Federal Loan Repayment/Fellowship Programs for the Substance Use Disorder Workforce
The National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD) has compiled this list of available federal loan repayment and fellowship programs:
Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program
Agency: Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA)
Description: Expands the number of fellows at accredited Addiction Medicine Fellowship (AMF) and Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship (APF) programs trained as addiction medicine specialists who work in underserved, community-bases settings that integrate primary care with mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) services. The program encompasses both psychiatry and an addiction subspecialty for primary care doctors.
Eligibility: Eligible applicants include accredited addiction medicine of addiction psychiatry fellowship programs, or a consortium consisting of at least one teaching health center and one addiction medicine or addiction psychiatry fellowship program.
National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Substance Use Disorder Loan Repayment Program
Agency: Health Services & Resources Administration (HRSA)
Description: The NHSC SUD Workforce LRP expands access to evidence-based substance use disorder (SUD) treatment in underserved, high-need communities across the country. The program offers health care clinicians the opportunity to have their qualifying student loans repaid in exchange for serving at an NHSC-approved SUD site.
Eligibility: Eligible applicants must have a current health professional license; eligibility to participate as a provider in the Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP); eligibility for Federal employment; and be employed at, or have accepted a position at, an NHSC approved SUD treatment site where employment will begin no later than April 23, 2020. Eligible disciplines include physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, certified nurse- midwives, psychiatrists, health service psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, psychiatric nurse specialists, marriage and family therapists, licensed professional counselors, substance use disorder counselors, registered nurses, and clinical pharmacists.
Opioid Workforce Expansion Programs (OWEP) for Professionals / Opioid Workforce Expansion Programs (OWEP) for Paraprofessionals
Agency: Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA)
Description: The purpose of this program is to provide community-based training for behavioral health professionals and paraprofessionals in the provision of opioid use disorder (OUD) and other substance use disorder (SUD) prevention, treatment, and recovery services in high need and high demand areas. The program will also foster an integrated and interprofessional approach to address SUD treatment through academic, community, and non-traditional community organization partnerships.
Eligibility: Eligible applicants for the OWEP Professional grant includes accredited institutions of higher education; accredited behavioral health professional training programs; accredited master or doctoral-level programs in social work; American Psychological Association (APA)-accredited doctoral, internship, and post-doctoral residency programs of psychology and health service psychology; and domestic faith-based, community-based organizations, and tribal organizations, if otherwise eligible.
Eligible applicants for the OWEP Paraprofessionals grant include State-licensed mental health nonprofit and for-profit organizations; accredited academic institutions including universities, community colleges, and technical schools; and tribal organizations, if otherwise eligible.
Graduate Psychology Education (GPE) Program
Agency: Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA)
Description: The purpose of this program is to train doctoral health psychology students, interns, and post-doctoral residents to provide integrated substance use disorder (SUD) services in high need and high demand areas. The program also supports faculty development of health service psychology with an overarching goal of preparing and building capacity of the doctoral health psychology workforce to provide SUD prevention and treatment services.
Eligibility: Eligible entities are American Psychological Association (APA)-accredited doctoral schools and programs of health service psychology, APA-accredited doctoral internships in professional psychology, and APA-accredited post- doctoral residency programs in practice psychology.
Agency: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Description: The purpose of this program is to reduce behavioral health disparities and improve healthcare outcomes for racial and ethnic minority populations by: 1) increasing the knowledge of behavioral health professionals on issues related to treatment and recovery support for individuals with a substance use disorder (SUD); 2) improving the quality of SUD treatment services delivered to racial and ethnic minority populations; and 3) increasing the number of culturally competent professionals in psychology focused on SUDs, addiction psychiatry, and addiction medicine
Eligibility: Eligible applicants include public or private non-profit professional organizations representing SUD treatment professionals in the fields of addiction psychiatry, addiction medicine, and psychology.
Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) Program Professional Track / Paraprofessional Track
Agency: Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA)
Description: The Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) Program aims to develop and expand experiential training opportunities, such as field placements and internships, to improve the distribution and supply of the behavioral health workforce. The BHWET Program emphasizes relationships with community-based partners to increase access to quality behavioral health services for populations across the lifespan in high-need and high-demand areas. A special focus is placed on demonstrating knowledge and understanding of the specific concerns for children, adolescents, and transitional-aged youth who are at risk for behavioral health disorders. There are two tracks for this program: the BHWET Professional Track and the BHWET Paraprofessional Certificate Track.
Eligibility: Professional Track: Accredited institutions of higher education or accredited behavioral health professional training programs in psychiatry, psychology, school psychology behavioral pediatrics, psychiatric nursing, social work, school social work, substance use disorder (SUD) prevention and treatment, marriage and family therapy, occupational therapy, school counseling, or professional counseling. Other eligible applicants include accredited doctoral, internship, and post-doctoral residency programs of health service psychology and accredited master’s and doctoral degree programs of social work.
Paraprofessional Track: Behavioral or peer paraprofessional certificate training programs offered by States, political subdivisions of States, Indian tribes and tribal organizations, public or nonprofit private health professions schools, academic health centers, State or local governments, or other appropriate public or private nonprofit entities as determined appropriate by the Secretary.
Opioid-Impacted Family Support Program
Agency: Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA)
Description: The purpose of this program is to increase the number of peer support specialists and other behavioral health-related paraprofessionals who work on interprofessional teams to provide services to children whose parents are impacted by substance use disorders (SUD), and their family members who are in guardianship roles. There is a special focus on developing knowledge and understanding of the specific concerns for children, adolescents, and transitional aged youth in high need and high demand areas who are at risk for mental health disorders or SUD.
Eligibility: Eligible applicants include State-licensed mental health nonprofit and for-profit organizations. Training programs can include behavioral health-related paraprofessional occupations such as peer support specialist, community health worker, and substance abuse/addictions worker among others. Organizations may be academic institutions, including universities, community colleges, and technical schools. Domestic faith-based and community- based organizations, tribes, and tribal organizations are also eligible.