Los Angeles County Stipend Program

Since 2005 the Los Angeles County’s Department of Mental Health (County) has partnered with the MFT Consortium of Greater Los Angeles (formerly, the Southern California MFT Consortium) and Phillips Graduate Institute in recruiting MFT students for employment in the County’s mental health delivery system. During the period from 2005 to 2010 the County awarded 312 educational stipends to graduating MFT students. In accepting the stipends students commit to work for one year at a mental health agency operated or contracted by the Department of Mental Health as an MFT Intern.

County Stipends Address Workforce Needs

The County stipend program for MFTs addresses the bilingual need for practitioners who could provide services in a language other than English. In the last six years the percentage of stipend recipients with a bilingual capacity ranged from 56 to 90. In addition, all of the stipend recipients had personal and work experience in the underserved communities of the County.

An extensive report on the County’s first five years of awarding educational stipends to MFT students concluded that the stipend program “made a significant contribution in addressing the Department of Mental Health’s workforce need for bilingual, multicultural clinicians working in diverse ethnic/racial communities and filling hard-to-hire positions.” (For the full report see CAMFT’s The Therapist, September/October 2010 issue.)

According to an earlier report (May 2008), “The partnership [between the MFT Consortium and the Los Angeles County] has made considerable strides in addressing the need for diversity in mental health workforce as outlined in the LAC DMH Internal Inventory.” For a copy of the full report click here.

Answers to Anticipated Questions

If I am not bilingual do I qualify for the County stipend program? Yes. Language capacity in one of the threshold languages is one of four priorities in the selection of stipend recipients. The other three are multicultural capacity, willingness to accept employment in a high need regional area, and willingness to accept employment in a high need service program anywhere in the county.
If I applied to the State Stipend Program can I also apply to the County Stipend Program? Yes. You may apply to both the State Stipend and the County Stipend. However, a separate application must be submitted for each. If you are selected for both the State and the County Stipends, you may only choose one stipend. You will not be awarded both stipends.
If my school is not in Los Angeles County can I still apply? Yes. With these two requirements: 1) you need to attend a school that is a member of the MFT Consortium of Greater Los Angeles, and 2) if awarded a stipend, you need to secure employment in Los Angeles County with an agency operated or contracted by that County’s Department of Mental Health.
Click here to see the list of qualifying schools.
If I have already received a county stipend, can I apply for another one? No. Stipends are for graduate students. However, as an MFT Intern you may qualify to apply for a loan assumption offered through the Health Professions Education Foundation. Go to their website under “Licensed (and pre-licensed) Mental Health Services Provider Education Program” at www.healthprofessions.ca.gov.