When the 988 crisis hotline launched in 2022, it was a bid to give people across the country a single easy-to-remember phone number, like 911, that they could call if they were suicidal or needed mental health help.
Since then, the national line has received more than 14.5 million calls. More than 246,000 of those are from Washington.
But as the federal mental health and substance use agency that runs the line faces staffing cuts, mental health professionals, advocates and lawmakers fear 988 could be affected.
While most of the 988 line in Washington is funded by a 40-cent state tax on cellphone bills, and the call centers are operated by local nonprofits, the federal government provides infrastructure and money that help keep the program running. Washington officials and organizations involved with the hotline here say the state funding helps insulate the program and it hasn’t seen significant effects from federal cuts yet, but there’s still uncertainty about what comes next for a program that’s deeply intertwined with federal staffing and funding.
988 is just one component of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, housed in the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency distributes grants to service providers and local governments seeking to address addiction and mental health. Washington jurisdictions, departments and organizations have received nearly $1.5 billion in grants from SAMHSA since 2014, according to data on the agency’s website.
The state Department of Health receives around $4.6 million in grant funding from SAMHSA each fiscal year for 988 — about 14% of the state’s overall yearly funding for the hotline, said Michele Roberts, assistant secretary for prevention and community health. The state health department also relies on federal infrastructure for specialized lines, call routing and interpretation services.
About 100 SAMHSA employees — 10% of the agency’s workforce — were laid off as a result of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s firing of probationary employees, STAT reported. Further cuts could reduce the agency’s staff by half, senior staff members at the agency told The New York Times.
SAMHSA did not respond to specific questions about staffing or budget cuts in the agency as a whole, or among employees working on 988.
“The 988 Lifeline continues daily, life-saving work, helping thousands of people every day and millions of people every year,” SAMHSA spokesperson Danielle Bennett said in an email.
Members of Congress, including Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Seattle, have spoken out about the cuts to SAMHSA and asked for more details.
“The Trump Administration has been systematically destroying funding for lifesaving programs, including at SAMHSA and the (National Institutes of Health),” Jayapal said in a statement to The Seattle Times. “If they were serious about addressing health care in this country, including the opioid epidemic, they would not be clawing this funding away from researchers, health professionals, and those operating the suicide prevention hotline.”
Staff at SAMHSA have been critical in advocating to Congress and coordinating the lifeline nationally, said state Sen. Tina Orwall, D-Burien, one of the sponsors of Washington’s bill to implement 988. The lifeline has been a key part of Washington’s efforts to improve its mental health crisis care system in recent years.
“It’s incredibly disturbing to hear about reductions at SAMHSA,” Orwall said. “It’s such a key window of work being done. I’m deeply sad, and this is going to really impact our nation’s ability to implement 988.”
What is 988, and how does it work?
The federal government rolled out 988 in 2022 as an easy-to-remember number for the suicide prevention and mental health hotline, staffed by trained crisis counselors. The lifeline is accessible by call, text or online chat 24 hours per day.
Washington’s Department of Health manages the state’s 988 operations, and three organizations — Crisis Connections, Frontier Behavioral Health and Volunteers of America Western Washington — staff crisis call centers for different parts of the state.
The majority of Washington’s 988 funding comes from a tax on phone lines passed in 2021. Users pay 40 cents per month per line. A bill under consideration in the state Legislature would increase it to 80 cents per month over the next two years to pay for other behavioral health services.
The staffing cuts at SAMHSA come as the hotline’s use has been growing. Washington and the federal government have increased the promotion and public communications around 988.
The state Health Department said in a statement it is aware of staff reductions at SAMHSA and the 988 office, but the 988 Lifeline has not been affected.
Federal money from SAMHSA only accounts for about 1.5% of Crisis Connections’ overall budget, said Sergey Smirnov, senior director of advancement and community engagement.
“While we always monitor potential funding changes, our ability to provide crisis care remains strong,” Smirnov said in a written statement to The Seattle Times. “That said, any reductions in federal support could have ripple effects on the broader crisis care system.”
Beyond the main 988 line, specialized subnetworks provide care for specific populations: Callers can press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line, 2 to get support in Spanish, 3 for the LGBTQ+ Youth Line and 4 for the Native and Strong Lifeline.
The Veterans Crisis Line is run by the Department of Veterans Affairs, which faces its own staffing cuts locally and nationally. The Spanish language line and LGBTQ+ Youth Line are both run federally.
Volunteers of America Western Washington runs the state’s Native and Strong Lifeline, staffed by Indigenous crisis counselors who can provide crisis intervention and support while integrating cultural and traditional practices. “It’s hard to say,” if this line could be a target of federal directives to cut funding for programs involving diversity, equity and inclusion, said Levi Van Dyke, chief behavioral health officer.
“Most of the infrastructure we have built within Washington that’s supported with funds from the state would remain intact,” Van Dyke said. “Outside of that, I really don’t know.”
Specialized lines help serve populations that have higher rates of death by suicide, including veterans and LGBTQ+ community, Roberts said. If specialized lines are shut down, it would also increase the burden on the main 988 line.
“We’re certainly concerned about the potential for reduced support and resources for vulnerable populations,” she said. “Tailored services are key to meeting people where they are and addressing and honoring their lived experiences.”
Washington’s 988 call centers rely on Vibrant Emotional Health, a national nonprofit SAMHSA contracts with, for routing calls based on the caller’s geographic location. Vibrant also backs up calls that can’t be answered in state. Washington answered 94% of its calls in state in February 2025, but in some states, that rate was as low as 57%.
Vibrant declined to answer specific questions about its contract with SAMHSA and federal staffing cuts. Spokesperson Julia Motis said in a statement the 988 lifeline “remains uninterrupted.”
Still, there’s uncertainty about the future of the federal agency and the broader mental health crisis system, particularly as lawmakers consider federal cuts to Medicaid.
“It just seems like there’s nothing sacred,” Orwall said. “We potentially could be really taking some steps backward, depending on the depth of the cuts.”
