Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LAC DMH) Stipend
The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LAC DMH) offers an $18,500 stipend to select MSW students across Los Angeles County who demonstrate a commitment to public mental health. Students awarded a stipend must commit to one-year of employment post-graduation in a clinical capacity at an agency either directly operated or contracted by LAC DMH. Please consider this notice with the understanding that the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work is simply sharing information about the LAC DMH stipend program. Administration of this stipend program is managed by Phillips’ California Stipend Program of Campbellsville University at the Los Angeles Education Center (CULAEC).
Stipend Amount
$18,500 per academic year, disbursed in two installments of $9,250 each.
Eligibility Criteria
Students graduating between September 1, 2025 and August 31, 2026 are eligible to apply.
Applications will open Wednesday, December 17, 2025 and close Wednesday, February 11, 2026.
Interested students should first review the Phillips' California Stipend Program website before attempting to complete the application. Information provided on this website will assist students in preparing for what is needed for the application. Also, please go to this website to complete the application when it opens.
Those students and alternates selected to receive a stipend will be informed the week of March 16, 2026, and will need to attend the stipend orientation via Zoom on one of the following dates:
Thursday, April 16, 2026: 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Friday, April 17, 2026: 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Questions regarding the 2025-2026 LA County DMH stipends should be submitted via email to: caconsortium@campbellsville.edu
Associate Teaching Professor Christina (Tina) Paddock is the LAC DMH stipend coordinator for USC Social Work. Please keep in mind that Professor Paddock simply serves as a liaison with CULAEC, so she should be contacted only if students have further questions AFTER reviewing the aforementioned information and AFTER first communicating with CULAEC.
Applications will open Wednesday, December 17, 2025 and close Wednesday, February 11, 2026.
The application process will take at least thirty minutes to complete and must be submitted once the process is started. Students will be unable to resubmit an application if there are mistakes. It is highly recommended that students complete the sample application, then cut and paste the information into the formal application document for submission.
The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health is looking for MSW students who are committed to providing clinical services in public mental health (not administrative services). They are also interested in students who are bilingual (e.g., speak one of the threshold languages listed on the website) and who want to serve under-resourced, vulnerable populations (e.g., clients experiencing homelessness, clients with chronic or persistent mental illness). However, please note that you do not need to be bilingual to receive the stipend.