Community Support Team (CST) Certified Recovery Support Specialist

Metropolitan Family Services; Merrionette Park (IL); Hybrid; USD 43,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Coverage

Dental Coverage

Vision Coverage

HSA contributions

Teladoc services (free)

401K with employer match

Job summary

Metropolitan Family Services seeks a Community Support Team (CST) Certified Recovery Support Specialist in Merrionette Park. The role emphasizes peer mentoring, system navigation, and WRAP-based recovery planning to support clients and families within a community-focused framework.

Hybrid position with evening/weekend/on-call requirements. The salary range starts at $43,000 and goes to $48,000 annually, determined by experience, licensure, and credentials.

Qualifications

• High school diploma, GED, or above.
• Personal experience with mental health and/or substance use recovery.
• Must hold or be eligible to obtain the Certified Recovery Support Specialist (CRSS) or Certified Peer Recovery Specialist (CPRS) credential from the Illinois Certification Board (ICB)within 12 months of hire.
• Final salary will be determined based on years of experience, licensure level, and relevant credentials.

Responsibilities

• Peer mentoring & engagement: Build trusting, mutual relationships with clients through appropriate self-disclosure of your own recovery journey.
• System navigation: Assist clients in accessing services within the CCBHC and externally.
• Recovery planning: Help clients develop Wellness Recovery Action Plans (WRAP) and identify personal strengths to drive their treatment.
• Provide information to clients and family members on mental illness, recovery and wellness, treatment options, and resources.
• Advocacy: Serve as a bridge between the client and the clinical team, ensuring the client's choices define their care process.
• Community outreach: Partners with local community-based organizations to educate the community on CCBHC services and facilitate warm hand-offs into care.
• Crisis support: Utilize de-escalation techniques and trauma-informed support with clients during mental health crises.
• Documentation: Maintain HIPAA-compliant records of peer interactions in the EHR system.
• SupportsCCBHC clients and people the client/family identifies as their supports with appropriate consent.
• Works collaboratively within a team to provide full range of services including mental health, substance use/abuse, physical health, case management and other social determinants of health support.

Education

High school diploma, GED, or above

Job description

Community Support Team (CST) Certified Recovery Support Specialist

Job Category: Other

Requisition Number: COMMU005499

• Posted : October 19, 2026
• Full-Time
• Hybrid

Locations

Showing 1 location

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(MFS) 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. Are you looking to have an impact on more than just a company’s bottom line? Then we’d love to hear from you!

Community Support Team (CST) Certified Recovery Support Specialist at our Merrionette Park office.

Salary: The average starting salary for this position will fall in the range of $43,000-$48,000 annually. Where candidates fall in this range will be based on skill and experience level. Final salary will be determined based on years of experience, licensure level, and relevant credentials.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Peer Mentoring & Engagement: Build trusting, mutual relationships with clients throughappropriate self-disclosure of your own recovery journey.
• System Navigation:Assistclientsin accessing services within the CCBHC and externally.
• Recovery Planning: Helpclientsdevelop Wellness Recovery Action Plans (WRAP) andidentifypersonal strengths to drive their treatment.
• Provides information to clients and family members on mental illness, recovery and wellness, treatment options, and resources.
• Advocacy: Serve as a bridge between theclientand the clinical team, ensuring theclient's choices define their care process.
• Community Outreach: Partnerswith localcommunity-based organizationsto educate the community on CCBHC services andfacilitate\"warmhand-offs\" into care.
• Crisis Support:Utilizede-escalation techniques and trauma-informed supportwithclients during mental health crises.
• Documentation:Maintainaccurate, HIPAA-compliant records of peer interactions in the Electronic Health Record (EHR) system.
• AssistsCCBHCclients and people the client/family identifies as their supports (withappropriate consent) e.g., significant others, parents, family, caregiver in their understanding the impact of mental health issues/symptoms and achieving the best possible outcomes for themselves/familymember.
• Works collaboratively within a team toprovidea full range of services includingmental health, substance use/abuse, physical health, casemanagementand other social determinants of health support.Co-facilitates groups as requested.Provides medicationmonitoringand/or training to clients.
• Spearheads community support interventions tofacilitateillness self-management, skill building, identification and use of naturalsupports, and use of community resources.
• Reviewsresultsof client assessments/screenings and symptom checklists and supports clients when needed to complete symptom checklist.
• Conducts outreach and engagement for clients who may not be engaged in care.
• Participatesin team meetings,andhuddles.
• Supports clients when transitioning to another level of care.
• Maintains awareness of community resources and works to ensure service delivery maximizes available resources and services available within MFS and the community, asappropriate.
• Prioritizes activities in collaboration with the supervisor tooptimizeclient service delivery and achieve performance expectations.
• Recognizeswhen to ask for help tomaintaintheir own wellness plan.
• Maximizes opportunities to expand knowledge and skills, andutilizestechniques learned.
• Provides consultation to agency staff and the community, as needed,utilizingexpert skills in training, conducting seminars, and working on special projects, as requested.
• May serve on agency-wide committees and work groups or on community committees, as approved by supervisor and agency leadership.
• Must work some evenings, weekends andon-call
• Other duties as assigned.

REQUIRED EDUCATION, CERTIFICATIONS,CREDENTIALSand/or EXPERIENCE:

• High school diploma, GED, or above.
• Personal experience with mental health and/or substance use recovery
• Must hold or be eligible to obtain the Certified Recovery Support Specialist (CRSS) or Certified Peer Recovery Specialist (CPRS) credential from the Illinois Certification Board (ICB)within 12 months of hire.
• Final salary will bedeterminedbased on years of experience, licensure level, and relevant credentials.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Satisfactorily pass all relevant screening and criminal background checks.

TRANSPORTATION/TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS:

• Driving for work required with transportation of clients preferred in a personally owned vehicle .

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.

Some highlights include:

• Medical Coverage, Dental Coverage, and Vision Coverage.
• Metropolitan Family Services contributions of $2,000 to individual, and $4,000 to family, HSA accounts, pro-rated to your benefits start date.
• FREE General Medicine and Behavioral Health Teladoc services provided to all team members.
• Ascensus 401K plan services with a 4% employer match, vested at 100% on day one of eligibility.

• Some of the above benefits are available for part-time and temporary workers, but not all. Be sure to inquire upon your hire as to which benefits apply to you.

MORE ABOUT US:

Metropolitan is Illinois' first comprehensive human services agency and reaches more than 122,970 individuals and families in Chicago, Evanston/Skokie, the southwest suburbs, and DuPage County with services promoting education, economic stability, emotional wellness, and empowerment.

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.