Oregon Health Authority and Lines for Life outline 988 usage, capacity and youth line expansion

Deputy Director Krista Jones of the Oregon Health Authority briefed the Senate Committee on Early Childhood and Behavioral Health Tuesday on Oregon’s implementation of the national 988 suicide and crisis lifeline and the state’s broader crisis‑response system.

Jones said the state’s 988 centers have handled nearly 200,000 phone calls, texts and chats since the national lifeline launched in July 2022 and that Oregon receives roughly 8,500 contacts a month. "The goal for Oregon 9 8 8 is to answer 90% of phone, text and chat volume in state," Jones said, and she told the committee that as of January 2025 Oregon’s centers had met answer‑rate goals for all contact types.

Jones described the state’s ‘‘someone to contact, someone to respond, and someplace safe’’ model adopted from federal guidance: 988 call centers, mobile crisis teams and crisis stabilization centers. She outlined funding sources for 988: a dedicated monthly cell‑phone fee created by the Legislature in 2023 (House Bill 2757), supplemental Medicaid payments and federal grants. "9 8 8 is primarily funded through a dedicated cell phone tax… Each…