proposed FY ’23 budget. Funding from diverse revenue streams will critical for a smooth and effective rollout of 988, and state general funds will be especially necessary until fee revenue builds and can be distributed.
A 988 crisis services system that is effectively resourced and promoted will reduce healthcare spending with early intervention, reduce the burden on emergency rooms and law enforcement, and improve outcomes for individuals experiencing a mental health or suicidal crisis. It will also ensure more equitable access to and fill gaps in the current crisis response system, particularly those that affect rural and underserved communities.
Student Mental Health:
In Missouri, 57.3% of children with major depression (37,000) do not receive treatment, and all but two of the state’s counties are considered mental health professional shortage areas. Missouri children and teens are continuing to experience significant stressors and disruptions related to the pandemic. Rates of psychological distress among youth, including symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions have increased, as have the number of young people visiting the emergency department for mental health emergencies and suspected suicide attempts. Transparency and easily accessible information can reduce the stigma surrounding mental health conditions and suicide and reinforce the notion that it is a sign of strength to seek help. We therefore ask the legislature to:
Support HB 2238 [Appelbaum], HB 2136 [Kelley], & SB 1142 [Hough] to require public and charter schools serving students in grades 7-12 and public institutions of higher education to print the number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (800-273-8255) on student ID cards; schools may also print the number for the Crisis Text Line (741-741) and/or a local suicide prevention hotline or campus police/security number if available.
Support SB 1057 [May] to require instruction for high school students in mental health awareness, and to require the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to develop a model curriculum to be used by school districts to provide said instruction.
Support HB 2019 [Young] to provide financial supplements for public schools to employ school nurses and mental health professionals. The ratio of school psychologists to students in Missouri schools is significantly below the national average, with one school psychologist per 4,867 students compared to a national ratio of 1 to 1,381. Even more critical, the recommended ratio is 1 psychologist for every 500-700 students. Similarly, Missouri has 1 school social worker for every 2,250 students, compared to the recommended ratio of 1 for every 250 students.
This funding will move our schools closer to national standards and allow us to make immediate progress in addressing the mental health needs of Missouri students. School nurses, counselors, psychologists, and other school-based mental health professionals are critical to identifying and assisting children at risk for suicide.
To learn more about where Missouri stands on school mental health and what actions our state can take to improve youth mental well-being:
Copyright © 2022 Friends of Nate Thrive - Advocate for Behavioral Health, Inc (DBA Thrive Advocates for Behavioral Health) - All Rights Reserved.
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