Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Program - The University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita (KUSM-W) is an accredited institution of higher education that provides training in psychiatry and psychology. With the KEY STEPS program, we will further the mission of KUSM-W to ensure that all Kansans, and particularly those from rural and underserved communities, have timely access to mental healthcare that is safe, effective, and evidence-based. To accomplish this, the KEY STEPS program will sustainably increase the supply of highly trained child and adolescent psychiatrists and psychologists and prepare them to provide integrated mental health care for children, adolescents, and young adults. The KEY STEPS program will improve the quality of the mental healthcare workforce by training its graduates as collaborators, educators, and supervisors. The KEY STEPS program will extend our existing accredited training programs for child and adolescent psychiatrists and psychologists by establishing and expanding training experiences in community-based settings. Through graduated, supervised clinical experiences, didactics, and mentorship, KEY STEPS trainees will develop skills to work effectively with patients and their families, especially those in in and from high-need and under-served communities, and those who have complex, intensive, and acute needs. The KEY STEPS program will establish a leadership team to accomplish the following specific aims: 1. Recruit clinicians committed to providing care for underserved youth. We will recruit trainees committed to serving children and adolescents in high-need and underserved communities, to further KUSM-W’s mission of “Training Doctors for Kansas.” 2. Provide interprofessional specialist training in child and adolescent psychology and psychiatry. We will implement an interprofessional training model that will teach trainees to assess and treat severe and complex psychopathology, trauma related syndromes, and neurodevelopmental disorders. We will develop new clinical services and training opportunities in early childhood disorders and pediatric integrated care, including certification in evidence-based approaches and exposure to innovative models of care. 3. Promote access to care and reduce shortages and inequity. The KEY STEPS program will capitalize on our existing collaborative relationships (funded through HRSA) to share expertise with other healthcare professionals by educating KEY STEPS learners in the effective delivery of consultative and collaborative care. Through experiential training and didactics, the program will build trainees’ cultural and linguistic competency and will maximize telehealth and digital interventions to improve mental healthcare access for underserved youth. 4. Provide trainee supports for success. We will support KEY STEPS trainees in developing professional goals and connect them with career opportunities in underserved communities through didactics, mentorship, and technical assistance. We will systematically build supervisor competence and integrate trainee feedback through continuous quality improvement efforts. KEY STEPS program stipends will support eight Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellows, twelve Psychology Pre-Doctoral Interns, and four Child and Adolescent Psychology Post-Doctoral Fellows over the course of the 4-year project. We will train these learners as expert clinicians and provide them with the knowledge, skills, and confidence necessary to practice effectively in, for, and with rural and underserved patients and communities, and to collaborate with other healthcare professionals. Based on data from past KUMC-W training programs, we expect that the majority of these graduates will go on to practice in rural and underserved communities. We are requesting funding priority based on Priority 1 (integrated care settings) and funding preference based on Qualification 1 (high rate) for the psychology positions, and Qualification 3 (new program) for the psychiatry positions.