The 988 suicide and crisis hotline has been in place for two years in Kansas, and state lawmakers heard a report this week on the success it has had in responding to crisis situations.
The report was presented by the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, with support from the Kansas Health Institute. It has information on actions taken by the Kansas 988 Coordinating Council over 2024 and highlighting data for the 988 Lifeline in the state.
Health Institute data analyst Valentina Blanchard said the data shows a rise in calls to Kansas 988 centers throughout 2024, reflecting growing awareness of the Lifeline. The 988 call centers in Kansas are independently operated and receive additional state and federal funding and oversight from KDADS and the coordinating council.
The report outlined several key findings in Kansas:
- The 988 Lifeline in Kansas experienced growth in call volume and infrastructure during year two. Kansas call centers handled 25,432 calls, averaging 2,119 per month. Text and chat services saw a more than 45 percent increase from the previous year, with 13,644 texts and chats routed, averaging 1,139 monthly texts or chats.
- Kansas now has five centers handling calls: HeadQuarters Kansas in Lawrence, the Johnson County Mental Health Center, COMCARE of Sedgwick County, Wyandot Behavioral Health Network in Kansas City, and HealthSource Integrated Solutions in Topeka, which provides backup support.
- In year two, Kansas saw a slight drop in the percentage of calls answered in the state. Between August 2023 and July 2024, Kansas answered 88.5 percent of its 988 calls on average, falling just short of the national and state goal of 90 percent and last year’s average of 90.3 percent. The in-state answer rate fluctuated between 85 percent and 91 percent throughout the year.
- Chat and text services showed different answer patterns from call services, with in-state rates around 45 percent for chats and 51 percent for texts in July 2024.
- Data indicates higher call volumes during the summer months.
