The Health Professions Education Foundation may do any of the following:

(a) Solicit and receive funds from business, industry, foundations, and other private or public sources for the purpose of providing financial assistance in the form of scholarships or loans to African-American students, Native American students, Hispanic-American students, and other students from underrepresented groups. These funds shall be expended by the office after transfer to the Health Professions Education Fund, created pursuant to Section 128355.

(b) Recommend to the director the disbursement of private sector moneys deposited in the Health Professions Education Fund to students from underrepresented groups accepted to or enrolled in schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, or other health professions in the form of loans or scholarships.

(c) Recommend to the director a standard contractual agreement to be signed by the director and any participating student, that would require a period of obligated professional service in the areas in California designated by the commission as deficient in primary care services. The agreement shall include a clause entitling the state to recover the funds awarded plus the maximum allowable interest for failure to begin or complete the service obligation.

(d) Develop criteria for evaluating the likelihood that applicants for scholarships or loans would remain to practice their profession in designated areas deficient in primary care services.

(e) Develop application forms, which shall be disseminated to students from underrepresented groups interested in applying for scholarships or loans.

(f) Encourage private sector institutions, including hospitals, community clinics, and other health agencies to identify and provide educational experiences to students from underrepresented groups who are potential applicants to schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, or other health professions.

(g) Prepare and submit an annual report to the office documenting the amount of money solicited from the private sector, the number of scholarships and loans awarded, the enrollment levels of students from underrepresented groups in schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, and other health professions, and the projected need for scholarships and loans in the future.

(h) Recommend to the director that a portion of the funds solicited from the private sector be used for the administrative requirements of the foundation.

(i) Implement the Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program and the Volunteer Physician Program, as provided under Article 5 (commencing with Section 128550).

(Amended by Stats. 2005, Ch. 317, Sec. 4. Effective January 1, 2006.)