Funds Available for FY2026 Human Services Professional Loan Repayment Program

The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) is accepting applications for their Human Services Professional Loan Repayment Program through June 30, 2026. This program provides loan repayment assistance to qualified human services professionals in an effort to recruit and retain them to work for community-based human services providers and to address the high turnover rate and struggle to maintain consistent staffing levels at human service agencies.

For those eligible, applicants may receive awards up to:

• $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 associates degree from a qualified program and

• $5,000 per year add-on if applicant is independently licensed as a licensed clinical social worker.

To qualify, applicants must:

• be a U.S. citizen or an 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 funding from, and/or is 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 your 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 the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (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.

For more details on eligibility and how to apply, click the links below.

• Program Information: https://www.isac.org/students/after-college/forgiveness-programs/human-services-LRP.html

• Program Application: https://www.isac.org/students/after-college/documents/HSPLRP-Employer-Verifiation-Instructions-FY26.pdf?v2

• Application Period: July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026