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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 111 / Friday, June 11, 2021 / Proposed Rules so, would making it easier to text the Lifeline save lives?
5. In our preliminary view, facilitating Lifeline accessibility by text message to 988 is also likely to provide significant benefits to many other at-risk communities as well, further justifying our proposed mandate. As the Commission explained in the 988
Report and Order, a broad range of American communities are disproportionately impacted by suicide, including Veterans, LGBTQ individuals, racial and ethnic minorities, and rural Americans. Many members of these affected communities may prefer to seek help through text messages. For example, Mental Health America reports that data they collect demonstrate that individuals who identify as Black or African American are more likely to report that they would like to receive a phone number they can immediately call or text for help than members of any other race or ethnicity. Do commenters agree with Mental Health America that making crisis counseling services available via text message may mean the difference between accessing psychological support and forgoing it, especially among youth of color? Is Mental Health America correct that easy access to crisis services via text may be the difference between seeking and forgoing help for such groups, and if so would use of a 3-digit dialing code for the Lifeline make a significant difference in widespread understanding that such crisis services are available?
6. Indeed, demographic evidence regarding usage of currently available non-governmental text and chat options indicate that texting is a particularly valuable means to obtain help, not only for young people, but also for many members of low income, minority, and other communities that are disproportionately impacted by mental health crises. Several commenters in this proceeding have pointed to the successes that private non-profit services like the Trevor Project have had in providing crisis counseling to at-risk communities through text messages, offering that their experiences demonstrate the need to provide text access to 988. In addition, as one commenter to the 988 notice of proposed rulemaking argued, adding text access to 988 could allow the Lifeline and Veterans Crisis Line to more efficiently route those in need to specialized services, further leveraging the expertise of organizations like the Trevor Project, which provides mental health support and counseling specific to the needs of LGBTQ youth. We preliminarily agree with this assessment and believe that establishing text access
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to 988 will complement the important work already being done by these and other private sector organizations, and further facilitate access to the lifesaving resources offered by the Lifeline and Veterans Crisis Line. We seek comment on these views and on the benefits of text-to-988 for at-risk groups. Are there additional at-risk communities that may benefit from texting as an option to access the Lifeline?
7. Likewise, we preliminarily believe that our tentative conclusion is further justified because implementing text-to988 capability will provide substantial benefits for individuals with disabilities who uniquely rely on text-based media to communicate. As the Communications Equality Advocates and others note, texting is an indispensable means of communication for individuals with disabilities. These individuals have increasingly adopted widely available text messaging platforms such as those offered by CMRS providers and interconnected text messaging services in lieu of specialized legacy devices. Further, texting may be the only means for such individuals to contact 988 directly and efficiently. Access to telecommunications for individuals with disabilities is a longstanding Commission priority and statutory obligation, and facilitating access to 988
for deaf and hard of hearing individuals is a particularly important policy objective in light of studies finding a significantly increased risk of suicide among deaf and hard of hearing people when compared to those without hearing loss. We seek comment on these views and whether our proposal would ease access to lifesaving counseling for individuals with disabilities. Do commenters agree with the Communications Equality Advocates that the ability for individuals normally using text for the bulk of their communications, including people with disabilities, to access trained mental health professionals using text-to-988
will be of paramount importance?
Currently, how do people with disabilities reach the Lifeline? How would texting grant access or enhance their ability to communicate with the Lifeline? We seek comment on whether texting would be more accessible than the options currently available, including the Lifelines online chat portal.
8. We tentatively conclude that the potential lifesaving benefits of expanding access to suicide prevention and mental health crisis services for all Americansand particularly the at-risk groups discussed abovejustifies a textto-988 mandate, and we seek comment
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on this view. The Commissions designation of 988 as the 3-digit telephone number for the Lifeline reflected its expectation that a simple, easy-to-remember, 3-digit dialing code for suicide prevention and mental health crisis counseling would help increase the effectiveness of suicide prevention efforts, ease access to crisis services, reduce the stigma surrounding suicide and mental health conditions, and ultimately save lives. We preliminarily believe that establishing text access to 988 will further advance these important objectives by providing mental health crisis counseling through a nationally available, easy-to-remember number that Americans will also associate with the telephonic Lifeline.
Do commenters agree with the Communications Equality Advocates that individuals in crisis are likely to first use their preferred, familiar mode of communication to reach out for help? We seek comment on this analysis, and on our proposed conclusion that a text-to-988 mandate is likely to offer substantial, lifesaving benefits to all Americans affected by mental health crises, particularly for many members of at-risk communities.
Is a text-to-988 mandate likely to have a significant impact on the likelihood of Americans considering suicide or in a mental health crisis to contact the Lifeline? Would mandating text-to-988
amplify the benefits of promoting 988 as the telephone number for the Lifeline?
What are the costs or drawbacks to our proposal?
9. In our preliminary view, the Lifelines soft launch of a texting capability is a significant changed circumstance that supports mandating text-to-988. When the Commission adopted the 988 Report and Order, the Lifeline was not capable of receiving or responding to text messages. The Commission, stating that it has no authority to require the Lifeline to develop texting capability, deferred consideration of mandating text-to-988
at this time so that we could revisit the issue promptly should the Lifeline develop integrated texting. Now, the Lifeline is capable of responding to texts sent to the Lifeline. The Lifelines ability to respond to texts significantly strengthens the case for imposing a textto-988 mandate on providers. We seek comment on this evaluation.
10. We preliminarily expect many of the same lifesaving benefits from texting to 911 to accrue from texting to 988. In its comments in support of adopting a text-to-988 requirement, CTIA notes that text-to-911 functionality has saved countless lives and enabled public safety to keep pace with the modern
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