ISAC Student PortalHuman Services Professional Loan Repayment Program
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.
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Program Description
Eligibility
How to Apply
Changes to Application Data
Required Documentation
How Funds Are Awarded and Disbursed
Processing Updates
The Human Services Professional Loan Repayment Program is intended to provide 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.
Eligibility
To be eligible, you 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, and the community-based human services agency* at which you are employed currently has or did have a contract with, receives funding from or is grant-funded by a State agency* for the purpose of providing human services during the your 24 consecutive month tenure; and
- 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).
*Eligible 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.
How to Apply
When available, the Human Services Professional Loan Repayment Program application may be accessed via the Program Applications & Status Checks area of the Student Portal. The online application has built-in edits to prevent errors, and we will send immediate confirmation to your email address that your application has been received. If your application, including required documentation, is incomplete, you will receive a letter from ISAC explaining the reason(s) and advising how to resolve the issue.
Each year you wish to apply for this program, you must submit an application. Qualified applicants will be sent a Notice of Eligibility letter from ISAC.
Changes to Application Data
If, after submission, you need to change your response(s) to any item(s) and/or update any information after the application has been submitted, you will need to provide the information to ISAC. Examples of items that may need to be updated include demographic information (i.e., name, address, telephone number, etc.), and/or information about your outstanding loans and the loan holder/servicer. These changes can be submitted to ISAC using one of the below methods, but cannot be done over the telephone.
- via e-mail to [email protected]
- via FAX to 847.831.8549
- via letter to ISAC Dept D, 1755 Lake Cook Road, Deerfield, IL 60015-5209
The request must include the last four digits of your Social Security number (for identification purposes) and clearly state what change(s) need to be made. These changes will not affect the application "received date."
Required Documentation
It is recommended that you gather and organize the documents needed to complete your application before starting to fill out the interactive form. The online process includes the option of uploading and submitting required documentation. Acceptable uploaded files must have one of these file extensions: .pdf, .jpg, .jpeg, .doc, .docx.
If you are unable or prefer not to submit your documentation electronically, you may instead mail it via U.S. mail to ISAC Dept. D, 1755 Lake Cook Road, Deerfield, IL 60015-5209. You must submit a current loan account statement that includes your full first and last names and address (dated within 30 days of the date of the application) from your loan holder/servicer showing outstanding balances for each eligible educational loan. The statement(s) must include:
- the name of the loan holder/servicer
- the payment address of the holder/servicer
- area code/phone number of holder/servicer
- account number
- type of loan (Federal Direct, Stafford, etc.)
- monthly payment amount
- outstanding balance
How Funds Are Awarded and Disbursed
Recipients are selected from among qualified new and renewal applicants. Awarding preference may be granted to renewal applicants, then to applicants based on need or income level. 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:
- renewal applicants, in the order in which they were received
- qualified timely new applicants
- qualified untimely applicants
The award amount is based on the applicant’s remaining balance on eligible education 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 associates 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.
Qualified programs are programs that offer an associate, bachelor’s, or master’s degree from an accredited college or university.
Proceeds will be remitted directly to the holder/servicer/lender of the loan(s) to be repaid.
Processing Updates
Note that ISAC routinely updates this section as new information becomes available. Be sure to check back periodically for the current processing status.
For the 2025 Fiscal Year
(last updated on August 14, 2024):
This page will be updated when fiscal year 2025 Human Services Professional Loan Repayment Program application becomes available.
