Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

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Missouri program

Help with heating and cooling bills (LIHEAP)

Missouri helps with seasonal energy bills and has separate crisis payments when disconnection is near.

What it is

Missouri helps with seasonal energy bills and has separate crisis payments when disconnection is near.

Energy assistance can pay part of a heating or cooling bill. Crisis assistance serves households facing disconnection. Your local agency checks the season, income and available funding.

Eligibility rules
  • DSS confirms the approved income table, household members and income rules for the season. The public current page lists a $3,000 resource limit; the agency explains which resources are included or excluded.
What you get
  • Up to $800 for a winter crisis or $300 for a summer crisis.
  • A separate seasonal payment toward heating or cooling costs.
What the help includes
  • The regular heating grant runs October to May. Winter crisis help runs November to May and summer crisis help June to September, as long as the local agency still has funds.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask a local energy assistance agency or the Family Support Division at 855-373-4636 about the application.
  2. Have the energy bill and any disconnection notice ready, with household income details.

Family Support Division and local energy agencies: 855-373-4636 · Official page ↗

After you apply
  • An ordinary request takes about 30 working days. If a shutoff is close, the crisis program has to act within 48 hours, or 18 hours when someone's health is at risk.
  • Your social worker can coordinate with both the crisis agency and utility. Neither the ordinary processing estimate nor an assistance request replaces a utility’s shutoff-hold decision.
Good to know

A pending energy-assistance request does not itself stop a shutoff. The utility separately checks medical or weather protections and payment arrangements.

Other details
  • The local agency decides what the program can pay toward your specific bill.

Federal background: Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Could energy assistance help with our bill? What would it cover and leave unpaid, and could you help us request it if we qualify?”

Why I’m asking: I want to understand the help available if an energy bill becomes difficult to pay.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Apply, and say straight away if a disconnection notice has arrived.

Your social worker

A hospital social worker can point you to the local agency.

The care team

Nothing here; the medical hold on a shutoff is a separate item.

Who decides
The Family Support Division and local agencies
Ask the agency
“We have a disconnection notice and a child in cancer treatment. Can we be considered for crisis help?”

How to apply

First step: Apply through dss.mo.gov/utility-assistance/liheap, and say if a disconnection notice has arrived.

  1. If a disconnection notice has arrived, ask for crisis help, not ordinary energy assistance.
  2. Apply even if you think you are over the line: the two published charts disagree.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Apply through the state's energy assistance page or a local agency.

What to gather

The diagnosis letter, the child’s insurance card, and the last two pay stubs cover most applications. The official page lists the rest.

How long: No decision deadline is published.

What a yes looks like

A payment made straight to the utility against your account.

What a no looks like, and the next move

If the no is on income, ask which chart the agency used, because Missouri publishes two.

Watch out

  • Ask for crisis help by name if a notice has arrived; it is a different pot.
  • Do not rule yourself out on the published income figure: the state prints two different ones.

Dates that change this

2026-04-01: Missouri's energy-assistance income figures could not be printed: the department's web page and its own linked chart give different amounts for every household size, both dated April 1, 2026. Apply and let the agency decide.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

Up to $800 in a winter crisis and $300 in a summer crisis, plus one seasonal payment towards the bill.

  • $800 — Winter crisis maximum
  • $300 — Summer crisis maximum

Covers: One seasonal payment towards heating or cooling · A crisis payment when disconnection is imminent

What it costs the family: None.

The eligibility facts, as published

Income
unknown: Missouri's web page and the chart it links to publish different monthly figures for every household size, both dated April 1, 2026, and the approved season table could not be read. The basis is 60 percent of the state median income, not a poverty percentage.
Season
energy assistance October to May; winter crisis November to May; summer crisis June to September, subject to funding
Residency
Missouri

The trap: The income line for this could not be pinned down: Missouri's own web page and the chart it links to give different figures for every household size, both dated April 1, 2026. Apply and let the agency decide rather than ruling yourself out on a number that may be the wrong one.

Where I read this

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