FCC: Carriers to begin ‘georouting’ 988 crisis line calls to local mental health resources
Several major U.S. wireless carriers are implementing a technology that will allow phone calls to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline to be directed to local resources based on caller locations through a process known as “georouting,” the Federal Communications Commission announced on Wednesday.
Calls to the 988 line, which launched nationally in July of 2022, were previously directed to crisis centers based on the caller’s area code. Now, calls will be directed to centers near callers’ locations, so they can receive mental health resources and services. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration — or SAMHSA — and the 988 network administrator have been working with major U.S. wireless carriers for more than a year to improve call routing.
The FCC will also vote on new rules on Oct. 17 that would require all U.S. carriers to implement georouting for 988 calls.
“Thanks to a technology called georouting, we can make sure all 988 callers are connected with crisis centers near their physical location based, for instance, on the cell phone tower that connects the call, and not just based on their area code,” FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said on a Tuesday press call.
Senior administration officials said Tuesday that Verizon and T-Mobile have already gone live with georouting 988 calls made on their networks, and they expect that AT&T will join in the next month or so. Rosenworcel said this work with carriers will be essential to curtail calls that are “needlessly sent to crisis centers hundreds of miles away.”
“A local crisis counselor is going to have a better chance of making connections that help build trust, put the caller at ease and get resources to the individual if they require them. A local counselor is also going to have a better handle on what support services are available in the community and just how the caller can access that support,” Rosenworcel said.
During the press call Tuesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra thanked Rosenworcel and President Joe Biden’s administration, which he said made it possible for the Department Health and Human Services to invest nearly $1.5 billion in the 988 program over the last three years.
“With regard to behavioral health, there is perhaps nothing that has helped more to get people on the right track than 988. When President Biden and Vice President Harris came into office and they saw this opportunity to reach out to Americans, 988, was one of the best ways that we can make an investment in the support that people need,” he said, adding that since its national launch, 988 has received more than 10 million calls, chats and texts.
Becerra said the department is also attempting to expand to all 50 states SAMHSA’s Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics program, a standard of care that clinics can achieve if they provide 24/7 crisis care and coordinated comprehensive behavioral health care. A senior SAMHSA official said the federal government will partner with states, and at least half have passed legislation to support 988 with funding.
Officials said that to respect the privacy of 988 callers, their locations will be “aggregated,” rather than based on their precise locations.
During the open Oct. 17 meeting, the FCC plans to vote on the new rules requiring all U.S. carriers to implement georouting for 988 calls. The new rules would also establish a deadline for carriers to begin georouting calls to the 988 Lifeline — nationwide wireless providers will have 30 days following the effective date of the rule, and smaller, non-nationwide providers will have 24 months after the effective date.
