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Avera Health
Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Behavioral Health Technician II | Behavioral Health Child Unit

Behavioral Health TechIncludes weekendsFull-Time

Listed compensation

$21.75-$33/hr

The week · per this posting · weekdays assumed

Ask the employer about call expectations and time off.

Posted 1h ago · Verified live

Job Description

Location: Avera Behavioral Health Sioux Falls

Worker Type

Regular

Work Shift

Rotating days/evenings/nights/weekends/holidays (United States of America)

Pay Range

The pay range for this position is listed below. Actual pay rate dependent upon experience.

$21.75 - $33.00

Position Highlights

*This position may be eligible for a $3,000 sign on bonus*

Why Is Behavioral Health Important?

The Avera Behavioral Health Adolescent & Child Units are designed to be a structured and age-appropriate therapeutic environment for adolescents and children to learn to understand problems, use healthy coping skills and set and complete goals.

You will enjoy this Behavioral Health setting if you are someone that:

Enjoys working with children ages 5 to 12 years old and adolescents ages 13 to 17 years old as well as their families.

Has a passion helping patients with conditions such as Depression, Anxiety Disorders, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Addiction or Suicidal behavior.

  • Appreciates an active, challenging care environment that requires critical thinking.
  • Values autonomous professional nursing practice.
  • Possesses motivation to help create and deliver high-quality patient care in an energizing team environment.

Unit Highlights

  • Cross Trained to work in the Adolescent Program and Child Program
  • The adolescent program is a 40 unit
  • Child unit is a 14 bed unit
  • Opportunity to meet 70+ coworkers
  • Opportunity to change lives of both Adolescent and Children

Self-scheduling Program

Student Loan Repayment: This Behavioral Health Technician position is eligible for Avera’s Student Loan Repayment Program, which helps you pay off your loans and save money. Each month an extra payment of $167 (up to $10,000) from Avera will help pay down your principal balance faster.

You Belong at Avera

Be part of a multidisciplinary team built with compassion and the goal of Moving Health Forward for you and our patients. Work where you matter.

A Brief Overview

Provides physical and psychological care to patients under the direct supervision of a Registered Nurse. Assumes responsibility and accountability for individual actions and outcomes of patient care delivered.

What You Will Do

Works with individual patients in a 1-on-1 setting or in a group setting that is consistent with the nursing care needs of the patient and the inter-disciplinary treatment plan.

Participates in the daily inter-disciplinary treatment team meeting as needed, providing input in terms of patient behaviors and interactions with others.

Implements suicide precautions as needed.

Assesses changes in patient’s condition/behavior and notifies RN.

Assists with patient and family programs as well as being continually cognizant of the safety and welfare of all participants.

Assists with the activities of daily living care of the patients to include, but not limited to: vital signs, collection of specimens, and other general nursing care procedures.

Assesses individual patient needs and provides input in creating and modifying the nursing care plan and assists with implementing necessary therapeutic activities.

Maintains accurate and concise records, documenting promptly all pertinent information in the patient’s EMR.

Assesses impending agitation and escalation of behavioral changes and participates in the behavioral management of these patients.

Researches, plans, and implements the updating and development of new therapeutic patient groups with oversight from the Programming Committee.

Essential Qualifications

The individual must be able to work the hours specified.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential job function satisfactorily including having visual acuity adequate to perform position duties and the ability to communicate effectively with others, hear, understand and distinguish speech and other sounds.

These requirements and those listed above are representative of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform the essential job functions.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions, as long as the accommodations do not cause undue hardship to the employer.

Required Education, License/Certification, or Work Experience:

Bachelor's Psychology, Social Work, criminal justice, education, behavior analysis, health or social sciences, counseling, alcohol studies, liberal arts, or any other human services and/or medical field or

Associate's Behavioral Health

Preferred Education, License/Certification, or Work Experience:

1-3 years related experience

Expectations and Standards

Commitment to the daily application of Avera’s mission, vision, core values, and social principles to serve patients, their families, and our community.

