Crisis Systems Response Training and Technical Assistance
The Crisis Systems Response Training and Technical Assistance Center (CSR-TTAC) provides support to states, territories, tribal organizations, and community partners across the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline network and behavioral health crisis continuum of care. The goal of the CSR-TTAC is to support a crisis care system that is integrated, sustainable, equitable, and aligned around evidence-based and evidenced-informed practices.
The CSR-TTAC will be:
- Assisting in the integration of the 988 Lifeline with 911 and mobile crisis response services;
- Working to increase access to mental health and substance use crisis services for people and families in need, particularly priority populations and those who have been traditionally underserved by the health care system;
- Convening experts and leaders in mental health and substance use crisis systems and services to identify emerging best and promising practices; and
- Developing and disseminating materials for policymakers, agency leadership, the crisis workforce, and people and families in need to help improve crisis systems and services nationwide.
Monthly Newsletters
National Survey of Mobile Crisis Teams
Upcoming Events
Time: 1 - 2 p.m. ET
The purpose of this webinar series is to provide information and share promising emerging practices to jurisdictions around the United States on the coordination of 911 and 988 services. These services include but are not limited to law enforcement; fire; EMS; 911 dispatching; 988 call, text, and chat response; crisis response services; and alternative emergency response services. The sixth session and second part of this series will offer examples of how community leaders, public safety officials, and legal counsel can work together to establish policies and procedures that foster collaboration and provide opportunities for unified interoperability amongst 988 and 911.
Time: 2 - 3 p.m. ET
These monthly sessions will provide an opportunity for clarification, collaboration and shared learning among partners engaged in 988 and crisis work. There will be opportunities for information sharing, planning, and problem-solving regarding service and system implementation, sustainability, and improvement. There will also be time set aside to hear monthly updates from the SAMHSA 988 and BHCCO leadership teams.
Time: 1 - 3 p.m. ET
Join us for a webinar dedicated to helping states, territories, tribes and other crisis system response organizations assess and improve equity within their systems. This session will focus on the importance of equity assessments, the existing tools available, and the development of new ones. This webinar will provide valuable knowledge, support, and tools for individuals and organizations striving to advance equity in their work, including presentations from the inaugural Embedding Equity Learning Collaborative participants. Whether you're just starting out or looking to refine your approach, this session offers practical guidance and real-world examples to help you navigate the complexities of equity assessments. This program is approved by the National Association of Social Workers (Approval # 886940817-6818) for 1 continuing education contact hour.
Time: 12 - 2 p.m. ET
The purpose of this webinar series is to uplift the National Guidelines for Child and Youth Behavioral Health Crisis Care and highlight areas of focus and best practices to jurisdictions around the United States. Laying this foundation will be the first step in ensuring the delivery of 988 services to ensure high-quality, accessible, and culturally responsive services. These services include but are not limited to youth and family services, community-based supports, and school systems. The first session in this series is intended to discuss National Guidelines, lay the groundwork of the current state of youth crisis services and provide an overview of why its delivery across the crisis continuum is important. The goal of the series is to offer a platform for providers, youth, and families to better understand the national guidelines, increase knowledge concerning youth crisis services and promote networking and peer-learning. This series should bring together members of youth and family services and crisis professional communities from around the country to explore and discuss many of the major questions that regularly arise regarding the design and implementation of youth crisis care. The intention of this series to create a defined space where the discussions happening around the country on how to effectively deliver this system of care can be housed, addressing the most common concerns and questions that professionals in this field are regularly asking independent of each other. Future sessions in the webinar series will then build on this foundation with sessions on the design and implementation of youth crisis services, systems integration, and the role of schools in delivering youth crisis care.
Past Events
Time: 2 - 3 p.m. ET
These monthly sessions will provide an opportunity for clarification, collaboration and shared learning among partners engaged in 988 and crisis work. There will be opportunities for information sharing, planning, and problem-solving regarding service and system implementation, sustainability, and improvement. There will also be time set aside to hear monthly updates from the SAMHSA 988 and BHCCO leadership teams.
