Roll Call reports a new FCC ruling. Depending upon how you read it, this either counters or builds upon a previous Michigan bill. See comments for my 2019 report on centralizing 988 calls to one provider, knocking aside Michigan's traditional local call centers.
This is just the latest move in the titanic struggle between centralized control and individual privacy rights.
Although the FCC is 100% correct about local resources being the most effective, the twist here is "georouting" - aka using your cell phone to locate you, a clear violation of privacy. Will it take a lawsuit first, or will FCC also mandate a disclaimer on the 988 call line?
FCC requires 988 calls be routed to local call centers
Move aimed at better connecting callers with local resources
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel joins, from left, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, Rep. Tony Cardenas and Senate Mental Health Caucus co-chairs Alex Padilla and Thom Tillis for a news conference outside the Capitol on March 21 to announce new efforts to use geographical data to help people who call the 988 mental health crisis hotline to connect to local help instead of using their telephone number's area code. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
By Jessie Hellmann | October 17, 2024
The Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to require that all calls to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline be routed by wireless carriers to local call centers.
Cellphone carriers will be required to use georouting to connect callers to the 988 call center closest to the caller’s physical location, a change intended to streamline connections to local resources and broaden services.
“If we get more people connected to the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline to resources that are local, we can help more people with more meaningful assistance in more places,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said before the vote Thursday. “Georouting means that those responding to 988 inquiries have a lot more knowledge of local resources and local events.”
The requirements would take effect 30 days from the effective date of the rule for wireless providers and 24 months afterward for smaller, non-nationwide providers.
“The 988 Lifeline represents a portal to community resources that can help a person both navigate an immediate crisis and find ongoing care,” said Chuck Ingoglia, president and CEO of the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. “Georouting will make that easier for everyone involved.”
The 3-digit lifeline number rolled out in July 2022 and typically connects callers to a center based on their three-digit area code. But many individuals use a mobile number whose area code does not match where they currently live.
Two major carriers, Verizon and T-Mobile, voluntarily began the process last month to route calls based on location. Those carriers make up about half of all wireless calls to 988, according to the FCC. A third carrier, AT&T, said they will also begin the process soon.
The FCC is also proposing that carriers use georouting to connect people who text 988 to local call centers and solicit input on how to do that.
“Texting technology is different and presents special challenges because texts contain unique information and move along a different pathway than traditional phone calls,” Rosenworcel said.
Proposed Michigan Mental Health Hotline May Duplicate Services
September 12, 2019 Abigail Nobel
A proposal for a state mental health hotline received some resistance during its firsthearingin the Michigan Senate following passage in the House last week. The proposed bill directs the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) to contract for the design, operation, and maintenance of a mental health hotline.
The Senate Committee on Health Policy and Human Services witnessed a tense exchange between the bill’s sponsor and committee member Senator Ruth Johnson (R – Holly), who expressed concerns about cost and effectiveness.
Thebilldirects the hotline contractor to perform the following activities:
• Have near real-time access to any registry of available inpatient psychiatric beds • Make referrals using telephone, text, email, and internet chat • Have policies to comply with privacy and data security laws • Collect data and utilize data analytics to track the success of the hotlines operations • Identify trends in service needs and outcomes • Work with LARA and the hotline contractor to leverage existing databases
An individual operating or maintaining the hotline under contract with the department would have the same immunity provided for a governmental employee.
As written, MDHHS action on the hotline is subject to appropriations.
“I got $3 million dollars in the supplemental in December,” stated bill sponsor Rep. Mary Whiteford (R – Casco Township), who also proposed the 2019 House Health Appropriations bill. “I appropriated $2 million dollars in this budget year.”
“We also found that there is some money that’s going to LARA right now for the opiate crisis that we can work on with that,” she continued. “We have a way that we can leverage federal money to match this.”
Sen. Johnson asked, “Instead of reinventing and go from seven to eight, is there any reason why we wouldn’t choose one of [those] already existing with all the infrastructure in place, so the money could go toward actually helping people?”
Rep. Whiteford replied, “Yes, so the one part you missed is that we’re going from the seven to one and offering this so this will be one hub in the state.”
Sen. Johnson gave an example of a state-implemented computer system for Friend of the Court. “It was lacking in many ways compared to what was already there and caused a lot of problems.”
Rep. Whiteford mentioned possibly combining the 211 system and state Medicaid CHAMPS providers as part of the hotline.
“I’ve talked with quite a few companies,” she said. “I consider them my potential people. You know, what are the potentials that we can do? We have the potential to have telepsychiatry in the middle of the night to help somebody from their home. I just want something limber, something flexible, something adaptable.”
The two agreed that the hotline would have to work through the Community Mental Health system, which Rep. Whiteford stated supports the bill. “I want to expand beyond just the CMH response [for Medicaid patients], to everybody. Anybody can call and get help with this number.”
MDHHS Director of Behavioral Health George Mellos said that the department is concerned about the seven Michigan-operated crisis lines that synchronize with the National Suicide Lifeline.
“Only about a third of Michiganders who call these crisis lines actually end up being referred to local responders,” he said, citing the state’s goal of standardizing geographic and operational differences among existing call centers.
“Other states are way farther down the line,” Mellos stated that some even send out crisis action teams into the community.
AFSCME, the labor union representing 50,000 public employees in MI, also supports the bill.
The hotline proposal is among the package of Michigan legislative bills known as Community, Access, Resources, Education, and Safety (CARES). It is scheduled for its second committee hearing on Thursday.
