9–8–8 and 9–1–1 Integration Act

This legislation mandates the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Attorney General, to convene a panel tasked with developing comprehensive recommendations for 9-1-1 dispatcher training and protocols. The primary objective of these recommendations is to ensure that 9-1-1 dispatchers can appropriately respond to individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis, tailoring their approach to the incident's characteristics and the caller's specific needs. The panel will comprise a diverse group of experts, including psychiatrists, paramedics, law enforcement, 9-1-1 and 9-8-8 dispatchers, and representatives from underserved communities and crisis response services. Their considerations will include connecting callers to crisis care services instead of law enforcement, integrating the 9-8-8 system into 9-1-1, and establishing processes for identifying and evaluating mental health or substance use crises using standardized assessment tools. The recommendations will also address training requirements for dispatch personnel, emphasizing cultural competency , implicit bias , and evidence-based best practices for behavioral health crises. Furthermore, the panel will develop data collection and reporting standards to assess outcomes, such as successful connections to crisis care and law enforcement involvement, with these recommendations and standards updated periodically and reported to Congress.