Establishment of a task force on 988 and a public education campaign on mental health awareness.

The bill would create a task force to study the current NYC 988 system and make recommendations for its improvement. The task force would be required to submit a report to the Mayor and the Speaker of the Council with their recommendations, including updates to counselor training to ensure culturally competent and trauma-informed responses, strategies to strengthen language access, and methods to track the quality of service that callers receive. The task force would also be required to make recommendations on strategies to address underutilization of 988 among historically underserved communities, as well as outreach and communication strategies targeting those communities. The bill would also require the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to submit an annual report on NYC 988 operations, including data on the number of calls, texts, and chats answered, average response times, transfers to 911, mobile crisis team referrals, peer support contacts, and follow-up rates. In addition, the bill would require DOHMH to create a public education campaign on mental health and NYC 988, to be conducted in English and all designated citywide languages. The campaign would provide information on the appropriate use of 988, services accessible through 988, additional community-based mental health resources, how 988 differs from 911, and key features of the system including its availability, confidentiality, and language access options.