988 Implementation Guidance Playbooks

The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, including a new three-digit number for access, will take effect on July 16, 2022. This national three-digit number, 988, will allow anyone to receive immediate emotional and crisis counseling support by phone, text, or chat. SAMHSA, in co-sponsorship with the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD), worked with partners from different sectors to develop 988 Implementation Guidance Playbooks: for States, Territories, and Tribes; Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Providers; Lifeline Contact Centers; and Public Safety Answering Points.

These Playbooks were developed to improve national crisis interventions and suicide prevention efforts, offering effective and respectful person-centered crisis care for anyone experiencing a mental health, substance use, or suicidal crisis. The goals of the Playbooks are to identify and articulate the operational readiness for 988, prepare for the 988 transitions, explain the measures of progress that are essential to 988 readiness, and identify best practices for the implementation of care.

View Playbooks here.

For additional resources, please visit:

• SMI Adviser webinar: Reimagining the Crisis Response: 988 and a Crisis Standard of Care
• What is 988? 
• #CrisisTalk Learning Community Materials