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State Mental Health Loan Assumption Program Available Applications Due on March 24, 2009
The State Department of Mental Health has released guidelines for a statewide Mental Health Loan Assumption Program. DMH selected the Health Professions Education Foundation to administer this program because of their experience and expertise administering statewide financial incentive programs. Below is information on how county or contract agency mental health staff can apply to this valuable program!
Funding
The Mental Health Loan Assumption Program is supported by $2.5 million in funds secured
from the Mental Health Services Act, under the Workforce, Education and Training component.
(These new MHSA dollars are in addition to existing loan repayment programs the Foundation already
has in place.) Each county will receive a specific allocation based on a statewide formula. The
MHSA funding set aside for this program is for mental health professionals working in the
"Public Mental Health System" which includes publicly-funded facilities administered in whole or
in part by the Department of Mental Health or by the County. Qualified applicants may receive
up to $15,000 in educational loan repayments over a two year period in exchange for providing
direct mental health patient care. This initial program is designed for graduate level staff that are
in difficult-to-fill positions, as determined by each county. Here in Alameda County, this program
is available to staff in county and contract CBO agencies.
Application Process
Attached to this email are the following documents:
- Mental Health Loan Assumption Flyer (PDF)
- Mental Health Loan Assumption Application (PDF)
- PowerPoint presentation that HPEF presented at the Bay Area Collaborative (PDF)
The Spring postmark deadline for this program is March 24th, 2009. Applications are currently
being accepted, and early applications will be reviewed for completeness.
A statewide conference call to learn about the program is scheduled for February 23, 5:30 p.m.
to 6:30 p.m. (I will also be arranging a call for Alameda County staff.) If you are interested in
participating in this statewide call – please RSVP to the following person, and she will send you
the call-in information:
Daniela Reynoso-Miranda
Program Officer
Health Professions Education Foundation
400 R Street, Room 460
Sacramento, CA 95811
Ph: (916) 326-3654
DReynoso@oshpd.state.ca.us
There will be a county mental health verification component to this program for all applicants.
After applications are received by the Foundation, those from Alameda County will be sent to
Dr. Marye Thomas, our county mental health director, to ensure that all applicants from our
county work in our public mental health system and are employed in a hard-to-fill or hard-to-retain
position as determined by our county’s workforce needs.
For additional information, you can visit the Foundation’s website
http://www.oshpd.ca.gov/HPEF. If you have questions or need clarification on any of
information I have presented in this email, please let me know.
Toni Tullys, MPA
Workforce Development Manager
Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services
2000 Embarcadero Cove, Suite 201
Oakland, CA 94606
phone: 510.639.1209
cell: 510.725.7454
email: ttullys@acbhcs.org
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