Behavioral health professionals in New Jersey can now apply to get up to $180,000 in student loans reimbursed through a new state program designed to boost the number of people working in mental health jobs.
Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law creating the Behavioral Healthcare Provider Loan Redemption Program last June. It is part of the state’s efforts to increase mental health care access, according to a statement from the state Higher Education Student Assistance Authority, which is overseeing the loan program.
The state will fund the program, which will “help address the critical shortage of behavioral health providers in the Garden State,” the authority’s statement said.
Under the program:
- Behavioral health care professionals can apply for the state to pay off up to $150,000 of their student loan balance if they agree to work at an approved behavioral and mental health provider in New Jersey.
- The loans will be forgiven in increments. Those who apply can have up to $50,000 in loans forgiven for every two years of service in the field, for a maximum of six years.
- Applicants who work primarily with children may also be eligible to receive grants of up to $5,000 each year for up to six years, resulting in an additional $30,000. That would bring the total amount of available loan forgiveness to $180,000 per person.
Eligible occupations under the program include psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, psychiatric nurse mental health clinical specialists, board certified behavioral analysts, licensed clinical alcohol and drug counselors and licensed professional counselors.
The hope is that the program will close the gap between the number of behavioral health professionals and the number of New Jerseyans in need, Murphy said in a statement.
“Expanding mental health services for our residents, especially our youth, will be critical in continuing to help our residents recover from the challenges they have faced over the past several years,” he said.
Murphy met with other governors in California earlier this week at the National Governor’s Association roundtable discussion on youth mental health. Murphy, the group’s chairman, said on Twitter the mental health issue “transcends state and party lines.”
Increasing accessibility for people to enter the behavioral health profession will make their services more available to New Jersey residents, Murphy said in the statement.
“Paying off a part of healthcare providers’ student loan balances can help alleviate the financial pressures of professionals in these high-demand career paths,” said Higher Education Student Assistance Authority executive director David Socolow.
The state has set aside $5 million to support the first group of approved applicants, officials said.
Anyone participating in another state tuition or loan repayment program or the national health care service repayment program is ineligible to apply.
Those looking to apply can fill out the application and submit it to the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority for review.
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Camille Furst may be reached at cfurst@njadvancemedia.com.
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