Service
Obligation Requirement
All FLRP participants must sign a
contract for a 2 year service obligation
as a faculty member at an accredited eligible
health professions college or university.
Duties must primarily consist of teaching
in a classroom.
Participants
are expected to complete their FLRP 2
year service obligation at their initial
employing college or university.
Should a participant become unable to
complete his / her obligation at the initial
site, they must continue their service
at another accredited eligible health
professions college or university. When
a participant desires a transfer, written
notification, including the reason for
the transfer, must be submitted to and
approved by the Division of Scholar and
Clinician Support (DSCS) before the participant
leaves his or her current site. If a
participant leaves his / her initial site
without requesting and receiving approval
for a transfer, he or she may be placed
in default.
If
a transfer is approved and there is no
break in service between the initial site
and a new service site, FLRP will continue
to make loan repayments to the participant.
However, if the participant fails to resume
service within 30 days of the stop-work
date at the initial site, FLRP will stop
all loan repayments. Once the participant
has commenced service at a new accredited
eligible health professions college or
university, loan repayments will be resumed
as appropriate and the service end date
will be extended to account for the entire
service obligation period.
If
a transfer is approved and the participant
does not resume service at another eligible
health profession college or university
within 60 days after ceasing employment
at the initial site, the participant may
be recommended for default of his / her
FLRP obligation.
Suspension
/ Waiver / Cancellation
The Secretary of Health and Human Services
or his / her designee may suspend or waive,
in whole or in part, a service or payment
obligation. Requests for suspensions and
waivers are processed and reviewed by
Legal and Compliance Office (LCO).
In addition, the Secretary or his / her
designee may cancel or terminate a FLRP
contract under very limited circumstances.
Suspension:
A suspension of the FLRP obligation may
be granted if compliance with the obligation
would be 1) temporarily impossible or
2) would temporarily involve an extreme
hardship such that enforcement of the
obligation would be unconscionable.
The major categories of suspensions are
set forth below. Except as noted
below, LCO will respond to the clinician’s
request. Periods of approved suspension
will extend the service obligation end
date. Loan repayments will be stopped
during the period of approved suspension.
Loan repayments will resume as appropriate
and the service end date will be extended
to account for the suspension period after
the participant returns to work at the
service site.
Suspensions
for Medical and Personal Reasons
A suspension may be granted, for up to
one year, if the participant provides
independent medical documentation of a
physical or mental health disability,
or a terminal illness of an immediate
family member, that results in the participant’s
temporary inability to perform the FLRP
obligation. Upon receipt of the
written suspension request, LCO will mail
the participant instructions for documenting
that request.
Maternity
/ Paternity / Adoption Suspensions
Maternity / Paternity / Adoption leave
of 12 weeks or less should be documented
on the six month employment verification
form after the DSCS has been notified.
If the participant’s maternity /
paternity / adoption leave will exceed
12 weeks during that service year, the
participant must request a suspension
from DSCS. Suspensions may be granted
based on documented medical need. DSCS
will forward the written request for a
suspension to LCO. LCO will mail the
instructions for documenting that request
to the participant.
Call
to Active Duty in the Armed Forces
FLRP reservists who are called to active
duty will be granted a suspension, for
up to one year, beginning on the activation
date described in the order. In
addition to the written request for a
suspension, a copy of the order to active
duty must be submitted to DSCS.
The suspension will be extended if the
applicable Armed Forces entity continues
the period of active duty. The period
of active military duty will not be credited
toward the FLRP service obligation.
Waiver:
A waiver may be granted if the compliance
with the obligation 1) is impossible or
2) would involve extreme hardship and
if enforcement of the obligation would
be unconscionable. A waiver request
must be in writing and should specify
the reason the waiver is being sought.
The participant will be contacted directly
by DSCS regarding the medical and financial
documentation necessary to process the
waiver request.
Cancellation:
A FLRP obligation will be cancelled in
it’s entirety in the event of the participant's
death.
Requests
concerning service obligation must be
made in writing and mailed to:
Department
of Health and Human Services
Health Resources and Services Administration
Bureau of Clinician Recruitment and Service
Division of Scholar and Clinician Support
5600 Fishers Lane
Room 8-15
Rockville, MD 20857
Participants
with questions may call 1-800-221-9393
or email: callcenter@hrsa.gov
Employing
Institution
The
employing institution must:
-
Be an Accredited Health Professions
College or University
-
Complete an Intent of Employment Form
that the applicant will serve as a faculty
member for a minimum of 2 years, in
one of the eligible health professions.
-
Enter into an agreement with the participant
to make loan repayments for the participant’s
educational loans in an amount equal
to the amount of such payments made
by HHS to the participant under the
2-year FLRP contract (the maximum amount
is $40,000 for 2 years) or request a
waiver of this requirement.
-
Payments made by the school for the
repayment of the participant’s educational
loans will be in addition to the pay
that the individual would otherwise
receive for serving as a member of such
faculty.
-
The FLRP Award amount cannot be considered
when determining faculty salary.
-
The Secretary may waive all or part
of this requirement if the Secretary
determines, based on documentation submitted
by the employing institution, that the
requirement will impose an undue financial
hardship on the employing institution.
The following items are examples of
documentation that would support a waiver
request:
-
Documentation of diminished financial
resources (e.g., consistent budget
cuts, reduced earnings on endowments,
and / or unexpected expenditures),
such that payment of all or part
of the matching loan repayment funds
would impose an undue financial
hardship. This will be evaluated
based on documentation provided
for the last two to three years.
-
Documentation showing the institution
is engaged in collective bargaining
agreement(s) that either prohibits
such differential compensation or
that would require the institution
to provide a similar dollar amount
of support for faculty not covered
under the FLRP.
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