Submitted Photo A 2022 study found half of adults in the United States said someone in their family had experienced a severe mental health crisis. Photo from Adobe Stock.

A new report looking at the rollout of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline found a wide variance between states, with North Dakota included in the analysis.

The revamped service debuted two years ago as a response system where people experiencing a mental health crisis can call or text and connect with specialized counselors. The report by the mental health advocacy nonprofit Inseparable showed North Dakota’s rate for calls being answered meets the desired goal of 90%.

Angela Kimball, chief advocacy officer for Inseparable, said despite progress, there remain underserved areas.

“We’re still a long way from having the kind of system that everybody expects in every ZIP code in every part of America,” Kimball said.

For North Dakota, the report recommended it join the list of other states adding a telecom fee to ensure stable financing of call center operations. The 988 service can connect people in crisis to mobile response teams. The report estimated North Dakota needs 12 such teams.

The 988 hotline was established in part to relieve police and emergency rooms from dealing with people in mental health crises. The report showed four in 10 people in jail or prison have a mental health condition, and one in five fatal police shootings since 2015 have involved people experiencing a mental health emergency.

Kimball said providing people in crisis the right kind of help is critical.

“We know that with the right approach, people can get on the path to recovery,” Kimball said. “We can avoid the expense, the trauma of emergency departments, of jails, of law enforcement involvement, and really give people help when they need it most.”

The report found nationwide, more than 80% of calls to 988 are resolved over the phone and for those who required mobile response teams, 70% of those are resolved in the field.