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 month Oregonians pay 40¢ per line to ensure fast, effective, and safe crisis support," she said.

Following OHA’s presentation, Lines for Life — a nonprofit that answers much of Oregon’s 988 volume — described operational details. Dwight Holton, representing Lines for Life, said the organization operates roughly 90 full‑time equivalent positions answering the majority of Oregon’s 988 calls with a partner covering Marion and Polk counties. "1, no, always humans, Mr. Vice Chair. The, we have about I think it's probably about 90 FTE at Lines for Life. We answer, the vast majority of Oregon's 98 calls," Holton said, adding that most staff work remotely.

Holton and Colleen Caddell, Lines for Life’s director of training and quality, told the committee the organization resolves a large share of contacts without involving mobile teams or law enforcement. Holton said "over 97% of the people who call in crisis to 988, we are able to deescalate them, get them to a place of safety without having to involve more expensive and frankly more dangerous, secondary means, whether it's mobile crisis or law enforcement." He added that average speed of answer is "under 20 seconds."

Caddell described technology Lines for Life uses for training and quality assurance, including AI‑driven role‑play personas and automated monitoring. She said the technology allowed the organization to expand quality monitoring beyond the industry standard of sampling about 3% of contacts; Caddell described near‑real‑time supervisory alerts when a responder’s quality metrics dip during a shift.

Lines for Life also described its YouthLine, a teen‑to‑teen crisis‑support line. YouthLine volunteers receive about 65 hours of initial training and then contribute ongoing hours; Lines for Life said its youth program fields roughly 25,000 contacts a year nationally, maintains about 150 volunteers at a time and operates four Oregon locations (Portland, OSU Cascades in Bend, Warm Springs and McDaniel High School in Portland). Hazel Cross and Kushi Rustogi, youth volunteers, told the committee they use peer rapport and specific training to connect with callers. Cross said the line supports callers with issues ranging from suicidal thoughts to school stress and helps callers build safety plans and identify adults who can help.

Committee questions addressed staffing models, remote work, data and follow‑up. Jones said 988 is available by phone, text and chat in English and Spanish, with interpretation in more than 250 languages and a sign‑language video option. She noted that roughly 98% of 988 contacts statewide resolve via the initial counselor interaction and that OHA plans a public‑education campaign to increase awareness of 988 beginning July 2025; federal congressional support was cited for initial communications funding.

Lines for Life requested continued state support for several programs beyond 988, including the Alcohol and Drug Help Line and YouthLine, and described gaps in stable funding for the youth program. Committee members asked about measuring referral follow‑through; Lines for Life said caller anonymity complicates closed‑loop tracking but noted work with OHA on provider capacity databases and referral systems.

The informational session closed with committee scheduling notes; no committee votes were recorded on operational items during the meeting.