The Graduate Stipend Program

The SCRP Graduate Stipend Program

The Southern Counties Regional Partnership (SCRP) has initiated the SCRP Graduate Stipend Program and intends to award educational stipends to students with clinical field placement (traineeship/internship/practicum) in an outpatient treatment facility operated by a county-run or county-contracted mental health / behavioral health agency, (excluding programs administered in or by an adult correctional facility). In addressing the workforce needs of the SCRP, the program will recruit students in the fields of clinical psychology, social work, marriage and family therapy, professional counseling, and psychiatric nurse practitioner for its county members; Imperial, Kern, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tri-Cities (Claremont, La Verne and Pomona) and Ventura.

Stipend Amount and Number of Stipends Awarded

The SCRP Graduate Stipend Program is funded for four academic years: 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25. Approximately 455 stipends will be awarded over the four years. Each educational stipend awarded is $6,000, to offset the cost of the student’s graduate studies. If additional funding becomes available, stipend amount may increase, and stipends may be awarded in 2025- 2026.

Eligibility Requirements – Academic Year 2024-25

1. Students who are currently participating in their final year of clinical field placement (traineeship, internship, or practicum) located in an outpatient county facility or agency funded by a county;
2. Students completing their final year of clinical field placement between January 1, 2025, and September 30, 2025.
3. Students enrolled in an academic program that leads to the practice of clinical psychology, marriage and family therapy, social work, professional counselor, or psychiatric nurse practitioner;
4. Students who do not have any existing service obligation with other entities, including other HCAI or county workforce incentive programs;
5. Students who are in good standing in their academic program;

Students in breach of any other health professional service obligation are not eligible. Students with lived experience, second language capacity, and diverse backgrounds will be prioritized applicants.

2024-25 Application Information

Each SCRP county will be fulfilling its own workforce needs when awarding the stipends allocated to that county. Application selection criteria may vary from county to county, so students are encouraged to be informed about their county’s recruitment endeavors. Each county will select student applicants to award one of its allocated stipends from their list of finalists. The number of allocated stipends per county is related to the size of each county.

The application process for all students regardless of county or discipline is the following:

To apply, students must complete the Regional Partnership Central Application through the California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI):

The application deadline is October 09, 2024.

Application – Personal Statements (Each personal statement must be 500 words or less)

In the application, students will be asked to respond to the following Personal Statements/Essays:

• Please describe how your personal background, lived experience, education, and/or training: Has contributed to your commitment to work with underserved/ underrepresented communities in the public mental health system relates to your commitment to work with underserved/ underrepresented populations has enabled you to better serve mental health consumers in a culturally responsive manner.
• What interests you about pursuing a career in the Public Mental Health Care system and how does it fit into your long-term career goals?
• California’s population comes from various cultures, ethnicities, sexual orientations, all ages, different levels of physical abilities and religions. Describe how your background, lived experience, education, internships and/or work experience have prepared you to serve linguistically or culturally unserved, underserved, or inappropriately served communities.

Stipend Program Agreement

Students awarded a stipend by their county must attend the Stipend Orientation conducted by the California Stipend Program to sign the Stipend Program Agreement. In addition to signing the Agreement, students will need to submit direct deposit documentation to receive the stipend. The orientation will inform students on the administrative role of the California Stipend Program, the student’s responsibility for accepting the stipend and on the issuance of the stipend. Recipients of the SCRP Graduate Stipend Program will be expected to fulfill the completion of the pre-degree field placement based on the educational program requirements and the county’s requirements in which the student serves.

Important Dates

Applications will be accepted beginning August 28, 2024 and the link will be posted here.

Last day to submit applications is October 9, 2024.

Stipend Orientation for selected students is January 10, 2025, 11:30AM – 1:00PM.

Additional Information for Interested Students

All applications will be processed by the California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) and submitted to the Stipend Program of Campbellsville University on behalf of the Southern Counties Regional Partnership. HCAI will allocate each application a quantitative score based on the data (information) provided by the student in the application.

Campbellsville University’s Stipend Program will contact students by the email address included in the application. Students will be notified that their application was received and processed.

Campbellsville University’s Stipend Program will notify the students whose applications were determined to be ineligible. There cannot be any changes or additions to the information included in the application. In prior years, ineligible applications included those where the student provided no practicum site, or a practicum site in a non-qualifying county or non-qualifying training agency.

Scoring Personal Statements.

The personal statements (essays) of eligible applications will be scored by Review Panel members, and the applicant will receive a qualitative score. The panel will consist of mental health professionals with considerable experience in public mental health practice. The Review Panel will score each essay (personal statement) based only on the information provided in the essay. The panel will not have or see other information submitted as part of the application. The panel will only read up to 500 words.

Awarding of Stipends.

The California Stipend Program will combine each applicant’s quantitative and qualitative scores to determine the applicant’s final score, which will be submitted to the county representatives where the student’s training program is located. The county representatives will select which students are awarded a stipend based on final scores and county priorities. (Please note that scores will not be provided to students.) The California Stipend Program will notify each student by email if they were awarded or not awarded a stipend once the counties make their selection.

Signing of the Stipend Program Agreement.

Students who have been selected to receive a stipend will need to attend the Stipend Orientation on January 10, 2025, 11:30AM – 1:00PM facilitated by the California Stipend Program via Zoom. The orientation will inform students of their clinical placement obligations and on the distribution of the stipend check. The orientation will also review the Stipend Program Agreement that each stipend recipient will need to sign.