(110 ILCS 996/30)

Sec. 30. Eligibility; work requirement.

(a) To be eligible for assistance under the Community Behavioral Health Care Professional Loan Repayment Program, the Commission must find that the applicant satisfies all of the following:

(1) He or she is a United States citizen or an eligible noncitizen.

(2) He or she is a resident of this State.

(3) He or she has worked for at least 12 consecutive months as a behavioral health professional in a community mental health center, behavioral health clinic, substance use treatment center, or State-operated psychiatric hospital licensed or certified by the Department of Human Services or the Department of Healthcare and Family Services in an underserved or rural federally designated Mental Health Professional Shortage Area in this State.

(4) He or she is a borrower with an outstanding balance due on an educational loan.

(5) He or she has not defaulted on an educational loan.

(b) The Commission may grant preference to a previous recipient of a grant under the Program, provided that the recipient continues to meet the eligibility requirements under this Section.

(c) A recipient of a grant under the Program must complete a separate 12-month period working in a community mental health center in an underserved or rural federally designated Mental Health Professional Shortage Area in this State for each grant that he or she is awarded.

(Source: P.A. 103-56, eff. 7-1-24.)