Human Services Professional Loan Repayment Program

(last updated June 1, 2026)

The number of awards made through this program, as well as the individual dollar amount awarded, are subject to sufficient annual appropriations by the Illinois General Assembly and the Governor.

Program News 
Program Overview
Eligibility Requirements
Application Procedures
Employment Verification
Award Determination and Payment

Program News

Fiscal Year 2026

The 2026 fiscal year (July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026) appropriation for the Human Services Professional Loan Repayment Program is $1,250,000 (plus authority to award remaining balance of funds appropriated for the 2025 fiscal year).

The 2026 Award Year application for this program is no longer available. May 31, 2026, which was the priority consideration date, was the last date on which applications were accepted.

Awarding took place in January and March 2026. Additional awarding is anticipated for June 2026.

Program Overview

{ISAC Rules, Part 2752}

The Human Services Professional Loan Repayment Program provides loan repayment assistance to qualified human services professionals. The program was designed as incentive for recruitment and retention of those who work for community-based human services providers. It seeks to help address the high turnover rate and struggle to maintain consistent staffing levels at human services agencies. The amount of the annual award to qualified applicants to repay their student loan debt is based on the degree earned from a qualified program.

Eligibility Requirements

{ISAC Rules, Part 2752.20}

In order to qualify for the Human Services Professional Loan Repayment Program, an applicant must:

  • be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen.
  • be an Illinois resident.
  • have been a full-time employee for at least 24 consecutive months as a human services professional, immediately prior to applying, at a community-based human services agency which currently has or did have a contract with, receives or received funding from, and/or is or was grant-funded by one or more State of Illinois agencies (listed below)* for the purpose of providing direct or indirect human services.
  • remain a full-time employee as a human services professional in the same community-based human services agency for at least 12 months after receiving this grant.
  • have a balance remaining on their eligible student loan(s) – these loans include:
    • Stafford Loans;
    • Perkins Loans;
    • Graduate PLUS Loans;
    • consolidation loans;
    • Supplemental Loans for Students;
    • alternative loans; and
    • other types of government and institutional loans used for educational expenses.
  • not be in default on a federally guaranteed educational loan, nor owe a refund on any grant or scholarship program administered by ISAC.

*State of Illinois agencies include: the Department of Human Services, the Department of Children and Family Services, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department on Aging, and the Department of Public Health.

Application Procedures

{ISAC Rules, Part 2752.30}

All applicants must submit a complete Human Services Professional Loan Repayment Program application to ISAC each academic year. In order to be considered timely, the complete application must be submitted on or before the priority consideration date, which will be announced when the application is made available each year.

If the application is incomplete, a letter will be sent to the applicant to request the missing information. Processing cannot take place prior to the date a complete application is received in ISAC's Deerfield office.

Applicants should allow at least 12 weeks for application processing. Qualified applicants will be sent a Notice of Eligibility letter from ISAC.

Employment Verification

Applicants will provide their current or former employer(s) with a Human Services Professional Loan Repayment Program Employment Verification Form. Employers must complete and sign the document on the applicant’s behalf. The completed and signed form must be submitted to ISAC by the applicant in order for the application to be complete.

Award Determination and Payment

{ISAC Rules, Part 2752.30}

Recipients are selected from among qualified new and renewal applicants. The total number of awards each year is contingent on available funding. If funding in any given year is insufficient to pay all eligible applicants, awarding will be determined in the following order:

  1. Renewal applicants, in the order in which their applications were received; then
  2. qualified timely new applicants; then
  3. qualified untimely new applicants

The award amount is based on the applicant's remaining balance on eligible educational loans, not to exceed:

  • $15,000 per year for a master's degree or higher from a qualified program;
  • $10,000 per year for a bachelor's degree from a qualified program;
  • $2,000 per year for an associate degree from a qualified program; and
  • $5,000 per year add-on if applicant is independently licensed as a licensed clinical social worker, a licensed clinical professional counselor, a licensed practitioner of the healing arts, a licensed marriage and family therapist, a board-certified behavior analyst, or a registered behavior technician.

Proceeds will be remitted directly to the holder of the loan(s) to be repaid. There is a minimum 4-5 week turnaround from the date approved recipients are notified by ISAC to when funds are disbursed.