San Diego Pay It Forward Loan Program

Social Finance is partnering with the County of San Diego, the Policy & Innovation Center, and Trailhead Strategies on an innovative countywide Pay It Forward Loan Program. The San Diego Pay It Forward Loan Program aims to attract and retain workers in the public behavioral health field. This Program is part of the ELEVATE Behavioral Health Workforce Fund.

Through the San Diego Pay It Forward Program, learners can access zero-interest loans to cover tuition, fees, and living expenses while they participate in licensed behavioral health clinician programs through select partner training providers. Loan features include: 

• Friendly Terms: Learners pay no interest and are only responsible for monthly repayments of the principal amount. Those earning below $50,000 are eligible for income-based deferment of their loan, during which their monthly payment is $0.
• Benefits for San Diego Workers: Learners who already work in public behavioral health are eligible for retention-based reductions in their loan balances. Those who work in public behavioral health for five years after graduating (regardless of employment prior to program participation) are eligible for loan forgiveness.
• Pay It Forward: All repayments are recycled by the Program to serve additional individuals, extending the impact of each dollar.

How It Works

For Training Providers 

We are currently looking to partner with high-quality training programs that prepare learners for careers in public behavioral health as licensed clinicians, such as: 

• Licensed Clinical Social Workers 

• Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors 

• Licensed Marriage & Family Therapists 

Express your interest in partnering with us by completing this form. We are currently only exploring partnerships with licensed clinician programs but expect to expand to other behavioral health programs for the 2026-27 academic year. Institutions with other behavioral health programs are welcome to express their interest now for future outreach.