Stipends, Paid Practicum and Loan Repayment for California MFTs
California MFT students and associates can find three kinds of paid support, and most of it comes with an obligation to work in public or underserved settings. Some county behavioral health departments award stipends to students who agree to work in the county's public system after graduation, a few county departments pay trainees during practicum, and the state's Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) repays educational loans for associates and licensees who provide care at qualifying sites.
The three HCAI loan repayment programs that MFTs can consider have closed their 2026 cycles. The two that take associates reopen in May 2027, and the one for licensed practitioners in shortage areas reopens in July 2027. County internship deadlines come sooner, starting with Santa Clara County's on February 1, 2027.
Which Programs Offer MFT Stipends, Paid Traineeships or Loan Repayment in California?
Three HCAI programs repay loans for practitioners after graduation, and county departments in Los Angeles, Santa Clara, San Bernardino and San Diego offer stipends or paid placements to students, while Riverside County's GIFT practicum is unpaid. Amounts and cycles change yearly, so confirm terms on each program's official page.
| Program | Who it is for | What it pays | Commitment | Current status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HCAI Licensed Mental Health Services Provider Education Program (LMH) | AMFTs, LMFTs and other mental health disciplines; not students | Up to $15,000, capped at the remaining loan debt | At least 12 months of full-time direct client care at a qualifying site | Closed in June 2026; reopens in May 2027 |
| HCAI Medi-Cal Behavioral Health Student Loan Repayment Program | "Non-prescribing licensed or associate level pre-licensure practitioners" (MFTs are not named) | Up to $180,000 | Four years in Medi-Cal safety-net settings | Closed May 29, 2026; reopens in May 2027 |
| HCAI California State Loan Repayment Program | Licensed MFTs, among other disciplines; associates not listed | Up to $50,000 full-time or $25,000 half-time; the site matches the award | Two years in a federally designated shortage area | Closed September 15, 2026; reopens in July 2027 |
| Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health stipend | Final-year MFT, MSW, psychology, LPCC and other students | $18,500 (county presentation; current amount not posted) | One year of county public mental health work | No current amount or deadline posted |
| Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Services Department stipend | Final-year MSW, MFT and PCC interns placed with the department | $18,000 a year for 2026-27, pending approval | One year of full-time work in county public behavioral health | Internship applications due February 1, 2027 |
| San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health MFT internship | MFT students with 12 semester or 18 quarter units | Hourly pay for 20 hours a week (rate not published); some placements unpaid | None; no job guarantee afterward | Fall cohort applications February 1 to March 7 |
| San Diego County ELEVATE program | Master's-level students in public behavioral health settings | Paid internships; amounts not listed | Not listed | Launched in July 2025 |
| Riverside University Health System-Behavioral Health GIFT program | MSW, MFT and PCC students | Unpaid | 16 to 24 hours a week for at least nine months | Applications open in February |
Can MFT Trainees Be Paid for Practicum in California?
Trainees can be paid, as long as the practicum site employs them. The Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) requires trainees to work as W-2 employees or as volunteers, so no trainee may be paid as an independent contractor. The BBS makes an exception to the W-2 rule: a stipend or educational loan repayment from a program designed to encourage demographically underrepresented groups to enter the profession, or to improve recruitment and retention in underserved regions or settings, may be paid on a 1099, and the BBS may audit those payments. The guide to what an MFT trainee is in California explains trainee status, and the guide to AMFT employment rules covers the limits that apply after graduation.
Two county departments publish paid placements for trainees. San Bernardino County's Department of Behavioral Health fills a set number of paid MFT trainee positions each year, paying trainees hourly for the 20 hours a week they work, and it may also offer unpaid placements with the same supervision and training. San Diego County's ELEVATE program, launched in July 2025, lists paid internships for master's-level students in public behavioral health settings under the heading of social work, therapy and counseling internships. Paid placement is not universal: Riverside University Health System-Behavioral Health says field practicum in its GIFT program is currently "voluntary and unpaid."
