Information on 988 for ACF-Funded Hotlines

The988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, offers 24/7 call, text, and chat access to caring, trained counselors who can help people experiencing mental health, suicidal, and/or substance use crisis. People can also call, text, or chat 988 if they are concerned about another person who may need crisis support. The 988 Lifeline offers English and Spanish call, text, and chat services as well as American Sign Language services and voice calling services with provided translation in more than 240 additional languages. For those seeking additional resources and information to understand the background, history, funding opportunities, implementation, and marketing resources for strengthening suicide prevention and mental health crisis services, please visit the SAMHSA 988 website.

988 Lifeline crisis counselors are trained to respond to a wide range of needs related to mental health, suicidal, and substance use crisis. At a minimum, it is suggested that call centers offer 988 as a resource if the caller is screening as at risk for suicide. Call centers should consider training all staff to use a screener for suicide risk. The Suicide Prevention Resource Center is a federally supported resource center that may be helpful to organizations seeking to identify programming, trainings, and other resources to support screening for risk of suicide. There are several free and low cost training options available, including virtual options that take under two hours to complete (e.g., QPR and LivingWorks Start) and in-person options that are more intensive (e.g., LivingWorks ASIST). ACF is also happy to facilitate access to a no-cost, virtual SAMHSA-led training on this topic.

“Based on what you have shared with me today, I’d like to connect you to our partners at 988, the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. They are trained to provide caring, judgment-free support and local resources to help when people are going through difficult times. Would you like to be connected?”

Warm transfers to 988 are highly encouraged. It is suggested that interested organizations reach out to Vibrant Emotional Health, which administers the 988 Lifeline, to discuss forming a partnership for warm transfers. This partnership will provide your center with an individualized number to use for warm transfers to the 988 Lifeline, ensuring the call is routed to the correct center and that critical caller ID information for the person seeking help is preserved.

It is suggested that hotlines track the number of contacts that fall into each of the following categories: (1) caller indicates a risk of suicide, either for themselves or someone they are calling on behalf of; (2) a transfer to 988 is offered; (3) a transfer to 988 is made; and (4) a connection to 911 is made due to imminent risk of suicide or an active suicide attempt.

You can also stay up to date on 988 activities via the 988 Crisis Systems Response Training & Technical Assistance Center. There is also a National Hotline Consortium group that meets regularly and is a mechanism for questions and information sharing. Your Federal Project Officer can help you get connected to the group.