Clear Pathways is pleased to release a new resource to the field, Advancing 911/988 Interoperability: Findings from the Clear Pathways Crisis Response Pilot Evaluation. This report shares:
- progress made by Crisis Response Pilot sites toward establishing processes to transfer behavioral health crisis calls from 911 to 988, and
- common metrics that communities can use to quantify call transfers between 911 and 988, as well as 988 referrals and transfers to other community resources.
This report, prepared by Clear Pathways’ research and evaluation partner Mathematica, furthers community knowledge on developing and sustaining efforts to divert non-emergency behavioral health crisis calls and deliver appropriate services to individuals in crisis.
The evaluation is available for immediate download from the Clear Pathways Resource Library.
Background
Since 2022, Clear Pathways has developed and continuously refined an Interoperability Strategy that is focused on facilitating warm transfers from 911 to 988. We are supporting 911 public safety answering points (PSAPs) and 988 crisis center coordination. Through this initiative, we are working to ensure that people experiencing behavioral health crises have a path to help across Ohio and the nation.
During the Crisis Response Pilot, Clear Pathways collaborated with five Ohio sites. Each site worked to develop or expand warm transfer criteria from 911 to 988. To help integrate continuous quality improvement into their interoperability efforts, our partners at Mathematica developed metrics with input from the sites and Clear Pathways. Sites reported their metrics in aggregate and documented challenges with collecting and reporting data, as well as strategies to overcome these challenges. This valuable feedback provided key insights for implementing interoperability metrics and evaluating interoperability over time.
The evaluation report follows a series of Clear Pathways Crisis Response briefs that describe the interoperability strategy, how communities can bring interoperability to scale, and performance measurement and evaluation in 911/988 interoperability.
The Report
Advancing 911/988 Interoperability assesses key actions that advanced the goals of the interoperability pilot:
- Developing work groups to advance joint governance and decision-making.
- Creating policies and procedures to facilitate call transfers from 911 to 988.
- Designing interoperability metrics to monitor and improve calls transferred from 911 to 988.
The report also shares barriers and facilitators to 911/988 interoperability implementation and provides recommendations to enhance interoperability best practices and future evaluations.
Key Findings
- Interoperability workgroups reported that engaging in structured activities led by Clear Pathways, employing consensus decision-making, and having agency leads participate were keys to developing trust between PSAPs and 988 crisis centers.
- PSAPs and 988 crisis centers jointly developed processes to respond to low- and medium-risk calls by creating decision trees that map out process steps, decision points, and the sequential flow of actions.
- Key activities that positively influenced PSAP and 988 crisis center collaboration included visiting their respective call centers, participating in peer learning activities, discussing risk assessments, reviewing 911 and 988 call log data, and assessing current practices.
Why It Matters
911/988 interoperability is essential for connecting people experiencing a behavioral health crisis to appropriate care and using community resources efficiently. “Mathematica’s evaluation of the Clear Pathways Crisis Response Pilot provides the insights and real-world guidance that communities need to move from concept to implementation,” says Robin Lindquist-Grantz, PhD, director of measurement and evaluation for Clear Pathways and a senior researcher at Mathematica.
“This Crisis Response Pilot evaluation helps us tailor our interoperability strategy and provide communities with actionable recommendations to strengthen 911-988 partnerships,” says Cal Jenkins, MS, assistant director of research and systems innovation at Clear Pathways. “With this knowledge, communities can take steps toward connecting 911 behavioral health crisis calls to 988 and other community resources.”
“We’re all on the same team, and from the beginning, we said, this isn’t about us. It’s about getting the help for the residents that we serve. When you keep that in mind, it keeps [you] from having conflict.”
—Public safety answering point participant
Take Action
We encourage 911 and 988 call center staff, behavioral health providers, community leaders, and emergency response coordinators to download the evaluation report and integrate its findings into their interoperability planning and evaluation processes. These evidence-based strategies can help communities build clearer pathways for individuals experiencing behavioral health crises.
Contact Us
If you have questions about this evaluation report or would like to learn more about Clear Pathways’ work on 911/988 interoperability, email us at clearpathways@pegsfoundation.org.
