LaShae Sharp-Collins — LaShae Sharp-Collins expresses enthusiasm that Assembly Member Shiavo is present, repeating the same brief acknowledgment in overlapping transcript segments.
Sade Elhawary — The chair and witness refer to Assembly Member Sade Elhawary (name uncertain in the transcript, appearing as Shiavo/Chiavo) during a single continuous exchange. The chair thanks the member, the witness addresses the member directly, and the member is acknowledged for sharing personal experience and opening comments.
Sade Elhawary — The witness addresses Assembly Member Elhawary, with one mention appearing to be a transcription error ('Assembly Member Shiavo') and the next correctly naming Assembly Member Elhawary.
Stephanie Welch — Introduced as Deputy Secretary of Behavioral Health at CalHHS.
Ivan Bardwage — Introduced as chief of the Medi-Cal Behavioral Health Policy Division at DHCS.
Steve Yarbrough — Introduced as Deputy Director of Public Safety Communications at the Governor's Office of Emergency Services.
Steve Yarbrough — Introduced as the next witness; identified as the Deputy Director of Public Safety Communications.
Narjus Zohori Dilan — Introduced as President of the 988 California Consortium.
Gail Pellerin — Gail Pellerin is addressed as Chair Pellerin in a witness’s opening remarks, with the witness offering thanks to the chair.
Gail Pellerin — Addressed as one of the Assembly Members present.
Gail Pellerin — The witness greets and addresses Chair Gail Pellerin, with one mention appearing to be a transcription variant of the same name.
The Trevor Project — The Trevor Project was described as a nonprofit suicide prevention organization serving LGBTQ+ youth through crisis support, services, research, and advocacy. The discussion then noted efforts to contract with the organization to provide enhanced competency training from experts in the field, and later referenced stepping in to fund a gap for The Trevor Project, underscoring its importance to LGBTQ+ youth.
Ivan Bargwa — Introduced as the next speaker.
Pilar Schiavo — Addressed as one of the Assembly Members present; transcript renders the name as 'Chiavo/Shiavo.'
Pilar Schiavo — Addressed as Assembly Member Schiavo.
Ivan — Identifies himself as chief of the Medi-Cal Behavioral Health Policy Division at DHCS and describes his division's responsibilities.
Ivan — The chair thanks Ivan for enduring the noise and asks for his written statement testimony to be added to the record.
Ivan — Referenced as having mentioned similar dynamics earlier.
Narjus — Introduced as the president of the 988 California Consortium and began testimony about the work of California 988 centers.
Narjus — The 988 California Consortium president continues testimony about in-state answer rates and system capacity.
Stephanie — Referenced as having discussed crisis stabilization units earlier.
Steve — The speaker references Steve's remarks about infrastructure and technology delays.
Steve Bennett — Referenced as the person whose point about the feedback loop is being discussed.
April Giambra — April Giambra, representing Lake County behavioral health and speaking from both professional and lived-experience perspectives, introduces herself and her roles in behavioral health, crisis response, and peer support. She explains that Lake County’s mobile crisis system is built on local knowledge and trusted relationships, and that she helped draft and implement California’s first DHCS-approved mobile crisis implementation plan. Giambra praises 988 as a critical, life-saving resource that has helped residents, especially non-acute callers and some long-unsupported community members, but argues that its current structure and out-of-county routing do not fully support rural mobile crisis needs. She notes that outside call centers often lack understanding of Lake County’s geography, risks, and service gaps, and that the county has no visibility into how 988 referrals are made back to local crisis teams. She contrasts this with local responders who know available shelters, food pantries, meetings, and connectivity limitations, and who can coordinate effectively with first responders without defaulting to law enforcement. She closes by citing strong local outcomes, including thousands of calls, nearly 2,000 community dispatches in 2024, reduced 5150 holds, housing placements, and the trust residents place in a crisis line answered by familiar local staff.
Megan Will Huon — Introduced as a witness from the Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Services Department.
Peter Murphy — Introduced as a witness from the Mental Health Association of San Francisco.
