Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services receives $2.2M 988 and Behavioral Health Crisis Services Programs from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

FY2026 cooperative agreements for states and territories to improve local 988 capacity - the Kansas Department For Aging And Disability Services (kdads) will strengthen the statewide 988 suicide & crisis lifeline network so that every kansan's call, chat, or text for help is answered in Kansas and connected to care. Over three years, the project will grow and sustain the crisis counselor workforce, expand chat and text capacity, build statewide follow-up and referral infrastructure, formalize 911/988 coordination, and secure the system's long-term sustainability. Geographic area and capacity need. Grant activities reach all 105 Kansas counties through five 988 crisis contact centers coordinated by kdads, the state's designated 988 administrator under the Kansas lives act. Contacts grew 38% in one year (39,772 to 54,761), yet SFY25 in-state answer rates remained below the 90% expectation in every modality (calls 88.8%; chats 60.7%; texts 58.7%), and digital rollover to national back-up rose to approximately 70% by june 2026. Two centers offer no chat or text services; referral and follow-up coordination rely on fragmented, non-interoperable systems; and Kansas lacks statewide 911/988 protocols and a unified cybersecurity structure. Population of focus and population served. The population of focus is kansans at high risk of suicide or overdose: rural and frontier residents, veterans, individuals in substance use or overdose crisis, justice-involved individuals and those in institutional transition, adolescents and young adults, and members of Kansas's four federally recognized tribes. Services reach kansans of all ages experiencing suicidal ideation, self-harm, mental health, or substance use and overdose crisis through 988 intervention by call, chat, and text; consent-based follow-up; and real-time referral to mobile crisis, stabilization, substance use treatment, outpatient care, and Kansas's 25 ccbhcs. Strategies and interventions. Because Kansas is below 90% in all modalities, funds are directed primarily to workforce development, wellbeing, and retention. Kdads will contract with three 988 centers (two others participate as in-kind partners through existing state contracts); expand digital capacity; extend follow-up protocols to overdose events and strengthen follow-up data reporting; adopt statewide real-time referral protocols; implement a centralized routing and documentation platform with a capacity-building partner within the 20% technology cap; advance 911/988 coordination through a statewide toolkit and training; strengthen cybersecurity; deepen tribal partnerships; extend the 988 communications campaign; and deliver a 988 sustainability plan grounded in the Kansas 988 cost study and the state's 988 hotline fund. Goals and measurable objectives. Goal 1 - workforce/operations: answer ≥90% of Kansas-originating calls, chats, and texts by end of year 3 (interim digital targets ~70% year 1, ~80% year 2); establish statewide qa/qi oversight within 90 days; expand digital capacity by end of year 3. Goal 2 – care continuity: evaluate all five centers' follow-up compliance within 120 days and extend protocols to overdose events; implement statewide standardized real-time referral protocols; develop substance use and overdose crisis-response protocols by end of year 1. Goal 3 – system integration: develop 911/988 coordination and sentinel event protocols by end of year 2; participate in samhsa's national cross-site evaluation. Goal 4 – technology and cybersecurity: complete planning and partner engagement for the centralized routing and documentation solution by end of year 2 and support its development by project end; implement required security standards and incident reporting throughout. Goal 5 – sustainability: submit the 988 sustainability plan six months before project end; establish and enhance tribal partnerships; initiate a statewide 988 awareness campaign aligned with SAMHSA branding.