S 5252: Establishes a loan forgiveness program for licensed mental health professionals in jails and prisons for the purpose of increasing the number of mental health professionals rendering mental health services in correctional institutions; provides for eligibility and priority; provides for awards in the amount of $2,000; makes related provisions.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5252 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE February 20, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. CANZONERI-FITZPATRICK -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to a loan forgiveness program for licensed mental health professionals in jails and prisons The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 679-k 2 to read as follows: 3 § 679-k. New York state licensed mental health professionals in jails 4 and prisons loan forgiveness program. 1. Purpose. (a) The president 5 shall grant student loan forgiveness awards for the purpose of increas- 6 ing the number of mental health professionals rendering mental health 7 services in correctional institutions in New York state. 8 (b) For the purposes of this section, the term "correctional insti- 9 tutions" shall mean any place operated by the department of corrections 10 and community supervision as a place for the confinement of persons 11 under sentence of imprisonment or persons committed for failure to pay a 12 fine, including any place owned and operated by county or municipal 13 governments within New York as a place for the confinement of persons 14 under sentence of detention, imprisonment or persons committed for fail- 15 ure to pay a fine. 16 2. Eligibility. To be eligible for an award pursuant to this section, 17 applicants shall: (a) be licensed as a mental health professional pursu- 18 ant to article one hundred sixty-three of this chapter; (b) comply with 19 subdivisions three and five of section six hundred sixty-one of this 20 part; and (c) have an outstanding student loan debt. 21 3. Priority. Such awards shall be made annually to applicants in the 22 following priority: 23 (a) First priority shall be given to an applicant who has received 24 payment of an award pursuant to this section in a prior year and who, in EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01817-01-5 
 S. 5252 2 1 the year prior to application, has provided mental health services to 2 incarcerated individuals and/or correction staff in a correctional 3 institution; 4 (b) Second priority shall be given to applicants who have not received 5 payment of an award pursuant to this section in a prior year and who 6 have provided mental health services to incarcerated individuals and/or 7 correction staff in a correctional institution; and 8 (c) Third priority shall be given to applicants who are currently 9 providing mental health services to incarcerated individuals and/or 10 correction staff in a correctional institution for less than one year. 11 4. Awards. The corporation shall grant awards in the value of two 12 thousand dollars to individuals who have provided full-time mental 13 health services to incarcerated individuals and/or correction staff in a 14 correctional institution, provided that no recipient shall receive an 15 award that exceeds the total remaining balance of the student loan debt 16 and that no recipient shall receive cumulative awards, pursuant to this 17 section, in excess of twenty thousand dollars. Awards shall be within 18 the amount appropriated for such purpose and based on availability of 19 funds. 20 5. Rules and regulations. The corporation is authorized to promulgate 21 rules and regulations necessary for the implementation of the provisions 22 of this section. In the event that there are more applicants who have 23 the same priority, as provided in subdivision three of this section, 24 than there are remaining awards, the corporation shall provide in regu- 25 lation the method of distributing the remaining number of such awards, 26 which may include a lottery or other form of random selection. 27 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.