OMH Community Health Loan Repayment Program

Below are the Highlights -

Please visit https://omh.ny.gov/omhweb/rfp/ or see attachments on Documents tab for full details.

The FY 2022-23 Office of Mental Health Budget includes $9 million annually to support a new program to support licensed community mental health programs in the recruitment and retention of psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners (NPs). The Office of Mental Health (OMH) is establishing: The OMH Community Mental Health Loan Repayment Program (OMH CMHLRP) to support designated community programs in this effort.

For eligible programs, the OMH CMHLRP is awarding State Aid grants for loan repayment for both eligible existing or newly hired psychiatrists and psychiatric NPs in designated community mental health settings throughout New York State as follows:

•For psychiatrists, the OMH CMHLRP provides up to $120,000 in loan repayment over a three-year period.
•For psychiatric NPs, the OMH CMHLRP provides up to $30,000 in loan repayment over a three-year period.

A total of $9 million annually is available to fund the OMH CMHLRP during FY 2022-23. These funds will support a minimum of 360 awards (180 psychiatrists/180 psychiatric NPs). This guidance provides information on the OMH CMHLRP only for prospective programs considering applying on behalf of existing employees or new prospective staff.

Applications are currently being accepted by eligible programs for the OMH CMHLRP. An eligible program is required to apply on behalf of the eligible individual for funds to be used to repay qualified educational loans, over a three-year period, up to the balance of total student loan debt, not to exceed $120,000 for psychiatrists and $30,000 for psychiatric NPs.

OMH will support a minimum of three hundred and sixty (360) OMH CMHLRP awards (180 psychiatrists/180 psychiatric NPs). Applications by eligible programs will be selected for an award on a first-come first-served basis if their applications are complete and meet the minimum threshold for an award, as described in the application instructions, and funding remains available by region and/or program category. It is anticipated that approximately 360 OMH CMHLRP awards will be made during FY 2022-23. The funds will be provided directly to the licensed community mental health program, who will enter into loan repayment agreements with the eligible individual and distribute payments as obligated by each agreement. All eligible programs awarded funding under the OMH CMHLRP will be notified by email and/or U.S. mail within a reasonable time following the conclusion of the application approval.

Questions regarding this funding opportunity and application materials should be submitted to: OMH.CMHLRP@omh.ny.gov .

Prospective eligible program applicants should note that all clarifications and exceptions, including those relating to the terms and conditions of the contract, should be requested prior to the submission of an application.

To the degree possible, each inquiry requiring additional clarification should cite the application section, paragraph or numbered item to which it refers. OMH will make every attempt to answer all questions and respond and, as appropriate, post updates to in the Frequency Asked Questions (FAQs) for the OMH CMHLRP funds.

Questions and Answers will be updated as necessary (i.e. as they are posed by interested applicants) on a weekly basis. Please make sure to monitor OMH’s website (https://omh.ny.gov/omhweb/rfp/) for any/all updates and/or announcements.