New Data Show Increased
Outreach to 988 Following Implementation of the Number for the National
Suicide Prevention and Crisis Hotline
National 988 Answer
Rates Were at 91% But There was Considerable Variation in “In-State”
Answer Rates
A KFF
analysis finds that outreach to the new 988 number for the
national suicide prevention and crisis hotline increased after its
implementation in mid-July, then steadied until December 2022, when it
rose again. Text volume increased more than 700 percent compared to the
year prior but remains a smaller share of overall outreach.
Since the launch of 988, Lifeline has received over 2.1
million contacts---consisting of over 1.43 million calls, over 416,000
chats, and more than 281,000 texts.
The easy-to-remember three-digit number steers callers who
are suicidal or experiencing a behavioral health crisis to the renamed
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, where they can be connected to a local
Lifeline counselor and may receive crisis counseling, resources, and
referrals. Before 988, the Lifeline crisis hotline–established in
2005–was typically accessed through a 10-digit number, which was
difficult for callers experiencing a mental health crisis to
recall.
The analysis shows that nationally, about 10 percent of
calls are transferred to out-of-state overflow facilities and 11 percent
are abandoned by the caller. However, the 988 in-state answer rate varies
widely across states. In December 2022, in-state answer rates ranged from
a low of 51 percent to 69 percent in seven states to a high of 90 percent
to 98 percent in 13 states.
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