New federal requirements on wireless carriers could help address the nation’s mental health crisis and improve local suicide prevention response and patient care, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said in an announcement Wednesday.
Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the agency will vote to codify the rule at its October meeting. "Through our vote next month, the FCC is committed to making sure that everyone can connect to these local resources," she said. WHY IT MATTERS Increasing suicide rates tracked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention compel better communications to locate callers to 988, which FCC established as the three-digit dialing code for the national suicide prevention helpline in 2020.
Since the 988 system’s official launch in July 2022, trained counselors at more than 200 contact centers across the country have answered more than 10 million calls, texts and chats from people looking for help with suicidal thoughts and mental health and substance use-related crises. However, cellular calling has challenged their ability to connect callers to relevant local resources. "Georouting means those responding to 988 calls have a lot more knowledge of local resources at their fingertips and are better equipped to get the caller the help they need, where they need it," Rosenworcel said in a statement.
Of note, georouting – not to be confused with geolocating – does not provide a precise caller location,.
