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| 1 | AN ACT concerning health.
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| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| 3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | ||||||
| 5 | Community Behavioral Health Care Professional Loan Repayment | ||||||
| 6 | Program Act. | ||||||
| 7 | Section 5. Purpose. The purpose of the Community Behavioral | ||||||
| 8 | Health Care Professional Loan Repayment Program is to recruit | ||||||
| 9 | and retain qualified mental health and substance use | ||||||
| 10 | professionals to practice in underserved or rural areas and to | ||||||
| 11 | address this State's community-based behavioral health care | ||||||
| 12 | workforce shortage that causes disparities in access to | ||||||
| 13 | critical mental health and substance use services. | ||||||
| 14 | Section 10. Definitions. In this Act: | ||||||
| 15 | "Commission" means the Illinois Student Assistance | ||||||
| 16 | Commission. | ||||||
| 17 | "Physician" means a person licensed by this State to | ||||||
| 18 | practice medicine in all its branches and includes any person | ||||||
| 19 | holding a temporary license, as provided in the Medical | ||||||
| 20 | Practice Act of 1987. | ||||||
| 21 | "Program" means the Community Behavioral Health Care | ||||||
| 22 | Professional Loan Repayment Program. | ||||||
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| 1 | "Psychiatrist" or "licensed psychiatrist" means a | ||||||
| 2 | physician who has successfully completed a residency program in | ||||||
| 3 | psychiatry accredited by either the Accreditation Council for | ||||||
| 4 | Graduate Medical Education or the American Osteopathic | ||||||
| 5 | Association. | ||||||
| 6 | Section 15. Establishment of Program. Beginning on July 1, | ||||||
| 7 | 2019, there is created the Community Behavioral Health Care | ||||||
| 8 | Professional Loan Repayment Program, which shall be | ||||||
| 9 | administered by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. | ||||||
| 10 | The Program shall provide loan repayment assistance, subject to | ||||||
| 11 | appropriation, to eligible mental health and substance use | ||||||
| 12 | professionals practicing in a community mental health center in | ||||||
| 13 | an underserved or rural federally designated Mental Health | ||||||
| 14 | Professional Shortage Area. | ||||||
| 15 | Section 20. Applications. Each year, the Commission shall | ||||||
| 16 | receive and consider applications for loan repayment | ||||||
| 17 | assistance under this Act. All applications must be submitted | ||||||
| 18 | to the Commission in a form and manner prescribed by the | ||||||
| 19 | Commission. Applicants must submit any supporting documents | ||||||
| 20 | deemed necessary by the Commission at the time of application. | ||||||
| 21 | Section 25. Award; maximum loan time; maximum amount. | ||||||
| 22 | Subject to appropriation, the Commission shall award a grant to | ||||||
| 23 | each qualified applicant for a maximum of 4 years. The | ||||||
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| 1 | Commission must encourage the recipient of a grant awarded | ||||||
| 2 | under this Act to use the grant award for payments towards the | ||||||
| 3 | recipient's educational loans. The amount of the grant shall | ||||||
| 4 | not exceed (i) $35,000 per year for a psychiatrist, (ii) | ||||||
| 5 | $15,000 per year for an advanced practice registered nurse or a | ||||||
| 6 | physician assistant, (iii) $12,000 per year for a psychologist | ||||||
| 7 | who holds a doctoral degree, (iv) $6,500 per year for a | ||||||
| 8 | licensed clinical social worker or a licensed clinical | ||||||
| 9 | professional counselor, and (v) $2,500 per year for a substance | ||||||
| 10 | use professional. | ||||||
| 11 | Section 30. Eligibility; work requirement. | ||||||
| 12 | (a) To be eligible for assistance under the Community | ||||||
| 13 | Behavioral Health Care Professional Loan Repayment Program, | ||||||
| 14 | the Commission must find that the applicant satisfies all of | ||||||
| 15 | the following: | ||||||
| 16 | (1) He or she is a United States citizen or an eligible | ||||||
| 17 | noncitizen.
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| 18 | (2) He or she is a resident of this State. | ||||||
| 19 | (3) He or she has worked for at least 12 consecutive | ||||||
| 20 | months as a behavioral health professional in a community | ||||||
| 21 | mental health center in an underserved or rural federally | ||||||
| 22 | designated Mental Health Professional Shortage Area in | ||||||
| 23 | this State. | ||||||
| 24 | (4) He or she is a borrower with an outstanding balance | ||||||
| 25 | due on an educational loan. | ||||||
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| 1 | (5) He or she has not defaulted on an educational loan. | ||||||
| 2 | (b) The Commission may grant preference to a previous | ||||||
| 3 | recipient of a grant under the Program, provided that the | ||||||
| 4 | recipient continues to meet the eligibility requirements under | ||||||
| 5 | this Section. | ||||||
| 6 | (c) A recipient of a grant under the Program must complete | ||||||
| 7 | a separate 12-month period working in a community mental health | ||||||
| 8 | center in an underserved or rural federally designated Mental | ||||||
| 9 | Health Professional Shortage Area in this State for each grant | ||||||
| 10 | that he or she is awarded.
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| 11 | Section 35. Administration; rules. The Commission shall | ||||||
| 12 | administer the Program and shall adopt rules not inconsistent | ||||||
| 13 | with this Act for the Program's effective implementation.
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