Student financial aid: Golden State Social Opportunities Program.

Existing law establishes the Department of Health Care Access and Information. Existing law establishes various programs within the department, including the Licensed Mental Health Service Provider Education Program, which authorizes licensed mental health service providers who provide direct patient care in a publicly funded facility or a mental health professional shortage area to apply for grants to reimburse their educational loans, as specified. This bill, upon appropriation by the Legislature for its purposes, would establish the Golden State Social Opportunities Program, to be administered by the department, to provide grants to students who are enrolled in a postgraduate program of a University of California or California State University campus or an independent institution of higher education, if the students commit to working in a California-based nonprofit, as defined, for a period of 2 years upon completion of the postgraduate program. The bill would require a grant recipient to, upon completion of the postgraduate program, satisfy the requirements to become an associate clinical social worker, an associate professional clinical counselor, an associate marriage and family therapist, or a registered psychological associate.