Public systems can build trainees and associates into their Medi-Cal services: California's Medicaid State Plan lists "a licensed, waivered or registered marriage and family therapist" among the providers of rehabilitative mental health services and allows clinical trainees in program-approved practicums to provide them.
Is There a Mental Health Stipend Program for MFT Students in California?
The MFT stipends with published terms come from county behavioral health departments. At the state level, HCAI lists its Regional Partnership grants, which included clinical master's and doctoral graduate education stipends, under previously funded programs with no future planned funding. Its 2026-2030 Workforce Education and Training plan, in effect since July 1, 2026, describes stipends of up to $25,000 for MSW students and no stipend for MFT students.
A Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health workforce presentation describes a stipend of $18,500 for final-year students in exchange for one year of work in a county public mental health program or agency, aimed at students who are linguistically or culturally able to serve the county's traditionally unserved and underserved populations, and it reports that 164 stipends were awarded in FY 2023-24. Its current pages say only that stipends "may be available" to students who intend to work in the county's public mental health system after graduation, and they post no current amount or deadline. Santa Clara County's Behavioral Health Services Department offers stipends to final-year MSW, MFT and PCC interns placed with it; its 2026-27 flyer lists $18,000 a year, pending approval, for a commitment of one year of full-time work in the county's public behavioral health system.
The change in state funding law has already ended at least one county program. Alameda County's behavioral health department says it discontinued its Graduate Intern Stipend Program because of the change from the Mental Health Services Act to the Behavioral Health Services Act, and it points students to HCAI's Medi-Cal Behavioral Health Scholarship Program. That program offers up to $180,000, with a four-year service obligation, to "individuals participating in educational programs to become non-prescribing licensed practitioners"; HCAI's page does not name MFT programs, and the next cycle runs from February 1 to March 15, 2027. Scholarships and federal financial aid are covered in the guide to MFT scholarships and financial aid in California.
What Loan Repayment Can AMFTs and LMFTs Get in California?
HCAI's Licensed Mental Health Services Provider Education Program (LMH) names both Associate Marriage and Family Therapists and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists among its eligible disciplines, and students are not eligible. Its 2026 grant guide set a maximum award of $15,000, never more than the remaining educational debt, for at least 12 months of full-time direct client care, defined as at least 32 hours a week, at a qualified California facility such as a site in a mental health shortage area, a public or county-contracted mental health facility, or a public school. Awardees can be funded up to three times. The 2026 cycle closed in June 2026, and HCAI says the next cycle opens in May 2027.
The Medi-Cal Behavioral Health Student Loan Repayment Program, part of the state's BH-CONNECT initiative, offers up to $180,000 to "non-prescribing licensed or associate level pre-licensure practitioners." Recipients serve four years in Medi-Cal safety-net settings, whatever the amount repaid: federally qualified health centers, community mental health centers, rural health clinics, and hospitals and other behavioral health settings where Medicaid and uninsured patients make up at least 40% of the population served (30% for rural hospitals). HCAI's page does not name marriage and family therapists, so confirm with HCAI how the tiers apply before planning around an award. The second 2026 cycle closed on May 29, 2026, and the next opens in May 2027.
Licensed MFTs have one more HCAI option. The California State Loan Repayment Program lists Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist among its eligible disciplines, does not list associates, and requires a valid and unrestricted California license. Its 2026 grant guide offered up to $50,000 for a two-year full-time obligation, or $25,000 for two years half-time, at a practice site in a federally designated Health Professional Shortage Area that agrees to match the award dollar-for-dollar. The 2026 cycle closed on September 15, 2026, and HCAI says the next opens in July 2027.
