BILL NUMBER: S1865

SPONSOR: BROUK
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to requiring student
identification cards to contain the new national suicide prevention
lifeline number, 9-8-8

 
PURPOSE:

To establish a three-digit, 9-8-8 suicide prevention and mental health
crisis hotline system that will save lives by connecting people experi-
encing mental health crisis with compassionate, lifesaving, and
culturally competent mental health care services.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

A7177-B would do the following:

*Provide definitions

              

*Require the commissioner of the department of public service, the
commissioner of the office of mental health and the commissioner of
addiction services and supports to designate on or before July 16,
2022,a crisis hotline center

*Establish minimum standards a crisis hotline is required to meet;

*Authorizes the department of public service, the office of mental
health, and the office of addiction supports and services to have joint
oversight of suicide prevention and crisis service activities and coor-
dination of crisis centers to ensure consistency of public messages for
988 services;

*Establish training guidelines for 988 crisis hotline staff, 911 opera-
tors, and first responders

*Require the commissioner of the office of mental health and the commis-
sioner of addiction services and supports to submit an annual report on
the 9-8-8 suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline's usage,
services and impact.

*Require the commissioner of the office of mental health, in consulta-
tion with the commissioners of the office of addiction services and
supports, the department of taxation and finance, and the department of
public service to submit a report that details the resources necessary
to make the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, available, opera-
tional, and effective across the state, including an evaluation of
available and new revenue sources to support the implementation, staff-
ing, and ongoing activities of 9-8- 8 services that are reasonably
attributed to:(a) ensuring the efficient and effective routing of calls
made to the NSPL to an appropriate 9-8-8 crisis hotline center; (b)
personnel and the provision of mental health, crisis outreach and
stabilization services directly related to the NSPL; and (c) the estab-
lishment of a trust fund for the purpose of depositing any dedicated
revenues collected to create and maintain a statewide 9-8-8 suicide
prevention and mental health crisis hotline system. The report shall be
submitted on or before December thirty-first, two thousand twenty-three
to the governor, the speaker of the assembly, the temporary president of
the senate, and the minority leaders of the senate and the assembly.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide is
the 12th leading cause of death in New York. In 2020, for every 100,000
New Yorkers, 8.28 lose their life to suicide. Suicide is the second
leading death for people between the ages of 10 and 34 years old. For
individuals between the ages of 35 and 54, suicide is the fourth leading
cause of death.

On October 19, 2020, the National Suicide Prevention Designation Act was
signed into law to transform the ten-digit, 800-273-8255 number into an
easy to remember, three-digit, 9-8-8 number that will connect individ-
uals at risk for suicide, as well as those experiencing mental health
and substance abuse crises, to trained, National Suicide Prevention
Lifeline counselors. Currently, 9-1-1 is the only system used for all
emergencies, including mental health emergencies. This new 9-8-8 life-
line puts in practice a safer and more equitable response to mental
health, substance abuse, and suicidal crises.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2021-2022: S8410-A referred to higher education.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

TBD.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.