Time: 1 - 2 p.m. ET
The purpose of this webinar series is to provide information and share promising emerging practices to jurisdictions around the United States on the coordination of 911 and 988 services. These services include but are not limited to law enforcement; fire; EMS; 911 dispatching; 988 call, text, and chat response; crisis response services; and alternative emergency response services. The fifth session in this series will review several crucial concepts pertaining to the foundations of risk and liability and will establish standard operating definitions for key terms such as risk, liability, and qualified immunity. In addition, this webinar will offer perspectives from 988, law enforcement, and governing entities, and will provide a high-level overview to assist in building a common understanding of the critical components that will serve as a framework for further discussion in this two-part series.
Time: 2 - 3 p.m. ET
Building from the inaugural 988 Formative Research study published in November 2023, this webinar will preview findings of the second study focused on the trusted messengers that people who are disproportionately impacted by suicide turn to for trusted, unbiased information and help when they’re struggling with their mental health or in crisis. Marketers and communicators can use these insights to create messaging that builds confidence and supports the willingness of trusted messengers to encourage use of 988 among their loved ones and close connections. Taken together, these findings and findings from the first study among people disproportionately impacted by suicide can help form the basis of future culturally sensitive, responsive, effective, and successful 988 communications: First, to make more people aware of 988 across the country, and then to instill trust and confidence in the service so people will contact 988 when struggling with mental health, or in a moment of crisis, or in need of support. The webinar will also highlight resources developed by the project that can support behavioral health agencies and service providers’ communication efforts to increase awareness and use of 988 in their communities.
Time: 2 - 4 p.m. ET
Engaging the community is a critical early and consistent step in embedding, building, and maintaining equity in crisis systems. This webinar delves into the vital role of embedding equity in community engagement across crisis response systems to ensure that services are available to everyone, anytime, and anywhere. Discover the core principles behind effective community engagement within Crisis Response Systems, identifying strategies to build upon impactful practices. Learn how to define the concept of "community" through an equity lens, ensuring the inclusion of diverse voices in crisis decision-making. Explore practical strategies for involving the appropriate stakeholders, prioritizing historically marginalized voices, and fostering genuine, trust-based relationships within communities.
Time: 2 - 3 p.m. ET
Our 3C Sessions are being offered to SAMSHA Grantee Project Directors and other key crisis system partners. These monthly sessions will provide an opportunity for clarification, collaboration and shared learning among partners engaged in 988 and crisis work. There will be opportunities for information sharing, planning, and problem-solving regarding service and system implementation, sustainability, and improvement. There will also be time set aside to hear monthly updates from the SAMHSA 988 and BHCCO leadership teams.
Monthly Crisis Community Collaboration “3C” Session Presentation (PDF | 1.4 MB)
Time: 1 - 3 p.m. ET
The fourth session in this series is to explore the recently released report, The Road to 988/911 Interoperability and discuss the Lessons on 988 and 911 Interoperability. The goal of this webinar is to examine various ways in which diverse States around the country organize and coordinate with partners to deliver comprehensive crisis care. The writer of the report, Stephanie Brooks Holliday with RAND, will highlight different approaches to interoperability, the various factors that contribute to facilitating systems coordination, identify components that can hinder progress, and additional elements to consider that support alignment between 988 and 911.
Time: 2 - 3 p.m. ET
These monthly sessions will provide an opportunity for clarification, collaboration and shared learning among partners engaged in 988 and crisis work. There will be opportunities for information sharing, planning, and problem-solving regarding service and system implementation, sustainability, and improvement. There will also be time set aside to hear monthly updates from the SAMHSA 988 and BHCCO leadership teams.
Time: 2 - 3 p.m. ET
These monthly sessions will provide an opportunity for clarification, collaboration and shared learning among partners engaged in 988 and crisis work. There will be opportunities for information sharing, planning, and problem-solving regarding service and system implementation, sustainability, and improvement. There will also be time set aside to hear monthly updates from the SAMHSA 988 and BHCCO leadership teams.
