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Local crisis centers press Senate to restore 988 funding to governor’s levels
Summary
Multiple crisis‑service providers urged the Senate to restore 988/behavioral health crisis funding in House Bill 96 to amounts in the governor’s executive budget, saying call volumes have risen sharply and current Senate language would underfund operations.
Representatives of Ohio crisis call centers told the Senate Finance Committee that demand for the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline is rising and that current Senate budget language reduces funding below operational needs.
Why it matters: Providers said 988 is a 24/7 clinical response that prevents escalation, avoids many emergency department visits, and reduces law enforcement dispatches. They urged the Senate to restore the governor’s executive funding levels so centers can hire staff and maintain round‑the‑clock coverage.
Joseph Nijeweski of North Central Mental Health Services said call volumes have climbed rapidly. “In January of 2023, the call volume was 1,122 calls for that month. In January of 2024, North Central responded to 1,744 calls. In the month of April 2025, the number of calls answered was 3,287. North Central anticipates answering more than 40,000 calls for assistance in 2025,” he told the committee.
Nijeweski said reducing appropriation to $20 million per year (the House reduced the executive proposal) would be below current operational costs and urged the Senate to restore the governor’s proposal of $34 million in FY2026 and $41 million in FY2027.
Bridal Stroh, CEO and medical director at NETcare, said almost all of the center’s 26,000‑plus contacts in 2024 were resolved without an in‑person response: “NET care’s data indicates that 95 percent of the 26,000 plus contacts we took in 2024 did not require anyone to be sent to the caller's location.” She added that 988 contacts frequently end with a treatment or de‑escalation plan and only a small share require dispatching mobile responders.
Both witnesses and other speakers asked the committee to keep funding at or above governor’s recommended levels to ensure sufficient hiring and to support expansion of related crisis infrastructure, including mobile response and stabilization services.
