Most mental health crisis calls still answered by 911, not 988

SALT LAKE CITY — Even as the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline gains visibility, most mental health crisis calls in the United States are still being directed to 911 dispatchers, according to the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED). In 2023, emergency communication centers handled at least 24 million such calls, compared with the 17 million contacts to 988 since its 2022 launch. “The majority of people in a mental health crisis still call 911, and we need better tools and training to handle these calls and deliver better outcomes,” said Ty Wooten, IAED’s director of governmental affairs. To address the gap, IAED released Protocol 41: Caller in Crisis in 2024. The tool guides dispatchers through structured questions to determine whether to send emergency responders or transfer a caller to 988.