{"id":3985,"date":"2021-09-17T17:01:41","date_gmt":"2021-09-17T21:01:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/?page_id=3985"},"modified":"2025-10-15T08:56:37","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T12:56:37","slug":"virginia-behavioral-health-student-loan-repayment-program","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/virginia-behavioral-health-student-loan-repayment-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Virginia Behavioral Health Student Loan Repayment Program"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pl-3985\"  class=\"panel-layout\" ><div id=\"pg-3985-0\"  class=\"panel-grid panel-no-style\" ><div id=\"pgc-3985-0-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-3985-0-0-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_sow-editor panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"0\" ><div\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tclass=\"so-widget-sow-editor so-widget-sow-editor-base\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t>\n<div class=\"siteorigin-widget-tinymce textwidget\">\n\t<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><b>The BH-LRP Application Cycle will open on October 15 at 8:30 AM EST and closes on April 15, 2026.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/primarycareincentiveprograms.powerappsportals.us\/Program\/?id=186eb9b6-5b7b-439b-90f2-26585e03ab9a\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7714 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2024\/08\/click-here-apply-now-300x150.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2024\/08\/click-here-apply-now-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2024\/08\/click-here-apply-now.png 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The 2021 General Assembly established a $1.6 million <strong>Virginia Behavioral Health Student Loan Repayment Program (BH-LRP)<\/strong> to help recruit and retain behavioral health (BH) professionals to practice in underserved areas of the Commonwealth and\/or provide counseling and treatment to underserved populations. This program will repay a portion of an eligible BH professional's student loan debt. In return, recipients commit to practicing in Virginia for a minimum of two years at an eligible site.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Eligible BH-SLRP practice sites include behavioral health authorities or community services boards, federally qualified health centers, free clinics\/hybrid clinics, rural health clinics, state mental health or correctional facilities, and nonprofit organizations serving the uninsured or medically underserved populations and\/or communities, stand-alone inpatient psychiatric facilities serving uninsured or medically underserved populations and\/or communities.<\/li>\n<li>Priority will be given to eligible BH professionals of color, those who speak more than one language fluently, and\/or those who practice in one of Virginia\u2019s many mental health professional shortage areas.<\/li>\n<li>Total award amount will not exceed 25% of student loan debt (annual limits include $50,000 for Psychiatrists and Psych NPs and $20,000 for Psychologists, LPCs, and LCSWs)<\/li>\n<li>No employer or community match is required.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>BH-SLRP awardees must possess a valid and unrestricted license to practice in Virginia in one of the VDH BH SLRP flyer following disciplines:<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Eligible Tier One Providers:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Psychiatrists;<\/li>\n<li>Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists (CAP)<\/li>\n<li>CAP Fellows (limited fellow (unrestricted) license is acceptable);<\/li>\n<li>Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioners;<\/li>\n<li>Psychiatric Physician Assistants;<\/li>\n<li>Psychiatric Pharmacists;<\/li>\n<li>Psychiatric Registered Nurses.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><u>Eligible Tier Two Providers<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Licensed Clinical\u00a0Psychologists;<\/li>\n<li>Licensed Professional\u00a0Counselors (<i>including Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists<\/i>);<\/li>\n<li>Licensed Clinical Social Workers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><u>Eligible Tier Three Providers\u00a0<\/u>(Added in FY25)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Licensed Practical Nurse;<\/li>\n<li>Registered Nurse;<\/li>\n<li>Certified Substance Abuse Counselor;<\/li>\n<li>Licensed Substance Abuse Treatment Practitioner;<\/li>\n<li>Professional Counselor;<\/li>\n<li>School Psychologist;<\/li>\n<li>Mental Health Professional;<\/li>\n<li>Social Worker;<\/li>\n<li>Registered Peer Recovery Specialist;<\/li>\n<li>Qualified Mental Health Professional;<\/li>\n<li>Behavioral Health Technician;<\/li>\n<li>Behavioral Health Assistant Technician;<\/li>\n<li>Art Therapy Associate\/Therapist;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES\/REQUIRED FORMS:<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2025\/03\/BH_LRP_GUIDELINES_-FY25-FY26-Ready-12-5-24-1-2.pdf\"><strong>BH_SLRP Guidelines<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2025\/03\/BH-SLRP-Provider-Support-Form-1.pdf\">BH-SLRP Provider Support Form (1) ( <em>To be completed by the employer &amp; uploaded by applicant)<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2021\/12\/VDH-Virginia-Behavioral-Health-Certificate-of-Auto-Qualifying-2021.pdf\"><b>VDH Auto Qualifying Sites<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2025\/03\/BH-LRP-Flier.png\"><strong>BH SLRP Flier<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>CONTACT:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">If you have any questions about the program, please get in touch with the Workforce Incentive Program Team by calling (804)-864-7435 or emailing <a href=\"mailto:incentiveprograms@vdh.virginia.gov\">incentiveprograms@vdh.virginia.gov.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; The BH-LRP Application Cycle will open on October 15 at 8:30 AM EST and closes on April 15, 2026. &nbsp; The 2021 General Assembly established a $1.6 million Virginia [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":326,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3985","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Virginia Behavioral Health Student Loan Repayment Program - Health Equity<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/virginia-behavioral-health-student-loan-repayment-program\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Virginia Behavioral Health Student Loan Repayment Program - Health Equity\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&nbsp; 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