Abstract
Mental health care in the United States is uncoordinated, underresourced, and overall insufficient. Mental health crisis care is much the same, but with much higher stakes. The lack of a comprehensive mental health crisis care system across the country has led to law enforcement involvement becoming the default system in most communities. Yet, an overwhelming majority of Americans want a better way; in a survey conducted in summer 2023, “85% of people sa[id] they want a mental health response to some- one experiencing a mental health, drug or suicide crisis, not a police response.” The federal government agrees with the general public, and in 2020, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (“SAMHSA”) created guidelines for an ideal “integrated crisis system,” which includes a model made up of three steps: (1) “Regional Crisis Call Center[s]”; (2) “Crisis Mobile Team Response”; and (3) “Crisis Receiving and Stabilization Facilities.” Parts of these three steps exist around the country, but they are fragmented and scarce at best. More recently, however, strides have been made towards a uniform crisis response system through the launching of the national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (“988 Hotline”) in July 2022.6 The 988 Hotline and its network of over 200 local call centers falls under the first step of the SAMHSA’s framework. In the past few years, the federal government has spearheaded efforts to get the 988 Hotline up and running, partnering with state governments to implement it across the country. However, the federal government’s investment in the 988 program has been primarily through short-term funding, which has left state governments with the responsibility of funding and running the hotline long-term. …
Recommended Citation
Katherine G. Menello,
A Small Price to Pay for Better Mental Health Crisis Care: Why States Should Be Funding the New 988 Hotline Through Phone Fees,
59
U. Rich. L. Rev.
87
(2025).
Available at:
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/lawreview/vol59/iss5/5
