Critical workforce shortages in the Massachusetts home health and human services sectors make key services less accessible. To address these shortages, the MA Repay: HSHHW Program awards loan repayment to direct care professionals and their supervisors who complete 1, 2, or 3 years of service, incentivizing workforce retention.

how do i get my award?

Complete Your Contract

Review & sign your contract before the specified deadline.

Verify Your Information

Complete all forms and Eligibility Verification requests before the specified deadlines.

Award Disbursement

Your student loan repayment award will be disbursed directly to your loan servicer.

Maintain Eligibility

You must remain within the employment and service eligibility conditions outlined in your contract and notify the MA Repay Program prior to changing your employment status. Learn more below.

Eligibility requirements

To remain eligible for the MA Repay: HSHHW Program, you must satisfy the following requirements during your service commitment:

Work for a program that is operated by a home-based or community-based human service organization, located in Massachusetts, and funded or licensed by one of the following state agencies to provide treatment, support, or services to clients and their families:
- MassHealth
- The Department of Mental Health
- The Department of Children and Families
- The Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
- The Office for Refugee and Immigrants
- The Executive Office of Elder Affairs
- The Department of Public Health
- The Department of Developmental Services
- The Department of Youth Services
- The Department of Transitional Assistance
- The Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission
- The Massachusetts Commission for the Blind
- The Executive Office of Veterans Services
- The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities
- The Department of Early Education and Care

Provide or supervise direct care.
- A direct service role spends at least 50% of their work time providing, coordinating, or supervising client services.

For more information, please refer to the Eligible Job Role List.‍

Work at least 20 hours per week at an eligible organization.
Have an associate's, bachelor's, or master's degree.
Have outstanding debt from a US financial institution related to your qualifying degree.
Are not participating in any other loan repayment programs. (Participation in federal public service loan forgiveness (PSLF) does not disqualify you from MA Repay.)

For more information on eligibility, refer to your awardee contract and the Common Questions.

service commitment & award amounts

To maintain your eligibility, you must complete a full-time or part-time service commitment in an eligible setting. Your service commitment began the date your Awardee Contract was fully executed, and the length of your service commitment is determined by your degree level.

Full time commitment: Minimum of 35 hours per week for at least 45 weeks per service year.
Part-time commitment: Minimum of 20 hours per week (but not more than 34 hours per week) for at least 45 weeks per service year.

Professional Category

Service Commitment

Maximum Full-Time Award

Maximum Part-Time Award

Master's Degree-Level Professionals

3 years

$30,000

$15,000

Bachelor's Degree-Level Professionals

2 years

$20,000

$10,000

Associate's Degree-Level Professionals

1 year

$6,000

$3,000

job changes

You may change your employer organization during your service commitment, provided the new employment is within an eligible organization. You are eligible for one job change per year of your service commitment. For example, if you have a two-year service commitment, you may change organizations twice at any point during your commitment.

You must notify the MA Repay Program prior to changing your employment status during your service commitment. This includes reduced working hours, new employer organization, unemployment, family and medical leave, etc.

For more information about job changes, please refer to the Policy Guide.

human service and home health workers

student loan repayment program

Reduce Your Educational Debt While Supporting Home Health & Human Services

Questions about the MA REPAY: HSHHW program?

Future Updates