Most community crisis services did not expand after the launch of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, potentially blunting the effectiveness of the hotline, a new study says.

Critical crisis services for people have not become more available since the rollout of the nationwide hotline system in mid-2022, Rand researchers say.

The launch of the nation's 988 mental health hotline did not coincide with significant and equitable growth in the availability of most crisis services, except for a small increase in peer support services,

Four Austin City Council members are proposing a full-scale review of how APD and other city departments respond to mental health crisis calls.