I am an HCAI Medi-Cal Behavioral Health Student Loan Repayment recipient looking to change jobs, but I’ve found it really hard to identify eligible sites, and honestly the program officers haven’t been very helpful. I currently work in county behavioral health and am trying to move into something that feels like a better long-term fit.
I’m especially interested in hospice, pediatric palliative care, CAC/forensic interviewing work, or other trauma-focused settings, but it’s been unclear whether those would qualify. I’ve interviewed with a few organizations and even submitted brochures/job descriptions to HCAI to see if they count, but the process has been super tedious and vague.
So I’m looking for inspiration from others in the program:
If you’re an HCAI/MBH-SLRP recipient, what qualifying practice sites have you worked at?
Have any of you qualified in:
- Hospice or palliative care
- Hospital social work
- CACs/child advocacy centers
- School-based mental health or ERMHS
- Street medicine/outreach
- Nonprofits contracted with counties
- Integrated behavioral health/primary care
- Group practices with high Medi-Cal populations
I know the guide mentions things like FQHCs, CMHCs, hospitals with certain Medi-Cal percentages, etc., but in practice it feels difficult to know what actually gets approved unless it’s a very obvious county clinic.
Would love to hear where people have successfully worked, what got denied, and how you balanced loan repayment eligibility with actually liking your job/work-life balance.