Fifth U.S. Open Government National Action Plan
Commitment Tracker

Progress Update:

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)’s Community Crisis Response Partnerships program began in FY 2022 to support communities in creating or enhancing existing mobile crisis response teams to divert adults, children, and youth experiencing mental health crises from law enforcement in high-need communities. This program recognizes a high-need community as one where mobile crisis services are absent or inconsistent, where most mental health crises are responded to by first responders, and/or where first responders who are not behavioral health crisis specialists or adequately trained or equipped to defuse mental health crises. Grant recipients utilize SAMHSA’s National Guidelines for Behavioral Health Crisis Care: Best Practice Toolkit as a guide for best practices in the delivery of mobile crisis services. In FY 2022, SAMHSA awarded twelve grant recipients in its initial cohort, and in FY 2023, SAMHSA awarded a second cohort of thirteen grant recipients, for a total of twenty-five active grant recipients.

Evidence:

May 25, 2023 Press Release: https://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/press-announcements/20230525/hhs-awards-funding-build-out-biden-harris-crisis-care-988-lifeline

Progress Update:

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is very proud of the work we have accomplished since the 988 suicide and crisis care hotline was fully opperational in July 2022. Since that time, the 988 suicide and crisis care hotline has received and routed about 8.1 million calls, texts, and chats. The 988 Lifeline crisis counselors are trained to help reduce the intensity of a situation for the person seeking help and connect them to additional local resources, as needed, to support their wellbeing. Since the launch we have expanded the ways the public can interface with the system to include call, texts, and chats, and we continue to work tirelessly with our federal partners to increase capacity and decreased wait times; infact from Nov 1 - 30, 2023, 88% of all calls were answered within 32 seconds, which is a second faster than then the time period in 2022.

Evidence:

988 Performance Metrics - https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/988/performance-metrics

Progress Update:

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) partnered with DEA and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) on expanding Opioid treatment. The Federal Bureau of Prisons worked to ensure that each of their facilities are equipped and trained to provide in-house medication-assisted treatment (MAT) (White House, SOTU). In addition to an original 7 full Opioid Treatment Program (OTP) certified within the BOP at the beginning of 2023, DEA and SAMHSA worked to convert 87 of 89 BOP medication units to full, independent OTPs. These now hold provisional certifications with the ability to provide services and will begin accreditation processes later in 2024 as they become eligible.

Evidence:

Feb 1, 2024 Press release: https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2024/02/01/biden-harris-administration-marks-two-years-advancements-hhs-overdose-prevention-strategy-new-actions-treat-addiction-save-lives.html

Progress Update:

Through funds made available in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Office of Safe and Supportive Schools has awarded 264 grants to more than 40 states to increase the supply of school-based mental health professionals under the School-Based Mental Health Services Grant and the Mental Health Services Professional Demonstration (MHSPD) Grant Programs. This initial activity of selecting and awarding grants is now completed as is this Open Government sub-commitment. The program has moved into a new phase of grant management where the grant awardees will implement their five year plans.

Evidence:

Febuary 14, 2024 Press Release - https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/fact-sheet-us-department-education-releases-2023-update-equity-action-plan-outlines-new-commitments-advance-equity