Expand National Health Service Corps eligibility
Recommendation
The Health Services and Resources Administration (HRSA), within the Department of Health and Human Services, should educate mental health and substance use disorder (MH/SUD) professionals about Public Service Loan Forgiveness for work in the criminal legal system.[1] Congress should expand National Health Service Corps (NHSC) eligibility to local and county corrections and a wide range of SUD treatment and recovery support professionals and make permanent the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 NHSC expansion of eligible participating sites to include SUD treatment facilities.[1]
Background/summary
An increasing number of individuals with mental health and substance use disorders (MH/SUDs) are involved with the criminal legal system, where there is a scarcity of health professionals who can provide MH/SUD care.[1][2] An estimated 44 percent of individuals in jail and 37 percent in prison have a mental health condition and 63 percent and 58 percent, respectively, have an SUD. Sixty-three percent of these individuals don’t receive the treatment they need in prisons and less than half receive treatment in jails.[3][4] One way to incentivize MH/SUD professionals to work in the criminal legal system is by expanding loan forgiveness and repayment programs.[1]
Licensed clinical social workers and professional counselors; health service psychologists; marriage and family therapists; psychiatric nurse specialists; physicians with a specialty in psychiatry, including child and adolescent psychiatrists; nurse practitioners; and physician assistants who specialize in mental health and psychiatry who work in the criminal legal system are eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.[5][6] In Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, Congress expanded National Health Service Corps (NHSC) eligibility to include SUD treatment facilities and additional MH/SUD health professionals.[1][7] However, this expansion is not permanent and does not include eligibility for local and county corrections and MH/SUD treatment and recovery support professionals.[1][7][8] Education and permanent expansion of loan repayment and forgiveness programs is necessary to increase the number of MH/SUD health professionals in the criminal legal system.[1]
citations
1. National Alliance on Mental Illness. NAMI Consensus Workgroup Policy Recommendations to the 116th Congress and Trump Administration on Behavioral Health Issues in the Criminal Justice System: Next Steps. Last Accessed 2019.
2. The Commonwealth Fund. Understanding the U.S. Behavioral Health Workforce Shortage. Last Accessed May 18, 2023.
3. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. About Criminal and Juvenile Justice. Last Updated March 2, 2022.
4. National Alliance on Mental Illness. Mental Health Treatment While Incarcerated. Last Accessed July 5, 2023.
5. U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid. Public Service Loan Forgiveness FAQ. Last Accessed June 29, 2023.
6. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration. National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program: Fiscal Year 2023 Application & Program Guidance. Last Accessed February 2023.
7. Congressional Research Service. The National Health Service Corps. Updated January 4, 2022.
8. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration. How to Meet Eligibility Requirements for the NHSC Scholarship Program. Last Accessed March 2023.