Mental Health Professional pay range
Commonwealth of Kentucky · class code 21002779
- Class code
- 21002779
- Pay grade
- 18
- Pay unit
- Month
- Alternate ranges
- 3
- State
- Kentucky
- The Commonwealth of Kentucky published pay range for Mental Health Professional is $5,377 to $8,604 per month, spanning every alternate range the plan defines.
- Kentucky publishes an entry rate and a midpoint for each pay grade, not a maximum, so the upper figure on this page is the grade midpoint.
- That works out to about $64,528 to $103,245 a year at full time.
- Kentucky Personnel Cabinet keys this classification as class code 21002779.
- The plan defines 3 alternate ranges for this class, so the rate depends on which criteria an employee meets.
- This is the range the plan authorises, not the salary of any individual employee.
Alternate ranges
| Range | Entry | Midpoint | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Range 37.5-hour week | $5,377 | $8,066 | per month |
| Range 40-hour week | $5,736 | $8,604 | per month |
| Range Hourly | $33.09 | $49.64 | per hour |
Which alternate range applies is set by the plan's own criteria (experience, certification or assignment). The criteria text lives in the source document.
Class specification
The Personnel Cabinet class specification for this class is published by Kentucky Personnel Cabinet. The passages below are quoted from it as published, not paraphrased, and cut to their opening sentences; the full specification is the authority on duties and qualifications. It was last revised 09/16/2023.
What the state says the job is
Serves as a clinical director by developing and managing law enforcement mental health programs. Provides direct clinical and consultation services relevant to professional law enforcement organizations.
Examples of the work
Serves as a clinical director for Kentucky Law Enforcement Professional Development and Wellness Programs. Responsible for conducting, supervising and analyzing research. Provides research and policy development analysis to Department of Criminal Justice Training (DOCJT) executive staff on mental health policy issues that may impact Kentucky Law Enforcement. Performs evaluation of national trends and actions by the federal government, other state governments and other governmental entities. Develops strategies to assist DOCJT executive staff in implementing changes in training and policy.
Minimum qualifications
EDUCATION: Graduate of a college or university with a master's degree in Counseling, Marriage and Family Therapy, Psychology, Psychotherapy, Psychiatry, Social Work, or Nursing with a specialization in psychiatric mental health nursing. EXPERIENCE, TRAINING, OR SKILLS: Must have three years of professional experience making diagnoses, providing counseling to individuals and/or groups; or in the development, research, planning, teaching or analysis of mental health issues; or five years of sworn law enforcement experience. Substitute EDUCATION for EXPERIENCE: NONE Substitute EXPERIENCE for EDUCATION: NONE
Special requirements
Must obtain Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing International Association (EMDRIA) certification within twelve months of employment https://www.emdria.org; Must obtain required Kentucky independent license as a mental health professional within ninety days of appointment.
Quoted from the Personnel Cabinet class specification, read 2026-10-21.
Where this comes from
Kentucky Personnel Cabinet publishes this figure in Classified and Unclassified 37.5 and 40-Hour Salary Schedule, effective September 16, 2026. Every number on this page is read from that document; nothing is estimated, modelled or averaged.
Job titles and their pay grades come from the Job Specification Search, joined to the salary schedule.