The Crisis Response Pilot explores how enhancing interoperability can impact the transfer of calls from 9-1-1 to 9-8-8 within five Ohio communities. Our approach is based on two core components derived from the SAFECOM Interoperability Continuum: governance and standard operating procedures. Grounded in these core components, the pilot has two primary objectives. The first objective is for each participating site to establish a governance structure, facilitating regular collaboration among key 9-8-8 and 9-1-1 personnel. The second objective is for each county’s 9-8-8 call center to develop joint policies and procedures with at least one 9-1-1 public safety answering point.

This one-year project is supported by Peg’s Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts, and is conducted in collaboration with key partners. Mathematica, our research partner, is responsible for evaluating the pilot and providing research support. Dignity Best Practices, our implementation partner, works to translate our strategy into actionable steps within the pilot sites. Clear Pathways also participates in Vibrant Emotional Health’s 9-1-1 and 9-8-8 collaboration community of practice, enabling engagement with subject matter experts nationally to further enhance our efforts.

Through this work, our aim is to foster an understanding of how 9-8-8 and 9-1-1 systems can best interface, and what the challenges and opportunities are in this collaboration, to best meet the needs of community members experiencing a behavioral health crisis or emergency. For example, little authoritative evidence is available about the intersection between 9-1-1 and 9-8-8 governance models, so data-driven contributions provided by the pilot could be particularly impactful in this field. Additionally, the pilot may result in robust early evidence that can inform state guidelines or administrative regulations.