Texas improves 988 hotline answer rate but still lags behind
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A year after Texas left nearly a quarter of mental health crisis calls unanswered, the state is showing signs of improvement.
The big picture: The revamped national suicide hotline, launched in 2022 as 988, promised a quicker, more seamless crisis response in Texas and across the country but remains a work in progress two years later.
By the numbers: 84% of the 18,800 people who called Texas' 988 hotline in May connected with a counselor, according to data from the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
- The average Texas caller waited 34 seconds to be connected and spent 14 minutes and 42 seconds speaking with a counselor, according to the data.
- Of 2,900 calls that weren't answered, most were considered "abandoned," meaning the caller disconnected themselves or there was a technology issue.
Catch up quick: Congress gave states $1 billion to build out the 988 hotline in 2022, amid nationwide concern over worsening mental health, with the expectation that states would establish their own long-term funding to operate call centers and crisis services.
- Nationally, those efforts have been uneven, contributing to significantly lower response times in certain states.
State of play: Though all states use surcharges on cellphone bills to fund 911 services, just 10 states so far have done the same for 988, according to a new report from mental health advocacy group Inseparable.
- Texas doesn't implement a phone bill surcharge for 988 and falls behind on other key metrics measured by Inseparable, like financial stability and accountability.
What they're saying: "We want a system where everybody has a comparable experience. It seems to me we're still a few years from that," said Chuck Ingoglia, CEO of the National Council for Mental Wellbeing.
Where it stands: Calls, texts, and chats to the hotline are up since it was relaunched as an easy-to-remember three-digit service in July 2022.
- A federally funded national backup system exists so anyone in the country can access a trained counselor when they call 988, a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson told Axios.