(a) To be eligible for the Board staff to reserve loan
repayment funds, a mental health professional must:
(1) ensure that the Board staff has received the completed
application by the established deadline, which will be posted on the
program web page;
(2) be a U.S. citizen or a Legal Permanent Resident
and have no license restrictions;
(3) not be currently fulfilling another obligation
to provide mental health services as part of a scholarship agreement,
a student loan agreement, or another student loan repayment agreement.
(b) For applicants who first establish eligibility
for the program before September 1, 2023, a mental health professional
must:
(1) agree to provide five consecutive years of eligible
service in a Mental Health Professional Shortage Area, with the understanding
that the professional will be released from the agreement if funding
for continued loan repayment is not appropriated; and
(2) agree to provide mental health services to:
(A) Individuals enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP or both;
or
(B) persons committed to a secure correctional facility
operated by or under contract with the Texas Juvenile Justice Department
or persons confined in a secure correctional facility operated by
or under contract with any division of the Texas Department of Criminal
Justice.
(c) For applicants who first establish eligibility
for the program on or after September 1, 2023, a mental health professional
must:
(1) agree to provide three consecutive years of eligible
service in a Mental Health Professional Shortage Area, with the understanding
that the professional will be released from the agreement if funding
for continued loan repayment is not appropriated; and
(2) agree to provide mental health services to:
(A) Individuals enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP or both;
or
(B) persons committed to a secure correctional facility
operated by or under contract with the Texas Juvenile Justice Department
or persons confined in a secure correctional facility operated by
or under contract with any division of the Texas Department of Criminal
Justice.
(d) Notwithstanding subsection (c), for applicants
who first establish eligibility for the program on or after September
1, 2023, who provide mental health services to patients in state hospitals,
individuals receiving community-based mental health services from
a local mental health authority, or students enrolled in an eligible
district or school, a mental health professional must agree to provide
three consecutive years of eligible service as outlined in §23.98
of this subchapter (relating to Eligibility for Disbursement of Loan
Repayment Assistance).
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Source Note: The provisions of this §23.96 adopted to be effective November 12, 2015, 40 TexReg 7818; amended to be effective February 22, 2016, 41 TexReg 1232; transferred effective December 15, 2016, as published in the Texas Register November 25, 2016, 41 TexReg 9341; amended to be effective May 22, 2019, 44 TexReg 2456; amended to be effective November 16, 2022, 47 TexReg 7556; amended to be effective February 15, 2024, 49 TexReg 692 |