Perkins Employment Cancellations - Other

Child or Family Service Agency

Child or family services cancellation

To qualify for cancellation, the borrower must be providing services directly and exclusively to high-risk children from low-income communities and to the families of these children, or supervising the provision of such services. Any services provided to the children's families must be secondary to the services provided to the children.

• high-risk children are defined as individuals under the age of 21 who are low-income or at risk of abuse or neglect; have been abused or neglected; have serious emotional, mental, or behavioral disturbances; reside in placements outside their homes; or are involved in the juvenile justice system.
• low-income communities are communities in which there is a high concentration of children eligible to be counted under Title I rules.

The types of services a borrower may provide to qualify for a child or family service cancellation include child care and child development services; health, mental health, and psychological services; and social services. The Department has determined that an elementary or secondary school system, a hospital, or an institution of higher education is not an eligible employing agency.

Early Intervention Services

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION CANCELLATION (PRE-KINDERGARTEN, CHILD CARE, HEAD START)

A school must cancel up to 100% of a Perkins Loan if the borrower has served as a full-time staff member in a Head Start program, or as a full-time staff member of a pre-kindergarten or child care program that is licensed or regulated by the state. For purposes of these early education cancellations. In order to qualify for cancellation, the early education program in which the borrower serves must operate for a complete academic year or its equivalent.

• Head Start is a preschool program carried out under the Head Start Act
• pre-kindergarten program is a state-funded program that serves children from birth through age six and addresses the children's cognitive (including language, early literacy, and early mathematics), social, emotional, and physical development.
• child care program is a program that is licensed or regulated by the state and provides child care services for fewer than 24 hours per day per child, unless care in excess of 24 consecutive hours is needed due to the nature of the parents' work.
• full-time staff member is someone who is regularly employed in a full-time professional capacity to carry out the educational part of the early education program.

Law Enforcement/Federal Public Defender

You must be employed in full-time service as a sworn law enforcement officer or corrections officer or a person whose principal responsibilities are unique to the criminal justice system; in a local, State, or Federal law enforcement or correction agency.

Eligible agencies are publicly funded units where the principal activities pertain to crime prevention, control, or reduction, or the enforcement of the criminal law.

The activities include but are not limited to police efforts to prevent, control or reduce crime or to apprehend criminals; activities of the courts having criminal jurisdiction and related agencies; activities of corrections, probation or parole authorities; and problems relating to the prevention, control or reduction of juvenile delinquency or narcotic addiction.

As of Aug.14, 2008, a full-time attorney employed in Federal Public or Community Defender Organizations, established in accordance with Section 3006A(g)(2) of Title 18.USC, may be eligible for loan cancellation. Eligible service begins on or after Aug. 14, 2008.

Firefighter Cancellation

Perkins Loans made on or after Aug. 14, 2008, as eligible for 100 percent cancellation over a five year period for service as a firefighter.

You must serve full-time as a firefighter or in a local, state, federal fire department or fire district, to extinguish destructive fires, or provide firefighting related services such as:

• providing community disaster support
• providing emergency medical services as a first responder
• conducting search and rescue
• providing hazardous materials mitigation

Peace Corps and AmeriCorps*VISTA

Peace Corps:

You must be providing service comparable to Peace Corps and meet ALL of the following requirements:

• Your organization is exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.
• Your service is to low-income persons and their communities to assist them in eliminating poverty and poverty-related humans, social, and environmental conditions.
• Your compensation must not exceed the federal minimum wage.
• You cannot give religious instruction, conduct worship service, engage in religious proselytizing, or engage in religious fund-raising.
• You have agreed to serve on a full-time basis for at least one year.

At the end of each completed year of service, the Perkins loan can be canceled at the following rates:

15% of the original loan amount – plus any interest accrued during the year -- for the 1st and 2nd years of service.

20% of the original loan amount-- plus any interest accrued during the year for the 3rd and 4th year of service.

AmeriCorps*VISTA:

• Volunteer service must be with AmeriCorps*VISTA.
• Can only qualify if volunteer elects NOT to receive a National Service Education Service Award for his/her volunteer service.
• Must provide appropriate documentation showing that the volunteer has declined AmeriCorps National Service Education Award.
• At the end of each completed year of service, the Perkins loan can be canceled at the following rates:

15% of the original loan amount – plus any interest accrued during the year -- for the 1st and 2nd years of service.

20% of the original loan amount-- plus any interest accrued during the year for the 3rd and 4th year of service.

Military Service Cancellation

If the borrower has received orders to report to an area of hostility or area of imminent danger and meets the following qualifications, the borrower is entitled to cancel a portion of his Perkins loan as indicated below. The Military Form should be completed and submitted at the end of 12 consecutive months of service.

The borrower must:

• be a member of the U.S. Armed Forces, the National Guard, or the Reserves. Any portion of a month the borrower is on active duty in a qualifying area is considered a full month and counts toward cancellation.
• serving in an area of hostility or area of imminent danger for 12 consecutive months.
• receiving special pay under section 310 of Title 37 of the U.S. Code.

Areas of hostility are those placed on the Dept of Defense Hostile Fire/Imminent Danger pay areas list. An "area of hostility" should not be confused with military service that qualifies for other forms of special pay, such as flight pay or service overseas in areas where additional pay is given for a dependent's living allowance.

Up to 100 percent of your loan may be cancelled at the following rates: 15 percent for the first and second years, 20 percent for the third and fourth years, and 30 percent for the fifth year.

Your commanding officer must certify your dates of service in a designate "area of hostility" or an "area of imminent danger."

Nurse or Medical Technician

You must have full-time employment as a nurse or medical technician who provides health care services directly to patients.

Medical technician must be an allied health professional (working in a field such as therapy, dental hygiene, medical technology, or nutrition) who is certified, registered, or licensed by the appropriate state agency in the state in which he or she provides health care services.

An allied health professional is someone who assists, facilitates, or compliments the work of physicians and other specialists in the health care system.

A nurse is a licensed practical nurse, a registered nurse, or other individual who is licensed by the appropriate state agency to provide nursing services.