Behavioral health internship grant program.

Existing law establishes various health professions education programs within the Department of Health Care Access and Information, through which scholarships, loan repayment grants, recruitment or training services, or other benefits are provided to certain health professionals, including mental health service providers, physicians, registered nurses, and vocational nurses, if they meet specified criteria. Existing law authorizes the department to award competitive grants to expand the supply of certain behavioral health professionals serving children and youth, as specified. This bill would, subject to an appropriation, require the department to establish and administer a grant program to allocate funding in the form of stipends, to be distributed to students in behavioral health fields of study and practice, who are participating in internships or completing licensure hours, through unpaid positions, at federally qualified health centers. The bill would require the department, in making grant determinations, to consider mental health professional shortage areas, as defined, and underrepresented groups in the behavioral health workforce. The bill would require the department to collect data in order to evaluate the impact of the grant program on serving the behavioral health needs of the patient community and the diversity of the behavioral health workforce, as specified. The bill would require the department to prepare annual reports based on the evaluation and to publish the annual reports on its internet website.