A Closer Look at One Program: The Sentio MFT Program
Programs differ in how students find practicum placements, which shapes whether a county traineeship is part of a student's plan. Every student in the Sentio MFT program has a guaranteed practicum at the Sentio Counseling Center, an online counseling center that serves diverse, low-income clients and specializes in serving clients with trauma. Students begin seeing clients in their second semester, complete more than 400 supervised clinical hours before graduating, and work with supervisors who review video of their sessions; the guaranteed practicum page describes the placement.
Tuition is $1,120 per credit, or $67,200 for the 60-credit program, as set out on the tuition and fees page. HCAI's loan repayment programs take applications only from practitioners, so they matter after graduation, once a graduate works in a qualifying setting.
Making Your Decision
The next step depends on where you are in training. If you have not yet started practicum, ask each program how placements work in your county and whether any sites near you employ trainees or offer stipends. Students hoping for a final-year internship and stipend in Santa Clara County apply by February 1, 2027, and San Bernardino County takes fall cohort applications from February 1 to March 7. Associates and new graduates can plan around May 2027, when HCAI says LMH and the Medi-Cal Behavioral Health Student Loan Repayment Program reopen, and licensed MFTs in shortage areas around the California State Loan Repayment Program's July 2027 cycle. Either way, check before then whether your job site qualifies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do MFT trainees get paid in California?
Some trainees are paid. The Board of Behavioral Sciences requires MFT trainees to work as W-2 employees or as volunteers, so a site can pay a trainee it employs but cannot pay one as an independent contractor. Stipends and educational loan repayment from programs that recruit underrepresented groups or serve underserved regions or settings may be paid on a 1099. San Bernardino County's Department of Behavioral Health publishes paid MFT trainee positions, while Riverside University Health System-Behavioral Health describes the practicum in its GIFT program as voluntary and unpaid.
Is there a mental health stipend program for MFT students in California?
The MFT stipends with published terms come from county behavioral health departments. Santa Clara County's 2026-27 flyer lists $18,000 a year, pending approval, for final-year MSW, MFT and PCC interns who commit to a year of full-time work in its public behavioral health system. A Los Angeles County presentation describes $18,500 stipends, with 164 awarded in FY 2023-24, but the county does not post current amounts. HCAI lists its Regional Partnership stipends as previously funded with no future planned funding, and its 2026-2030 workforce plan describes a stipend for MSW students and none for MFT students.
Can AMFTs get loan repayment in California?
Yes. HCAI's Licensed Mental Health Services Provider Education Program lists Associate Marriage and Family Therapists among its eligible disciplines and paid up to $15,000 in 2026 for at least 12 months of full-time direct client care at a qualified California facility; its next cycle opens in May 2027. HCAI's Medi-Cal Behavioral Health Student Loan Repayment Program offers up to $180,000 to "non-prescribing licensed or associate level pre-licensure practitioners," though its page does not name MFTs. HCAI's California State Loan Repayment Program lists licensed MFTs and does not list associates.
What is the LA County DMH stipend?
The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health's stipend program gave final-year students in psychology, MSW, MFT, LPCC, psychiatric technician and psychiatric nurse practitioner programs $18,500 in exchange for one year of work in a Los Angeles County public mental health program or agency, according to a department workforce presentation that reports 164 stipends awarded in FY 2023-24. The department's website does not post current amounts or deadlines; it says stipends may be available to students who intend to work in the county's public mental health system after graduation.
Can an MFT trainee receive a stipend on a 1099?
The Board of Behavioral Sciences allows it in limited cases. It accepts a 1099 for a stipend or educational loan repayment from a program designed to encourage demographically underrepresented groups to enter the profession or to improve recruitment and retention in underserved regions or settings. Otherwise trainees and associates must work as W-2 employees or as volunteers, and a volunteer may receive a 1099 only for reimbursement of expenses actually incurred. The BBS may audit payments made on a 1099.
When does HCAI loan repayment open again?
