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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Fourth Legislature, Second Regular Session
mental
health professionals; loan repayment
(NOW: mental health professional academy; appropriation)
Purpose
Establishes the Arizona Mental Health Professionals Academy Pilot Program (Pilot Program) under Northern Arizona University (NAU) and outlines requirements for the Arizona Mental Health Professionals Academy (Academy). Appropriates $5,000,000 from the state General Fund (state GF) in FYs 2021, 2022 and 2023 to the Arizona Mental Health Professionals Academy Fund (Fund) for the Academy.
Background
The Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) must maintain a state university at Flagstaff in Coconino County that is designated as Northern Arizona University. All public universities must have colleges, schools and departments and give courses of study and academic degrees approved by ABOR. The NAU President and faculty members share responsibility for academic and educational activities and matters related to faculty personnel (A.R.S. § 15-1601).
H.B. 2072 appropriates $5,000,000 from the state GF in FYs 2021, 2022 and 2023 to the Fund for the Pilot Program.
Provisions
1. Requires NAU to implement a three-year Pilot Program to provide incentives for students to enter the mental health profession and commit to working as mental health professionals in an Arizona public school or correctional facility operated by Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC) or Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections (ADJC).
2. Requires NAU to develop and implement administrative processes for the Academy that includes:
a) A marketing and promotion plan to recruit students;
b) data collection and reporting;
c) tracking postgraduation service requirements; and
d) collecting reimbursement from individuals who fail to meet service obligations.
3. Allows the Academy to include new or existing mental health professional preparation program pathways that are student-focused and employ proven research-based models of best practices.
4. Allows NAU to develop a portfolio of mental health professional preparation programs to offer as part of the Academy.
5. Requires NAU to develop formalized partnerships with ADC, ADJC and public schools to build commitments for mental health professional employment on completion of the Academy.
6. Requires the targeted deployment of mental health professionals who have completed the Academy to be based on the needs of ADC, ADJC, each school system and the community that is being served and the individual skills of each mental health professional.
7. Requires NAU, after all other financial gifts, aid or grants have been received, to provide each full-time master's student enrolled in the Academy with a scholarship of $7,500 per semester for a maximum of six semesters.
8. Requires students with in-state student status to receive first priority for admission to the Academy.
9. Requires a student, if the student does not complete the academic semester in good academic standing, to reimburse NAU for the total amount of the scholarship for tuition and fees the student received for the semester.
10. Requires a student, for every two semesters the student successfully completes and receives scholarship monies, to work as a mental health professional for one full year in a correctional facility operated by ADC or ADJC or for one full school year at a public school.
11. Specifies if a student successfully completes the Academy and receives a scholarship for an odd number of academic semesters, the student must add an additional six months or half a school year to the student's required service.
12. Prohibits NAU, if the scholarship does not cover the remaining tuition or fee costs for in-state students, from charging those students the remaining balance.
13. Specifies, for students without in-state status, the student is responsible for the remaining balance.
14. Allows NAU, if the scholarship amount exceeds the cost of tuition and fees, to use the remaining balance for Academy costs.
15. Requires the student to reimburse NAU the proportional amount of the scholarship for tuition and fees that the student received, if the student does not fulfill the student's obligation to work as a mental health professional in an ADC or ADJC facility or public school for the required amount of time.
16. Requires NAU to establish a process, if the student is physically or mentally unable to fulfill the Academy requirements, to assess the student's ability to repay the financial assistance received and determine any terms of repayment.
17. Requires NAU to establish a process for deferring service or repayment based on factors adopted by NAU.
18. Limits the Academy scholarships to master's students and prohibits baccalaureate and doctoral students from participating in the Academy.
19. Establishes the Fund, administered by NAU, consisting of legislative appropriations for the purpose of administering and funding the Academy.
20. Exempts the monies in the Fund from lapsing and specifies that Fund monies are continuously appropriated.
21. Allows monies in the Fund to be used for:
a) providing and reimbursing scholarships that cover the balance of tuition and fees for Academy students; and
b) implementing a marketing and promotion plan to recruit and retain students in the Academy; and
c) administering the Academy.
22. Caps the annual expenditures for marketing, promoting and administering the Academy at $150,000 in each fiscal year.
23. Allows any remaining monies in the Fund at the end of a fiscal year to be used by NAU for the Academy costs in the next fiscal year.
24. Requires NAU, by March 1 of 2021, 2022 and 2023, to submit a report to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the Governor's Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting on the:
a) total number of students enrolled in the Academy in the current academic year; and
b) estimated amount of monies committed from the Fund in the current fiscal year.
25. Requires NAU, by September 1 of 2021, 2022 and 2023, to submit a report to the Governor and Legislature and provide a copy to the Secretary of State on the:
a) total number of students enrolled in the Academy by year of college enrollment;
b) percentage of students who completed each year of the Academy and plan to continue to the following year, delineated by each mental health professional preparation program offered by the Academy;
c) number of mental health professionals that completed a program through the Academy;
d) number of mental health professionals that are currently working in an ADC or ADJC facility or public school as part of an agreement for receiving an Academy scholarship;
e) number of students who have defaulted on their obligation and are in repayment agreements;
f) number of students who have deferred and completed repayment agreements; and
g) amount of unused monies in the Fund from the prior fiscal year.
26. Defines mental health professional, semester and tuition and fees.
27. Appropriates $5,000,000 from the state GF in FYs 2021, 2022 and 2023 to the Fund.
28. Becomes effective on the general effective date, retroactive to July 1, 2020.
House Action
APPROP 2/12/20 DPA/SE 9-1-0-1
3rd Read 3/5/20 50-10-0
Prepared by Senate Research
March 13, 2020
LMM/kja