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Crisis‑line operators urge Senate to restore governor’s 988 funding after calls surge
Summary
Providers told the Senate Finance Committee that 988 call volumes have risen dramatically and that the House reduced the governor’s executive proposal for 988 funding below operational needs; witnesses asked the Senate to restore the higher amounts to support staffing and mobile crisis services.
Multiple mental‑health providers testified to the Senate Finance Committee that 988 crisis‑line volumes are increasing rapidly and that the House reduced funding below operational need for the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline.
Joseph Nijeweski, president and CEO of North Central Mental Health Services, said call volumes have grown steadily: North Central answered about 1,122 calls in January 2023, 1,744 in January 2024, and 3,287 calls in April 2025; the agency expects to answer more than 40,000 calls in 2025. Nijeweski said most 988 calls are resolved without dispatch and that the service prevents emergency department visits and law enforcement responses.
Dr. Bridal Stroh, CEO and medical director of NETcare, told the committee that 95% of NETcare’s 26,000+ 2024 contacts did not require anyone to be sent to the caller’s location, and described 988 as a “360‑degree, 24/7 comprehensive no‑wrong‑door approach” that saves lives and reduces higher‑cost interventions.
Nut graf: both witnesses urged the Senate to restore the governor’s executive budget funding for 988 — testimony cited the executive proposal of $34 million in SFY26 and $41 million in SFY27 — and said the House’s reduced appropriation would not meet anticipated operational needs as calls rise.
Nijeweski said an Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services actuary projects a 29% increase in 988 call volume in SFY26–27 and that the House level (testimony said $20 million per year in one account) would be below current operational costs. NETcare and North Central asked the Senate to restore funding to the executive amounts to staff lines, support mobile response teams, and continue 24/7 coverage.
Ending: witnesses asked senators to restore the executive funding levels in HB 96 to meet demand and preserve mobile and hotline response capacity; no vote on an amendment was recorded during the hearing.
