Community Behavioral Health Specialist

Illinois Peace Project; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 75,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Paid Holidays

PTO

401K Plan

Training and Professional Development

Job summary

Metropolitan Family Services in Chicago, IL seeks a Community Behavioral Health Specialist to join the Metropolitan Peace Initiative Team. The role supports crisis response, case management, counseling, and community-based services across diverse neighborhoods.

ESSENTIAL duties include deescalation, trauma-informed engagement, documentation, and collaboration with police and hospital systems to improve continuity of care. Requires MSW and LCSW licensure, with travel across city neighborhoods.

Qualifications

• Master's Degree in Social Work is required.
• Two years related post-Masters experience at an intermediate skill level is required.
• Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) or related license is required.
• Bilingual Spanish preferred.

Responsibilities

• Identify, deescalate, and mediate tense situations related to mental health; build trust and provide follow up support.
• Engage effectively with community members, local businesses, and high-risk individuals with trauma-informed approaches.
• Maintain accurate documentation of incidents, interventions, and referrals with confidentiality.
• Perform psycho-social assessments and intake as assigned.
• Provide a full range of case management, counseling, advocacy, education, and related services.
• Lead coordination of behavioral health services within the community and transit systems; review complex cases and support crisis responses.

Skills

Verbal & Written Communication

Organizational Skills

Interpersonal Skills

Analytical Skills

Education

Master's degree in Social Work

Job description

If asked to describe the culture at Metropolitan Family Services, we could do that in one word. COMMUNITY! Reflected in both our internal culture as well as through the services we provide, community is at the heart of all we do.

Metropolitan Family Services empowers families to learn, to earn, to heal, to thrive. Part mentor, part motivator, part advocate, since 1857, Metropolitan Family Services has been the engine of change that empowers families to reach their greatest potential and positively impact their communities. Metropolitan is Illinois’ first comprehensive human services agency and reaches more than 136,000 individuals and families in Chicago, Evanston/Skokie, the southwest suburbs and DuPage County with services promoting education, economic stability, emotional wellness and empowerment.

We are currently searching for a full-time Community Behavioral Health Specialist to join our Metropolitan Peace Initiative Team!

MFS is spear-heading the Communities Partnering 4 Peace, a framework designed to provide comprehensive, long-term approach to reduce violence and gang activity. This framework will bring together community-driven strategies that will empower community-based organizations to intervene with those individuals at the highest risk of driving the violence while working with the overall resident population to transform perceptions and realities of their community.

SALARY:

• The average starting salary for this position will fall in the range of $75,000- and $85,000 annually. Where candidates fall in this range will be based on skill and experience level.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

• Identify, deescalate, and mediate tense situations related to mental health concerns; build trust with diverse individuals and groups; and provide follow up support after a crisis to promote stabilization and healing.
• Engage effectively with community members, local businesses, and high-risk individuals while maintaining professionalism and utilizing trauma informed approaches.
• Maintain accurate and timely documentation of incidents, interventions, and referrals while respecting confidentiality and ensuring adherence to professional standards.
• Performs comprehensive, in-depth assessments for a variety of clinical services.Performs psycho-social assessments and intake as assigned.
• Provides a full range of case management, counseling, advocacy, educational, and related services to Community Safety and Transit Operations.
• Lead the coordination of behavioral health services within the community and transit systems by reviewing complex cases, supporting high-risk crisis responses, ensuring compliance with clinical, ethical, and organizational standards, and implementing strategies to enhance service effectiveness and team performance.'
• Develop and strengthen partnerships with community stakeholders, behavioral health systems, hospitals, public safety agencies, and leadership to support program expansion, improve continuity of care, and advance collaborative crisis response initiatives across diverse communities.
• Collaborate with CPRU team members to identify, de-escalate, and mediate high-tension situations related to mental health concerns; build trust with diverse individuals and groups; and provide post-crisis follow-up support to promote stabilization and healing.
• Provide support for MPA
• Provide trainings and facilitation
• Identifies and utilizes agency and community resources.
• Assesses community conditions affecting clients to identify resource gaps and problems.
• Joins or develops groups and coalitions to address community needs.
• Recommends financial assistance for clients.
• Provides group services as indicated by program need.
• Responsible for meeting contractual requirements such as 24-hour crisis coverage.
• Represents and interprets programs of agency in community.
• Support and attend events
• May serve on regional or agency-wide committees.
• May provide clinical guidance and shadowing opportunities for students
• Attend regular meetings: e.g. team, case consultations, individual supervision
• Provide ongoing support, trainings, facilitation and curriculum development
• Establishes referral network/linkages with outside agencies for participants and their families.
• Takes a proactive role in the development of social work services and programming that supports trauma informed care.
• Meets agency expectation for quantity of direct service.
• Complies with agency record-keeping expectations.
• Works effectively with diverse staff and service population.
• Flexible to travel to different neighborhoods of the city

QUALIFICATIONS

• Master's Degree in Social Work from an accredited college or university, required.
• Two years related post-Masters experience at an intermediate skill level, required.
• Must be a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) or related license, required.
• Requires mobility to work with a community-based caseload.
• Ability to maintain assigned community and home-based services.
• Ability to work effectively with diverse individuals and groups.
• Bilingual Spanish preferred

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

• While performing the essential duties of this job, the employee is required to sit and stand for sustained periods of time, frequently talk, hear, use hands and fingers to feel, handle and operate objects or controls, and occasionally stand, bend, stretch, stoop, kneel and crouch.
• The employee is required to have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as preparing and analyzing data and figures, transcribing and viewing a computer terminal.
• The employee may occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.

Metropolitan Family Services offers a very generous benefits packet to our professionals:

• HMO, Traditional PPO, or PPO w/ health savings contributions.
• Dental and Vision Insurance Options
• 12 paid Holidays
• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Flexible Spending
• Opportunities for Student Loan Forgiveness
• 401K Plan
• Training and Professional Development Plan
• E- Learning
• Wellness Initiative Program
• Employee Assistance Network

SKILLS (PREFERRED):

• Verbal and Written Communication (advanced)
• Organizational Skills (advanced)
• Interpersonal Skills (advanced)
• Analytical Skills (advanced)

EDUCATION (REQUIRED):

• Masters or better in Social Work.

EXPERIENCE (REQUIRED):

• 2 years: Related post-Master’s experience at an intermediate skill level.

LICENSES & CERTIFICATIONS (REQUIRED):

• Lic Clinical Social Work

Equal Opportunity Employer: This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.