In a request for information (RFI) released Monday, the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) seeks information from an “administrative entity” on the administration, oversight, and management of the California 988 network. Administrative entities are essentially respondents and, potentially, an eventual contractor. Details on the RFI may be found at the California State Government Marketplace. Among the details:
- A network of 12 local California 988 Crisis Centers offers free, confidential emotional support to individuals in behavioral health crisis who contact 988 in any of the state’s 58 counties. Besides its 988 Crisis Centers, the state has more than 85 warmlines and county access lines that may conduct so-called “warm handoffs” to 988 Crisis Centers should callers need crisis counseling. California, the nation’s most populous state, gets the most 988 calls; last year roughly 1 in 8 calls to the national 988 network began in California. State Assembly Bill 988, passed in September 2023, creates a framework and funding mechanism for California’s 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, including setting a 988 surcharge for funding for 988 Crisis Centers and mobile response. DHCS is working with the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) to provide technology for a unified platform allowing calls to be transferred between 988 Crisis Centers and between centers and 911 public safety answering points.
- Any eventual contractor that DHCS chooses will serve as the California 988 Network Administrative Entity and must have expertise in administrative and project management support, knowledge of behavioral health-care services and the ins and outs of collecting and reporting behavioral health data, and have the capacity to support continued collaboration between California’s statewide 988 network and additional crisis care services. Any respondent chosen to be the Entity will administer and manage the California 988 network, including fund distribution to contracted California 988 Crisis Centers to maintain and expand 988 services; developing and implementing plans, protocols, and resources around behavioral health crisis care services accessed via the network; collecting and analyzing 988 Crisis Center data; and reporting California 988 network activities.
- Respondents must be able to provide DHCS with primary functions and services including developing and standing up a comprehensive statewide 988 communication strategy and creating a detailed California 988 network work plan with key goals, tasks, milestones, timelines, and roles and responsibilities for DHCS and stakeholders. Respondents must also collect, review and aggregate a variety of data including on 988 calls, chats, and texts received and answered; average time to answer; abandonment rate and direct versus rollover calls; and collect 988 center data quarterly and report on infrastructure prevention and promotion indicators and response data.
- Respondents must provide an overview of their primary business focus, areas of expertise, experience with similar solutions and relevant credentials or certifications, as well as an overview of their services provided, and products or platforms used to provide those services. Respondents must also describe their experience in working with state or local governments, on county mental health plans, with Drug Medi-Cal, and with projects related to behavioral health care and crisis care services. Respondents must also detail their experience developing and managing the technical components of a data collection, submission, and reporting processes, including experience with data ingestion, manipulation, analysis, synthesizing analytics, quality assurance, measurement selection, measurement development, and the drafting of public data reports.
- The precise value of any eventual contract is unclear. Questions are due by 3 p.m. Dec. 27. Responses to the RFI are due by 3 p.m. Jan. 11. The preliminary service delivery timeline spans 2024, from a proposed start date in February-March to updating a statewide 988 communication strategy from February/March-June; to developing and submitting a quality assurance plan in February/March-October; and working with the California Health and Human Services Agency on an annual 988 implementation status report starting in December 2024.
