SECTION 23.96. Eligibility for Conditional Approval of Applications

(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).

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