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Officials explain how 988 calls are routed, why texts differ, and when 911 is still used
Summary
EveryMind and LBHA staff told the committees that 988 is a national number routed to local centers for calls but that text/chat currently routes via a state queue; texts will move to location‑based routing in about 18 months, officials said.
Officials described 988 as a national number routed to local centers and explained why text and chat operate differently today.
"It's a national number... calling from Montgomery County means that your call will be transferred and routed to our local center in Montgomery County," Ariel Gordon of EveryMind said. Gordon noted that chat and text functions for 988 operate through a statewide queue of four centers and that, because texts are currently routed by phone number origin rather than caller location, a Montgomery County resident using an out‑of‑area phone number may reach a different center. "My understanding is that texts will start being routed based on location in about 18 months," she said.
Sarah Rose, director of the local behavioral health authority, said the state is preparing guidance to support local coordination and to set expectations for data sharing and formal agreements between 988 centers and public‑safety answering points. Councilmembers asked whether 988 could better triage callers so residents do not default to 911; officials said the national administrator and state initiatives are addressing routing and that local MOUs and training are needed to reduce inappropriate police dispatches.
