FRAME Applications

Hi everyone,

Getting a ton of PMs about this, so here is the information regarding the Florida Reimbursement Assistance for Medical Education (FRAME) program, a student loan repayment program from the State of Florida to assist certain licensures with repaying their student loans. Our licenses were just added to it in the last 1-2 years.

Person filling out a paper application

Here’s how it works:

Mental Health licenses (LCSW, LMHC, LMFT, Psychologists, APRNs, PAs and RNs working in mental health) can get up to 25% of your principal loan amount not exceeding $75,000 in money paid back towards their student loans over the span of 4 years, in exchange for volunteer hours. It is not money you get paid, but rather your lender gets paid on your behalf from the state.

In order to qualify, the following criteria must be met:

• Have a clear and active license.

• Be employed at the qualifying location from the first day of your application cycle and remain in the same employer until all award payments are distributed (so up to 4 years).

• Practice in a location primarily (so your FT job) that is AHCA approved through their facility finder (here- https://quality.healthfinder.fl.gov/), jails, the VA, state MH hospitals, free clinics, or state facilities for disabled people. Any place applied with must accept Medicaid if they can, with the only exceptions being listed above. It must also exist in a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA).

If this criteria is met, you may:

• Apply and provide at least 25 hours of annual volunteer mental health services in a free clinic as specified by state statute. These clinics must exist in a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA). You can find where that is through this link: https://www.fdohframe.com/s/2024-pc-hpsa

• You can provide up to 50% of these services virtually, but you must do at least half or more in-person.

• You will have to go through the process of securing a free clinic yourself and getting onboarded. FRAME does not help you with that.

In order to apply, you will need the following 3 items to submit with the application:

1. Loan Certification Form- this is your student loan information, with account numbers, lender info, and amounts currently owed. You must also upload your most recent account statement proving this info.

2. Employment Verification Form- this is your work form you submit to prove you primarily work in an eligible location. This is what your HR/management team fills out. They ask very specific questions to confirm that the location is eligible.

3. Volunteer Service Obligation- This is if your 25 hours are not yet completed but you intend to do them over the next year. This is an acknowledgment of that requirement and the consequences if you do not complete the service hours.

HPSA verification document- required from both the primary employment and the place you do your service hours in. Basically confirms they are in an HPSA.

When you complete the appropriate service hours at the appropriate place, you will submit the Volunteer Hours Verification Form into the portal, filled out by the volunteer and signed by the location. You can do services in more than one location if you wish, so long as they meet the criteria.

Applicants have from April 1st, 2025 to Dec. 31st, 2025 to complete the hours.

All of this you can find in the FRAMEworks portal: https://www.fdohframe.com/s/

If anyone has any questions, I’ll try to answer. The FRAMEworks portal is very helpful, though!