HCAI says the next cycles of its Licensed Mental Health Services Provider Education Program and its Medi-Cal Behavioral Health Student Loan Repayment Program open in May 2027, and the next cycle of its California State Loan Repayment Program opens in July 2027. Their 2026 cycles closed in June, May and September 2026 respectively. The first names associate and licensed marriage and family therapists among its eligible disciplines, and the third lists licensed marriage and family therapists and requires a practice site in a federally designated Health Professional Shortage Area.
References
Alameda County Behavioral Health Department. (n.d.). Intern and trainee programs. https://health.alamedacountyca.gov/intern-and-trainee-programs/
California Board of Behavioral Sciences. (2024). Handbook for future licensed marriage and family therapists. https://www.bbs.ca.gov/pdf/publications/lmft_handbook.pdf
California Board of Behavioral Sciences. (2025). Important answers to frequently asked questions for associate marriage and family therapists and MFT trainees. https://www.bbs.ca.gov/pdf/publications/mft_faq.pdf
California Department of Health Care Access and Information. (n.d.). BHSA workforce initiative. https://hcai.ca.gov/workforce/financial-assistance/grants/bhp/
California Department of Health Care Access and Information. (n.d.). California State Loan Repayment Program. https://hcai.ca.gov/workforce/financial-assistance/loan-repayment/slrp/
California Department of Health Care Access and Information. (n.d.). Licensed Mental Health Services Provider Education Program (LMH). https://hcai.ca.gov/workforce/financial-assistance/loan-repayment/lmhspep/
California Department of Health Care Access and Information. (n.d.). Medi-Cal Behavioral Health Scholarship Program. https://hcai.ca.gov/workforce/initiatives/behavioral-health-bh-connect/mbhsp/
California Department of Health Care Access and Information. (n.d.). Medi-Cal Behavioral Health Student Loan Repayment Program. https://hcai.ca.gov/workforce/initiatives/behavioral-health-bh-connect/medi-cal-behavioral-health-student-loan-repayment-program/
California Department of Health Care Access and Information. (2026). BHSA 2026-2030 workforce education and training plan. https://hcai.ca.gov/document/bhsa-2026-2030-wet-plan/
California Department of Health Care Access and Information. (2026). California State Loan Repayment Program grant guide: Cycle year 2026. https://hcai.ca.gov/document/2026-slrp-grant-guide/
California Department of Health Care Access and Information. (2026). Licensed Mental Health Services Provider Education Program grant guide: Grant year 2026. https://hcai.ca.gov/document/2026-27-lmh-grant-guide/
California Department of Health Care Services. (2023). State Plan Amendment 23-0026 approval. https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/formsandpubs/laws/Documents/SPA-23-0026-Approval.pdf
County of Los Angeles Department of Mental Health. (n.d.). Mental Health Services Act workforce education and training [Presentation]. https://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/dmh/1170354_MHSAWETCPT11.2024PresentationEnglish.pdf
County of Los Angeles Department of Mental Health. (n.d.). Student Professional Development Program. https://dmh.lacounty.gov/for-providers/clinical-tools/student-professional-development-program/
County of San Bernardino Department of Behavioral Health. (n.d.). Marriage and family therapy internship program 2026-2027 [Brochure]. https://wp.sbcounty.gov/dbh/wp-content/uploads/sites/121/MFT-Internship-Program-Brochure2027.pdf
County of San Diego Behavioral Health Services. (n.d.). BHS workforce trainings. https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/bhs/workforce.html
County of Santa Clara Behavioral Health Services Department. (n.d.). Learn about student intern program. https://bhsd.santaclaracounty.gov/node/2971
County of Santa Clara Behavioral Health Services Department. (2026). Student intern stipend program [Flyer]. https://files.santaclaracounty.gov/exjcpb1431/2026-04/2026-2027-wet-stipend-flyer_da.pdf
Riverside University Health System-Behavioral Health. (n.d.). Graduate Internship, Field, and Traineeship (GIFT) Program. https://www.ruhealth.org/behavioral-health/gift
