Missouri has launched a statewide behavioral health crisis network in tandem with the 988 national crisis hotline, shifting responses to mental health emergencies away from police and emergency rooms toward specialized mobile crisis teams.
In 2024, Missouri ranked 38th nationwide for prevalence of mental illness and access to treatment. To address this, the state invested about $15 million annually for fiscal years 2025 and 2026 to staff and fund mobile crisis teams. These teams of trained behavioral health workers respond without law enforcement when individuals in crisis call 988, offering no-cost assistance in homes, libraries, parking lots, or other community locations.
Missouri currently has 20 behavioral health centers in the mobile crisis response network statewide. In 2024, the 988 hotline answered nearly 85,000 calls, 20,500 texts, and nearly 8,800 chats. Of those contacts, about 3,000—just over 2.7%—resulted in a mobile crisis team being dispatched. So far in 2025, 3.08% of contacts result in a mobile team responding, according to data from the Department of Mental Health. After deescalating crises, providers offer follow-up check-ins and connections to treatment options, Medicaid assistance, or other resources based on individual needs.
Rural communities face unique challenges in implementing mobile crisis response. Staff report that cultural attitudes toward seeking help, concerns about home privacy, and poor internet access can complicate outreach. Consent is particularly important, as providers recognize that uninvited responders could potentially escalate situations.
Emergency responders and behavioral health workers agree that emergency rooms and jails are not appropriate settings for people in crisis. Data show repeat encounters with behavioral health calls have significantly decreased as the 988 mobile response option becomes better known and citizens receive appropriate resources and follow-up care. The state is also incentivizing law enforcement to receive crisis intervention training to better assess and deescalate crisis calls when responders are needed.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2025/06/25/missouri-mental-health-988-mobile-crisis-network/