The 988 Hotline Needs Social Workers, Students, and Faculty

By Darla Spence Coffey, PhD, MSW

In 2020, Congress designated the new 988 dialing code to be operated through the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) agrees with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration that 988 is a “first step towards a transformed crisis care system in America.”

The 988 hotline, which launched on July 16, will undoubtedly bring a welcome lifeline for people to connect with mental health and suicide prevention services when they urgently need them. Dialing 988 to speak to a counselor or crisis intervention expert will, over time, become as ingrained in our society as calling 911, which launched in 1968 for emergency services.

It is imperative that this hotline be fully staffed to handle the volume of calls and extend care to those in crisis. There are more than 850 accredited social work programs across the country with students and faculty who may be eager to ensure that 988 is set up for success. This is a chance for counties and states, who are by and large left to find ways to staff and fund the hotlines, to look at social workers and especially social work students as a resource to provide care.

A profession based on public trust, social work is focused on providing responsible care to vulnerable clients and communities when they need it. Accredited social work programs require students to complete 400 hours of field experience for a baccalaureate degree and 900 hours for a master’s degree. The CSWE and accredited social work programs view the competencies and experience gained in field courses as essential to becoming a professional social worker who embodies the profession’s required competencies and ethics.

The CSWE encourages all state agencies, charitable organizations, and medical systems to look at the many ways that social workers and students can extend care to those in need.

There are more than 850 accredited social work programs nationwide in which students are educated to employ culturally appropriate strategies to engage diverse clients and constituencies to advance practice effectiveness. Through their coursework and field placements, students learn to apply their knowledge of human behavior and a person-in-environment framework to implement appropriate interventions and treatments with a variety of clients and constituencies.

Creating opportunities for students to earn their field hours in this new system of care is a sure way to build a competent workforce that will ensure that everyone who calls the 988 hotline is able to speak with a person who understands how to provide that care.

— Darla Spence Coffey, PhD, MSW, is the president and CEO of the Council on Social Work Education. The organization is dedicated to advancing excellence in social work education and research through accreditation and support for administrators, faculty, and students.