§16-42-2. Designation of crisis hotline centers.

(a) Prior to July 1, 2022, the secretary shall designate a crisis hotline center or centers to provide crisis intervention services and crisis care coordination to individuals accessing the 988 suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis hotline from any jurisdiction within the state 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

(b) Designated hotline center(s) shall:

(1) Have an active agreement with the administrator of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (NSPL) for participation within the network;

(2) Meet NSPL requirements and best practices guidelines for operational and clinical standards;

(3) Utilize technology including chat and text that is interoperable between and across crisis and emergency response systems used throughout the state (911, EMS, other non-behavioral health crisis services, etc.);

(4) Have the authority to deploy crisis and outgoing services, and coordinate access to crisis receiving and stabilization services or other local resources as appropriate and according to guidelines and best practices established by the NSPL;

(5) Coordinate access to crisis receiving and stabilization services for individuals accessing the 988 suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis hotline through appropriate information sharing regarding availability of services; and

(6) Provide follow-up services to individuals accessing the 988 suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis hotline consistent with guidance and policies established by the NSPL.

(c) The department shall work in concert with the NSPL and VCL networks for the purposes of ensuring consistency of public messaging about 988 services.

(d) Designated hotline center(s) shall meet the requirements set forth by NSPL for serving high risk and specialized populations as identified by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, including training requirements and policies for transferring such callers to an appropriate specialized center or subnetworks within or external to the NSPL network.