The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission is accepting applications for the Mental Health Loan Repayment Program, which provides loan repayment for licensed mental health professionals practicing in underserved communities in West Virginia.
“Mental health providers across our state provide a truly invaluable service to West Virginians living in underserved areas,” says Dr. Sarah Armstrong Tucker, West Virginia’s chancellor of higher education. “Statewide, we need as many committed counselors, social workers and therapists as possible continuing to work in our communities. Through this loan repayment program, we can ease a financial burden for them and let them know how much we value and need their life-saving work.”
The Mental Health Loan Repayment Program provides loan repayment for graduates of accredited programs working in qualifying sites in an underserved community in exchange for a service commitment. Licensed certified social workers, licensed independent clinical social workers, licensed professional counselors, licensed marriage and family therapists, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners and licensed master’s and doctoral clinical psychologists are eligible for a $10,000 award.
Awards are made by the commission’s Division of Health Sciences based on a competitive review process and recommendations of an advisory panel. Applicants must have educational debt in at least the amount of the loan repayment award. Other selection factors include commitment to practice in an underserved area and professional recommendations.
Application materials are due June 1, 2024. For more information about the Mental Health Loan Repayment Program, visit the College for West Virginia website at collegeforwv.com/mhlrp or contact Michelle Ruppert at behavioralhealth@wvhepc.edu.
