PA HB194

Establishes the Mental Health Professional Student Loan Forgiveness Program within the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA), providing up to $22,500 in loan forgiveness for eligible mental health professionals

Requires applicants to be Pennsylvania residents who have completed at least half the credits toward a degree in social work, counseling, psychology, psychiatry, nursing, or another human services field

Recipients must graduate from a State System of Higher Education university with a minimum B average and commit to working in mental health focused on early childhood through adolescence for at least 7 years

Appropriates $50,000,000 from the General Fund to PHEAA for tuition payment awards, distributed on a first-come, first-served basis if funding is insufficient for all eligible applicants

Financial awards are exempt from Pennsylvania state income tax, and recipients who fail to complete service obligations or are convicted of a felony must repay the award amount