Washington officials describe expansion of 988 crisis line and steps to build statewide crisis care continuum

Washington State health officials on Jan. 21 told the Senate Health & Long Term Care Committee that the state has expanded its 988 crisis lifeline supports and is working to build an interoperable crisis care continuum that links the 988 contact hubs with mobile response teams and facility-based stabilization.

Theupdate came during a work session on access to behavioral health services. Michelle Roberts, Assistant Secretary for Prevention and Community Health at the Department of Health, and Tisha Kirschbaum, Director of the Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery at the Health Care Authority, presented the state’s progress on 988 and related crisis services.

Roberts said 988 "launched in July 2022 and it is a national 3 digit dialing code for the suicide prevention and crisis support lifeline," and noted that services are available by call, text and chat, 24/7, in English, Spanish and American Sign Language, and through interpretation in more than 240 languages. She said the Department of Health contracts with three accredited Washington crisis centers — Crisis Connections (King County), Frontier…