§7699 Eligibility; Agreement

Summary

The Readjustment Counseling Service can let someone join the Program if two things are true. The person must be accepted or enrolled in an accredited school or training program that leads to a terminal degree in psychology, social work, marriage and family therapy, or mental health counseling and that meets the education rules for hiring under section 7402(b). The person must also sign an agreement with the Secretary. When picking participants, the Secretary must give priority to people who agree to work at a Vet Center in a community that is both labeled medically underserved under section 330(b)(3) of the Public Health Service Act and in a state where veterans are more than five percent of the population per the National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics and the Census, and to veterans. The agreement must promise the Secretary will provide a scholarship for a set number of school years while the person studies, and the person must agree to serve full time at a Vet Center for six years after finishing the program. Vet Center — see the definition in section 1712A(h).