ActiveAtlas Opportunity Score 93/100
Delaware State Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) — Primary Care, Dental & Behavioral Health
Delaware SLRP offers qualified primary care, dental and behavioral-health clinicians up to $100,000 for educational loan repayment while they serve eligible shortage-area practice sites. Applications are accepted continuously; the next published contract-cycle deadline is December 1, 2026.
FundingCurrent DHCC weighted award table provides up to $100,000 for advanced-level practitioners and up to $60,000 for mid-level practitioners, depending on qualifications. The public page also contains a conflicting general reference to $150,000; Atlas uses the detailed current award table unless DHCC clarifies otherwise.
DeadlineDecember 1, 2026 — next published contract-cycle deadline; applications are accepted continuously. DHCC lists an anticipated March 1, 2027 contract start for this cycle, with later deadlines on February 1, 2027, May 1, 2027 and July 1, 2027. No submission time is stated on the official page.
Last verifiedSeptember 11, 2026
Required next actionConfirm clinician discipline, Delaware license, qualifying educational debt and service-obligation eligibility; verify that the public or nonprofit practice site is in a qualifying HPSA and meets Medicare, Medicaid, S-CHIP and sliding-fee requirements; complete employer, practitioner and lender-verification forms; and submit the complete packet by the next published deadline, December 1, 2026.
Broad Eligibility
Qualified dental, behavioral/mental health and primary care professionals may apply, including physicians, dentists, nurse practitioners, certified nurse-midwives, physician assistants, psychologists, licensed counselors and social workers, pharmacists, psychiatric nurse specialists, registered dental hygienists and registered nurses. The clinician generally must serve at a HRSA-qualified public or nonprofit facility in a Delaware HPSA and satisfy federal and state service requirements.
Atlas Analysis
A durable clinician-recruitment tool for Delaware safety-net and underserved providers. The program can improve recruitment and retention, but both clinician and practice-site eligibility are material. SLRP requires a 1:1 match for each federal dollar; published award amounts include the matched funds, and DHCC says State, DIDER, DIMER, or affiliated State agencies may supply the matching share depending on availability. Atlas therefore treats the match as a program funding requirement that must be confirmed for each contract cycle, not as an automatic employer cash-match obligation. Atlas also flags an inconsistency on the public DHCC page: one narrative sentence references assistance up to $150,000, while the detailed current weighted award table tops out at $100,000 for advanced disciplines and $60,000 for mid-level disciplines. Until DHCC resolves that conflict, Atlas treats the detailed award table as controlling for planning.
Opportunity Overview
The Delaware State Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) is a clinician recruitment and retention tool for public and nonprofit practice sites serving Health Professional Shortage Areas. The Delaware Health Care Commission continuously accepts applications, with contract cycles tied to published submission dates.
Funding and Service Commitment
Delaware’s current weighted award table provides up to $100,000 for advanced-level practitioners and up to $60,000 for mid-level practitioners, depending on qualifications. Awardees generally commit to at least two consecutive years of full-time or half-time service in an eligible shortage-area practice.
Current Deadline
The next published contract-cycle deadline is December 1, 2026, with an anticipated March 1, 2027 contract start. Applications are accepted continuously. Later published cycle deadlines are February 1, 2027; May 1, 2027; and July 1, 2027. Delaware does not state a clock-time cutoff on the public page.
Who Can Qualify
Eligible disciplines include physicians, dentists, nurse practitioners, certified nurse-midwives, physician assistants, psychologists, licensed behavioral-health clinicians, pharmacists, registered dental hygienists, registered nurses and other listed professions. The clinician must have qualifying educational debt and an active Delaware license. The practice site generally must be a HRSA-qualified public or nonprofit facility in a Delaware HPSA that accepts Medicare, Medicaid and S-CHIP and uses a sliding-fee scale.
Important Funding Note
The public DHCC page contains two different maximum references: a general narrative statement mentioning up to $150,000 and a detailed current weighted award table topping out at $100,000 for advanced disciplines and $60,000 for mid-level disciplines. Atlas uses the detailed award table for planning until DHCC formally reconciles the discrepancy.
Atlas Strategic Analysis
This is not an equipment grant, but it is a strong workforce-recruitment tool for FQHCs, community health centers, public clinics and other safety-net providers. Employers can use SLRP as part of a broader recruitment package while preserving their own operating capital for care delivery, technology and service expansion.
Next Steps
Confirm clinician and site eligibility, complete the employer and practitioner applications, obtain lender verification, and submit a complete packet by the applicable cycle deadline. Organizations that miss the September 1 cycle should move immediately to the next published deadline rather than waiting for a new annual announcement.
Verified source: Delaware Health Care Commission State Loan Repayment Program.
Source verificationOfficial government source · dhss.delaware.govAtlas last verified this record September 11, 2026. Always use the funder's current application materials, amendments and portal instructions as the controlling source.View source and application materials ↗
