Int. No.
By Council Members Lee, Cabán and Louis
A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the establishment of a task force on 988 and a public education campaign on mental health awareness
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section 1. a. Definitions. For purposes of this local law, the following terms have the following meanings:
988. The term “988” means the three digit phone number designated by the federal communications commission for the purpose of connecting individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis with suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis counselors, mobile crisis teams, and crisis stabilization services and other behavioral health crises services.
City. The term “city” means the city of New York.
Task Force. The term “task force” means the 988 improvement task force established by this local law.
b. Task force established. There is hereby established a task force to be known as the 988 improvement task force.
c. Duties. The task force shall review the response to 988 calls in the city and make recommendations for improvements, including recommending:
1. Updates to the training that 988 call takers receive to prepare them to respond to a variety of mental health situations;
2. Revisions to the script 988 call takers use in order to enable them to de-escalate quickly, communicate that the purpose of their questions is to ensure the caller’s safety, and connect callers with resources to support their mental health needs;
3. Updates to the 988 mobile crisis team protocols to ensure that mental health professionals can be dispatched in a timely manner when necessary; and
4. Metrics and methods to track the quality of care individuals receive when they contact 988.
d. Membership. 1. The task force shall be composed of the following members:
(a) The commissioner of health and mental hygiene or the designee of such commissioner, who shall serve as chair;
(b) Four members appointed by the mayor, at least two of whom must have backgrounds in mental health care; and
(c) Two members appointed by the speaker of the council, at least one of whom must be a certified peer specialist, certified recovery peer advocate, credentialed family peer advocate, or credentialed youth peer advocate, as such terms are defined in section 36.03 of the mental hygiene law.
2. The mayor may invite officers and representatives of relevant federal, state and local agencies and authorities to participate in the work of the task force.
3. All appointments required by this subdivision shall be made no later than 90 days after the effective date of this local law.
4. Each member of the task force shall serve at the pleasure of the officer who appointed the member. In the event of a vacancy on the task force, a successor shall be appointed in the same manner as the original appointment for the remainder of the unexpired term. All members of the task force shall serve without compensation.
e. Meetings. 1. The chair shall convene the first meeting of the task force no later than 30 days after the last member has been appointed, except that where not all members of the task force have been appointed within the time specified in subdivision d, the chair shall convene the first meeting of the task force within 10 days of the appointment of a quorum.
2. The task force may invite experts and stakeholders to attend its meetings and to provide testimony and information relevant to its duties.
3. The task force shall meet no less than once each quarter to carry out the duties described in subdivision c.
4. The meeting requirement of paragraph 3 of this subdivision shall be suspended when the task force submits its report as required by subdivision f.
f. Report. 1. No later than 270 days after the effective date of this local law, the task force shall submit a report to the mayor and the speaker of the council setting forth the recommendations required by subdivision c and any other recommendations for legislation and policy relating to improvements to 988. The report shall include a summary of information the task force considered in formulating its recommendations.
2. The commissioner of health and mental hygiene shall publish the task force’s report electronically on the website of the department of health and mental hygiene no later than 10 days after its submission to the mayor and the speaker of the council.
g. Agency support. The department of health and mental hygiene shall provide appropriate staff and resources to support the work of the agency related to the task force.
h. Termination. The task force shall terminate 180 days after the date on which it submits its report, as required by subdivision f.
§ 2. Chapter 1 of title 17 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new section 17-199.32 to read as follows:
§ 17-199.32 Public education campaign on mental health awareness. a. The department shall create and implement a public education campaign relating to mental illness and the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline number. The campaign shall include in-person and virtual outreach in designated citywide languages, as defined in section 23-1101. The campaign shall provide information about:
1. How to recognize when individuals are displaying symptoms of mental illness;
2. How to assess risk of harm in a situation in which an individual is displaying symptoms of mental illness;
3. When it is appropriate to call 988 in response to an individual who is displaying symptoms of mental illness;
4. How to describe the behavior of an individual displaying symptoms of mental illness in a way that will help 988 operators accurately assess the situation and the appropriate response;
5. A comprehensive list of services accessible through 988, including referrals to mobile crisis teams and intensive mobile treatment teams, with a description of each service’s purpose, the populations primarily served, distinctions among services, and additional ways such services may be accessed; and
6. A description of any additional support services for individuals displaying symptoms of mental illness, including, but not limited to, assertive community treatment teams, clubhouses for individuals with serious mental illness, and community-based facilities that provide alternatives to hospitalization, along with instructions for how to contact these services.
b. The department shall develop and distribute printed materials containing the information described in subdivision a at city facilities, public libraries, community board offices, council district offices, homeless shelters operated by or on behalf of the city, and to the extent practicable, in parks and other public spaces, as well as other locations the commissioner deems appropriate.
c. Such campaign shall continue for no less than one year or for such longer duration as the commissioner determines will further the goals of the campaign and promote awareness and safety.
§ 3. This local law takes effect immediately, except that section 2 of this local law takes effect 90 days after it becomes law.
SA/SOS
LS #13248, 13340, 13251, 13250, 21928
2/24/26 2:15pm