Mental Health and Addiction Services Loan Repayment Assistance

Abstract

The State of Indiana recognizes the importance of strengthening and retaining the behavioral health workforce in order to 1) tackle the opioid epidemic and 2) expand the workforce to areas in greatest need of mental health care. Financial incentives focused on workforce recruitment and/or retention are frequently used as a strategy to increase workforce capacity, reduce turnover, and reduce burnout. Student loan repayment assistance programs are one such strategy. These programs generally offer professionals relief from the administrative and economic stress of repaying student debt in exchange for practicing in underserved areas or with underserved populations for a specified time period. In 2014, the Indiana Family and Social Services Division of Mental Health and Addiction (DMHA) implemented a Mental Health and Addiction Services Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) targeting behavioral health professionals. The Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research and Policy (Bowen Center) was contracted by DMHA to perform an evaluation of the LRAP. The primary objectives of the evaluation were to 1) identify successful outcomes associated with the program and 2) determine areas in need of improvement. The following report describes the evaluation methods, discusses results, identifies successes, and offers recommendations for future program improvement