Suicide Prevention: Capacity and Federal Assessment of the 988 Lifeline
What GAO Found The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (988 Lifeline) is a network of independent crisis contact centers that answer calls, texts, and chats from people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. The U.S. Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) set up the 988 Lifeline to connect individuals with local crisis contact centers in states and minimize the time they wait, according to officials. As of March 2026, calls are generally routed to local crisis contact centers based on callers’ approximate location. In contrast, texts and chats are routed based on individuals’ area codes or zip codes. SAMHSA plans to begin routing tex.
Reported by Maria LopezSuicide Prevention: Capacity and Federal Assessment of the 988 Lifeline.
The item is dated Wed, 01 Jul 2026 07:03:01 -0400.
TeamCog is carrying it as a audits report from GAO reports and testimonies RSS.
What GAO Found The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (988 Lifeline) is a network of independent crisis contact centers that answer calls, texts, and chats from people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress.
The U.S.
Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) set up the 988 Lifeline to connect individuals with local crisis contact centers in states and minimize the time they wait, according to officials.
As of March 2026, calls are generally routed to local crisis contact centers based on callers’ approximate location.
In contrast, texts and chats are routed based on individuals’ area codes or zip codes.
Official Source
GAO reports and testimonies RSS. Accessed 2026-07-01T15:00:04.036Z.