MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS CLINICIAN

City of Chicago; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 81,000 - 99,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of Chicago seeks a Mental Health Crisis Clinician to join the Department of Public Health, Behavioral Health division. You will respond to 911 calls with a behavioral health component as part of an Alternate Response Team, conduct crisis assessments, plan safety, and coordinate linkage to care for residents with complex needs.

Requires a Master's/Doctoral degree in a relevant field and IL licensure (LCSW/LCPC/LMFT or Ph.D./Psy.D).

Qualifications

• Master's or Doctoral degree in Social Work, Counseling, Psychology or similar field.
• Two years of direct clinical services experience in relevant settings.
• Illinois license: LCSW, LCPC, LMFT or Ph.D./Psy.D; eligibility to obtain IL license within 6 months.

Responsibilities

• Respond to 911 calls with a behavioral health component, provide crisis assessment and linkage to care.
• Provide case management including telehealth follow-ups to ensure linkage to community supports.
• Develop crisis safety plans and determine transport needs.
• Provide psychological consultation during behavioral health calls.
• Outreach to homelessness, serious mental illness, and co-occurring disorders.
• Deliver compassionate, trauma-informed services.
• Maintain accurate clinical records per CDPH and City standards.
• Participate in team meetings, trainings, and supervision.
• Perform duties per agency policies and procedures.

Skills

Crisis intervention

De-escalation

Case management

Safety planning

Linkage to care

Trauma-informed care

Documentation

Education

Master's or Doctoral degree in Social Work, Counseling, Psychology or similar field

Job description

MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS CLINICIAN - Job Number: 418935

BID/JOB ANNOUNCEMENT

Mental Health Crisis Clinician

Department of Public Health

Behavioral Health

Number of Positions: 1

(Additional vacancies possible pending budget approval)

Starting Salary starts at $90,144

This position is open to the public and all current City employees covered under the City's collective bargaining agreement with AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY, AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES (AFSCME) - BARGAINING UNIT 1, 3, 4 & 5. Only employees in City job titles in this bargaining unit are eligible to bid.

MISSION: To promote and improve health by engaging residents, communities and partners in establishing and implementing policies and services that prioritize residents and communities with the greatest need.

Under general supervision, the class works on cross-agency Alternate Response Teams that may consist of Community Paramedics from the Chicago Fire Department (CFD), Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Police Officers from the Chicago Police Department (CPD), and other behavioral health or social service professionals to respond to 911 calls for service that include a behavioral health component. These Alternate Response Teams support an overall effort to deliver specialized and compassionate services tailored to meet the needs of people with: mental health conditions, substance use disorders, co-occurring disorders, and unmet social needs (homelessness) who interface with the City's emergency response system; and performs related duties as required.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES

• Respond, in collaboration with other team members, to 911 calls with an identified behavioral health component and provide crisis assessment, crisis intervention, de-escalation, safety planning, referrals, and linkage to care services for residents.
• Provide case management services to patients as needed or assigned as part of response to behavioral health related 911 calls. This may include telehealth or telephonic follow-up with the patient subsequent to the crisis event to ensure linkage to appropriate community supports.
• Develop and implement crisis related safety plans; work with patients, families, and other members of the Alternate Response Team to determine if the patient requires a higher level of care requiring transport to a hospital or alternate transport destination.
• Provide psychological consultation while responding to behavioral health-related calls.
• Conduct proactive outreach to individuals experiencing homelessness, serious mental illness, substance use disorders, and co-occurring disorders who may have unaddressed behavioral health or social service needs.
• Deliver services that are compassionate, trauma-informed, and attentive to the particular needs and values of each patient.
• Maintain accurate and timely clinical medical records consistent with CDPH and City of Chicago standards.
• Participate in team/department meetings, in-services, and supervisory sessions as required.
• Perform all duties as assigned in accordance with agency policies and procedures.

NOTE: The list of essential duties is not intended to be inclusive; there may be other duties that are essential to particular positions within the class.

Location: 1920 S Western Ave Chicago, IL 60608

Days: Monday-Friday

Hours: 2:30pm-10:30pm

THIS POSITION IS IN CAREER SERVICE

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Master's or Doctoral degree in Social Work, Counseling, Psychology or similar field, PLUS two years of experience in delivering direct clinical services in any of the following areas:

• Working with patients living with serious and persistent mental illness.
• Working on an Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) or Community Support Team (CST).
• Working on a mobile crisis, alternate response, or co-responder team.
• Working in a psychiatric stabilization setting such as a psychiatric emergency room or crisis stabilization unit.
• Working with patients experiencing co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.
• Working in an inpatient psychiatric hospital setting.

LICENSURE, CERTIFICATION, OR OTHER QUALIFICATIONS

• A valid State of Illinois driver's license is required within three (3) months of employment.
• Current license as a licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC), licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT), or Doctor of Psychology (Ph. D, Psy. D) in the State of Illinois. If you hold a terminal clinical license in another state, this meets the requirement, but you must demonstrate the ability to establish the clinical license in the state of Illinois within 6 months of hire.

SELECTION REQUIREMENTS

This position requires applicants to complete an interview which will include an assessment as part of the interview. The interviewed candidate(s) possessing the qualifications best suited to fulfill the responsibilities of the position, based on the interview process will be selected.

APPLICATION EVALUATION

Initial evaluation will be based on information provided on the application and the documents submitted. The Department of Human Resource staff will review applications after the final posting date. Staff will follow all required Employment/Hiring Plan provisions, federal, state and local laws, and Collective Bargaining Agreements when applicable. Staff will apply hiring preferences as required by the municipal code. Placement on an eligibility list is not an offer or guarantee of an interview nor employment with the City of Chicago.

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY

To further our commitment to hiring applicants with diverse experience, the City of Chicago has adopted the following ordinances 2-74-020 and 2-74-075. The ordinances provide a preference for applicants who meet minimum qualifications and who are veterans of the Armed Forces, and/or residents of Socio‑Economically Disadvantaged Areas (SEDA), and/or Chicago Public School (CPS) high school graduates, to be referred to departments for consideration. These hiring preferences do not apply to bidders, as Collective Bargaining Agreements define the hiring process for bidders. For positions covered by a collective bargaining agreement, bidders will be considered before external candidates.

ALL REFERENCES TO POLITICAL SPONSORSHIP OR RECOMMENDATION MUST BE OMITTED FROM ALL APPLICATION MATERIALS SUBMITTED FOR CITY EMPLOYMENT.

The City of Chicago is an Equal Employment Opportunity and Military Friendly Employer.

City of Chicago

Brandon Johnson, Mayor

Job Posting: Sep 23, 2026, 5:01:00 AM

Closing Date (Period for Applying) - External: Oct 8, 2026, 4:59:00 AM

Salary: $90,144

Pay Basis: Yearly