Peter Murphy — Peter Murphy, outreach manager for the Mental Health Association of San Francisco, describes the California Peer Run Warm Line and his own background in recovery and peer counseling. He explains that the warm line is a non-emergency, peer-staffed support service distinct from but complementary to 988, with warm handoffs and direct transfers for callers at higher risk of suicide. Murphy outlines the warm line’s history, its trauma-informed and lived-experience-based approach, and how it expanded during the pandemic after receiving state funding. He also says recent budget changes have forced service reductions, including scaling back operations and eliminating the Spanish-language warm line. He emphasizes that the service helps callers before crises escalate, supports de-escalation, and can save money by reducing ER and other high-cost interventions.
Mental Health Association of San Francisco — Named as one of the organizations represented on the panel.
Santa Clara County representative — The Santa Clara County representative reported that the county’s 988 program is meeting or exceeding key performance benchmarks, including answer rate, flow-out rate, speed, and hang-up/disconnect standards, and noted steady year-over-year improvement supported by strong staff and volunteers. The witness then shared emotional caller testimonials showing the life-saving impact of 988, and explained that 988 serves as the front door to a broader county crisis response system that includes 24/7 mobile crisis services across the county.
Gail Pellerin — Thanked as chair; likely the intended reference for 'Chair Pellarin'.
Gail Pellerin — The speaker responds to Assembly Member/Chair Gail Pellerin’s questions and remarks about why the tax is being lowered despite insufficient funding for call centers, with a later brief address to Chair Pellerin in the same discussion.
Gail Pellerin — The speaker repeatedly addresses Chair Pellerin in brief greetings and acknowledgments, including thanking the chair and staff.
Sharon Quirk-Silva — Thanked as 'Assembly member Chiavo,' likely a transcription error for Assembly Member Schiavo.
Bill McCabe — Bill McCabe of the Family Service Center/Family Service Agency of the Central Coast is introduced as a remote witness, is connected on Zoom after initial audio issues, identifies himself, and then explains that he is the CEO of a nonprofit providing 988-related services in Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito counties.
Dr. Laandra Clark Harvey — Introduced as a witness from the California Behavioral Health Association.
Sandry Kramer — Introduced as being with D.D. Hirsch Mental Health Services.
Jenae Schallert — Introduced as being with the Elk Grove Police Department.
Jenae Schallert — Introduces herself as an LCSW and crisis response clinician formerly with the Elk Grove Police Department.
Nargis — Referenced as having spoken earlier about call centers not being part of the table in funding decisions.
La Andra Clark Harvey — La Andra Clark Harvey is introduced as the next witness from the California Behavioral Health Association, and she then identifies herself as the organization’s CEO and a psychologist, noting her experience working with suicide survivors and families.
AB98 — Described as carefully negotiated legislation intended to create a comprehensive statewide crisis response framework.
Sondri Kramer — Introduced as Senior Director of Training and Community Engagement at the D.D. Hirsch Suicide Prevention Center and confirmed she is on the line.
Sandra Kramer — Sandra Kramer introduces herself as the Senior Director of Community Engagement for D.D. Hirsch Suicide Prevention Center and explains that she is representing one of the largest 988 crisis centers in the country.
Carl DeMaio — The speaker discusses a 911 diversion program run in partnership with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), noting that it is one of the oldest such programs, has been in place for nearly five years, and has handled over 6,700 calls so far.
Karen Vickery — Represents Mental Health America of California and speaks from a peer perspective about trust in 988.
Divia Schiff — Represents the California Alliance of Child and Family Services and testifies in support of funding for 988 call centers.
Haley Ayers-Baloo / Hayley Ayers-Beelew — Identified herself as speaking on behalf of the Miles Hall Foundation in support of AB 988.
Trent Murphy — Testified on behalf of CADP in support of 988 funding and the crisis system.
AB988 — Referenced as the system's reliance on the bill is expected to increase moving forward.
AB988 — Referenced as the legislation whose drafters ensured the responsible bodies sit on each other's boards to support implementation.