Time: 1 - 3 p.m. ET
The third session in this series is intended to explore the various ways in which diverse States around the country organize and coordinate with partners to deliver comprehensive crisis care. The goal of this webinar is to discuss and highlight key partnerships and services that come together within jurisdictions to deliver crucial coordinated crisis care. This collaboration will examine the ways in which States, Tribes, and Territories and their partners triage calls and coordinate and deliver services across the core elements of the crisis care continuum.
This webinar will provide participants with the context and rationale for equity, as well as a vision for equity at all system levels – community, state/territory, tribal, and federal. After the presentation, participants are invited to stay logged into the webinar for a 30-minute Office Hour session with the National Crisis Systems Response Training and Technical Assistance Center to engage in deeper discussion on considerations to make to ensure equity is embedded in their behavioral health crisis response systems.
Time: 2 - 3 p.m. ET
3C Sessions are being offered to SAMSHA Grantee Project Directors and other key crisis system partners and will provide an opportunity for shared learning among partners engaged in 988 and crisis work. There will be time to hear monthly updates from the SAMHSA 988 and BHCCO leadership teams.
This webinar will provide information and share promising emerging practices around the United States on crisis system design and implementation. We will discuss the importance of designing crisis services to create a continuum of care that meets the needs of any person experiencing a behavioral health crisis. This is accomplished by utilizing best and emerging practices, a client-centered approach, and cross-system collaboration. During this webinar the 988 BHCCO Office will share information on the recently announced Policy Academy on Systems Design.
Current Crisis System Implementation: Successes and Challenges Webinar Slides (PDF | 2.6 MB)
Time: 2 p.m. ET
3C Session are being offered to SAMSHA Grantee Project Directors and other key crisis system partners and will provide an opportunity for shared learning among partners engaged in 988 and crisis work. There will be time to hear monthly updates from the SAMHSA 988 and BHCCO leadership teams.
Time: 1 – 3 p.m ET
The second session in this series is intended to help organizations in working with existing 988 and 911 coordination teams or to build new partnerships within their States. The goal of this webinar is to discuss and explore the various key partnerships that come together to play pivotal roles, within jurisdictions, to deliver coordinated comprehensive crisis care.
988 & 911 Collaboration; Session 2: Engaging with Your State on 988 & 911 Coordination (1 hour)
On November 28, The CSR-TTAC held our first monthly Crisis Community Collaboration or “3C” Session. These meetings are being offered to SAMSHA Grantee Project Directors and other key crisis system partners and will provide an opportunity for shared learning among partners engaged in 988 and crisis work. There will be time to hear monthly updates from the SAMHSA 988 and BHCCO leadership teams. Review the slides from the November 28 presentation (PDF | 1.1 MB).
Time: 2:30 - 3:30 p.m. ET
This webinar will preview findings of the 988 Formative Research. These findings can help form the basis of future culturally sensitive, responsive, effective, and successful 988 communications: First, to make more people aware of 988 across the country, and then to instill trust and confidence in the service so people will contact 988 when struggling with mental health, or in a moment of crisis, or in need of support. The webinar will also preview resources developed by the project that can support behavioral health agencies and service providers’ communication efforts to increase awareness and use of 988 in their communities.
This webinar is a first in a series to create a defined space where the discussions happening around the country on how to bring 988 and 911 systems together can be housed, addressing the most common concerns and questions that colleagues in this field are regularly asking independent of each other.
Watch the webinar (53 minutes, 43 seconds)
Watch the webinar with ASL interpretation (53 minutes, 44 seconds)
Time: 2 – 3:30 p.m ET
TTAC Points of Contact: Tiffany Lombardo and Adalicia Carrillo — Co-Project Directors
TTAC Phone: 844-464-8338 (toll free)
TTAC Email: support@988crisisttac.org
SAMHSA Point of Contact: jill.mays@samhsa.hhs.gov