988 Coordination and Improvement Act
Bill: S.4871 | Sponsor: Sen. Baldwin, Tammy (D-WI)
Policy area: Health

Summary:
988 Coordination and Improvement Act
This bill supports efforts related to behavioral health crisis care, with a particular focus on the 9-8-8 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (a three-digit number that connects callers in suicidal crisis or mental health distress to a national network of crisis centers).

To establish an office to coordinate work relating to behavioral health 
  crisis care and to improve the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 
                    program, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``988 Coordination and Improvement 
Act''.

SEC. 2. BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CRISIS COORDINATING OFFICE.

    Part A of title V of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290aa 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 506B. BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CRISIS COORDINATING OFFICE.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish, within the 
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an office to 
coordinate work relating to behavioral health crisis care across the 
operating divisions and agencies of the Department of Health and Human 
Services, including the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
Administration, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and the 
Health Resources and Services Administration, and other Federal 
Government and external stakeholders.
    ``(b) Duty.--The office established under subsection (a) shall--
            ``(1) convene Federal, State, Tribal, local, and private 
        partners;
            ``(2) launch and manage Federal workgroups charged with 
        making recommendations regarding behavioral health crisis 
        issues, including with respect to health care best practices, 
        workforce development, mental health disparities, data 
        collection, technology, geolocation and call routing, program 
        oversight, public education, and engagement; and
            ``(3) support technical assistance, data analysis, and 
        evaluation functions in order to assist States, local 
        governmental entities, territories, Indian Tribes, and Tribal 
        communities in developing crisis care systems and establish 
        nationwide best practices with the objective of expanding the 
        capacity of, and access to, local 988 Suicide and Crisis 
        Lifeline call centers, mobile crisis care, crisis 
        stabilization, psychiatric emergency services, rapid post-
        crisis follow-up care, and essential community services 
        provided by--
                    ``(A) the National Suicide Prevention and Mental 
                Health Crisis Hotline and Response System;
                    ``(B) the Veterans Crisis Line;
                    ``(C) community mental health centers (as defined 
                in section 1861(ff)(3)(B) of the Social Security Act);
                    ``(D) Federally qualified health centers (as 
                defined in section 1861(aa) of the Social Security 
                Act);
                    ``(E) certified community behavioral health 
                clinics, as described in section 223 of the Protecting 
                Access to Medicare Act of 2014; and
                    ``(F) other community mental health, substance use 
                disorder, and essential community service providers, as 
                determined by the Secretary.
    ``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2023 through 2027.''.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION LIFELINE PROGRAM ACCESS TO 
              SPECIALIZED SERVICES.

    Section 520E-3 of the Public Health Service Act (290bb-36c) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) by inserting after ``suicide prevention 
                        hotline'' the following: ``, under the 
                        universal telephone number designated under 
                        section 251(e)(4) of the Communications Act of 
                        1934,''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``; and'' at the end and 
                        inserting a semicolon;
                    (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) supporting access by high-risk populations, including 
        LGBTQ+ youth and other members of the LGBTQ+ community, 
        American Indian and Alaska Natives, individuals who reside in 
        rural counties, veterans, racial and ethnic minorities, and 
        other high-risk populations, to specialized services through 
        the program, in accordance with subsection (c) and as 
        determined by the Office of the Assistant Secretary.'';
            (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
    ``(c) Access to Specialized Services.--
            ``(1) Consultation.--Wherever possible, the Office of the 
        Assistant Secretary shall, in determining which approaches to 
        use to support access to specialized services under subsection 
        (b)(4) to the populations described in such subsection, consult 
        with organizations that have--
                    ``(A) experience working with such populations; or
                    ``(B) technological expertise in effective crisis 
                response using such digital and technology approaches.
            ``(2) Examples of specialized services.--Efforts to support 
        access to specialized services under subsection (b)(4) may 
        include--
                    ``(A) updates and development of training resources 
                that can help crisis counselors better address the 
                needs of high-risk populations;
                    ``(B) adapting the program network center 
                membership processes to incorporate organizations 
                providing specialized services for high-risk 
                populations;
                    ``(C) designing and implementing transfer 
                processes;
                    ``(D) providing additional technical assistance to 
                centers participating in the program to ensure 
                compliance with the training expectations in working 
                with high-risk populations; and
                    ``(E) the use of digital and technology approaches 
                to improve access for high risk populations.''.

SEC. 4. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES REPORT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit a 
report to Congress assessing the progress of the Department of Health 
and Human Services in implementation of the 9-8-8 dialing code for the 
988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline operated pursuant to the program under 
section 520E-3 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb-36c).
    (b) Content.--The report required under subsection (a) shall 
include--
            (1) an assessment of the performance of the 988 Suicide and 
        Crisis Lifeline and any partner organizations of the Lifeline;
            (2) an update on efforts to provide specialized resources 
        to high-risk populations, including LGBTQ+ youth and other 
        members of the LGBTQ+ community, American Indian and Alaska 
        Natives, individuals who reside in rural counties, veterans, 
        racial and ethnic minorities, and other high-risk populations;
            (3) State and regional variation with respect to access to 
        crisis call centers, including average speed to answer, answer 
        rates, hours of operation, and funding sources;
            (4) the capacity of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline to 
        handle texts and chats;
            (5) any needed programmatic or technological enhancements 
        to connect callers to local services; and
            (6) obstacles identified by States, political subdivisions 
        of States, Indian Tribes, or villages or regional corporations 
        serving a region established pursuant to the Alaska Native 
        Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) in collection 
        and distribution of fees and charges described by section 
        4(a)(1) of the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020 
        (Public Law 116-172).
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