September 22, 2026
Colleagues and partners,
Missouri is expanding access to behavioral health consultations for children, families, and pregnant and postpartum patients across the state through the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP). Two state agencies are leading the effort in partnership with the University of Missouri’s Center for Child Well-Being: the Missouri Department of Mental Health (DMH), which supports child and adolescent care, and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) Office on Women’s Health, which supports maternal care. Administered by the Missouri Department of Social Services (DSS), the effort represents a combined investment of up to $6.4 million to expand two provider-support programs, including the Missouri Child Psychiatry Access Project (MO-CPAP) and the Missouri Maternal Health Access Project (MO-MHAP).
"The Trump Administration’s Rural Health Transformation Program is built on the foundation that rural communities know their own needs best," said Alina Czekai, Director of CMS' Office of Rural Health Transformation. "We’re proud to partner with states on practical, community-driven solutions that expand access to care and build stronger, more sustainable rural health systems."
Missouri Child Psychiatry Access Project (MO-CPAP) MO-CPAP connects pediatricians, family medicine providers, school personnel, and other frontline professionals to child and adolescent psychiatrists so they can quickly and thoroughly diagnose and treat behavioral health concerns. It also connects families to local counseling, support groups, and community resources, and trains providers to spot concerns early. MO-CPAP will:
- Provide provider-to-provider teleconsultation with a child and adolescent psychiatrist, typically within 30 minutes
- Offer resource and referral services to help families navigate the mental health system
- Deliver live, virtual, and on-demand training to build rural provider capacity
- Expand enrollment across Missouri's rural RHTP Regional Coordinating Networks and hubs
Missouri Maternal Health Access Project (MHAP) MO-MHAP supports OB-GYNs, midwives, and other perinatal providers through psychiatric consultation and care coordination so they can identify and treat mental health conditions, substance use disorder, and other chronic conditions in pregnant and postpartum patients. MO-MHAP will:
- Provide tele-coaching and psychiatric consultations for perinatal providers
- Expand to cardiometabolic care, a leading cause of maternal mortality in Missouri, by adding Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialists
- Increase provider availability, including support outside standard business hours
- Offer training and outreach to strengthen the rural maternal health workforce
How to Access These Services: To learn more, visit MO-CPAP or MHAP online. Providers and families with questions can reach the Center for Child Well-Being at 844-538-2279, at psychiatryaccess@health.missouri.edu, or through their website.
For more on Missouri's Rural Health Transformation Program, visit dss.mo.gov/mhd/rural-health.
The Rural Health Transformation Program information provided by the Missouri Department of Social Services is supported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $216,276,817.66, with 100 percent funded by CMS/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, CMS/HHS, or the U.S. Government.
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