Minnesota Rural Mental Health Professional Loan Forgiveness Program

Elizabeth Fenske and Dan Merkl
health.loanforgiveness@state.mn.us

The Rural Mental Health Professional Loan Forgiveness Program provides funds for repayment of qualified educational loans for licensed mental health professionals who agree to practice in a designated rural area of Minnesota.

A designated rural area is defined as a city or township that is outside the 7-county Minneapolis/ St. Paul metropolitan area, excluding the cities of Duluth, Mankato, Moorhead, Rochester, and St. Cloud.

Licensed mental health professionals, including:

• Psychologists
• Independent clinical social workers (LICSW)
• Marriage and family therapists (LMFT)
• Licensed professional clinical counselors (LPCC)
• Licensed alcohol and drug counselors (LADC)

Preference is given to applicants closest to completing their training and those who can demonstrate diverse cultural competencies.

Up to $29,000 per year with a maximum of $116,000 is available for psychologists.

Up to $11,000 per year with a maximum of $44,000 is available for licensed independent clinical social workers, licensed marriage and family therapists, licensed professional clinical counselors, and licensed alcohol and drug counselors.

A link to the application guidelines and online portal is available on the program website.