  • Promote Avera’s values of compassion, hospitality, and stewardship.
  • Uphold Avera’s standards of Communication, Attitude, Responsiveness, and Engagement (CARE) with enthusiasm and sincerity.
  • Maintain confidentiality.

Work effectively in a team environment, coordinating work flow with other team members and ensuring a productive and efficient environment.

Comply with safety principles, laws, regulations, and standards associated with, but not limited to, CMS, The Joint Commission, DHHS, and OSHA if applicable.

Benefits You Need & Then Some

Avera is proud to offer a wide range of benefits to qualifying part-time and full-time employees. We support you with opportunities to help live balanced, healthy lives. Benefits are designed to meet needs of today and into the future.

  • PTO available day 1 for eligible hires.
  • Up to 5% employer matching contribution for retirement
  • Career development guided by hands-on training and mentorship

Avera is an Equal Opportunity Employer - Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, Veteran Status, or other categories protected by law. If you are an individual with a disability and would like to request an accommodation for help with your online application, please call 1-605-504-4444 or send an email to talent@avera.org.

Key Responsibilities

Provides physical and psychological care to patients under the supervision of a Registered Nurse while implementing inter-disciplinary treatment plans. Monitors patient behavior, assists with activities of daily living, and maintains accurate documentation in the electronic medical record.

Requirements

Requires a Bachelor's degree in a human services or medical field, or an Associate's degree in Behavioral Health. Candidates must possess the ability to communicate effectively and demonstrate visual acuity to perform essential job functions.

Qualifications

Education
Bachelor degree

Key Skills

Crisis interventionVital signs monitoringElectronic medical recordsTeam collaborationPatient assessment

Healthcare Professional Career Context

The cost-of-living index for South Dakota is 88.6 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$57k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $64k in an average-cost state. 58.2% of South Dakota clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Of the 40 active healthcare listings this role was benchmarked against, 70% have no call, 43% require no weekends.

What does the healthcare market look like in South Dakota?
MeasureThis jobMarket
Listed pay$45k–$69khealthcare median $41k (middle half $37k–$47k)687 comparable listings, Oct 2026
Cost-of-living adjusted pay~$64k in purchasing powerSouth Dakota index 88.6 (US = 100)BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)
healthcare listings in South Dakota7 active1,728 nationallylive on WeekdayDoc, Oct 2026
Work settingon-sitepeers: 70% no call · 43% no weekends40 benchmarked listings
healthcare pay trend−3.0% vs prior quarter—through Sep 2026
Sources: WeekdayDoc live listing index, BEA Regional Price Parities (2024); as of Oct 2026. Same values as the Weekday Verdict and Market Insights on this page.

Location & Logistics

South Dakota has no state income tax, which can significantly increase take-home pay compared to high-tax states. At the posted ~$57k midpoint, that is roughly $2k–$4k a year versus a typical 4–7% state rate.

Top Behavioral Health Tech Jobs

20 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution

20 jobs · 16 employers
9
<$45k
7
$45k-50k
3
$52k
0
$55k-60k
1
$72k

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks

16 jobs
401k / retirement match
100% this job
CME allowance
25%
Sign-on bonus
13% this job
Loan repayment
6% this job
PSLF eligible
6%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

Behavioral Health Technician - Float Pool

Essentia Health · Duluth, Minnesota

$23.28-$34.63/hr
#2

Behavioral Health Technician

Discovery Behavioral Health · Fairfax, Virginia

$16-$25/hr
#3

Behavioral Health Associate I

$20-$25/hr
#4

Behavioral Health Associate

$22-$25/hr
+ 18 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

2.8/ 10
Listing-based score
  • On-site
  • Includes weekends
Avera Health logo

About Avera Health

Non-profit Organizations
South Dakota

Benefits & Perks

$3,000 sign-on bonus
Student Loan Repayment Program ($167/month up to $10,000)
PTO available day 1 for eligible hires
Up to 5% employer retirement match
Career development and mentorship
Self-scheduling program

Living in Sioux Falls

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$302k
Typical market rent
$1,279/mo
Residents’ average commute
17 min
State income tax
None
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Sep 2026), Zillow market rents (Sep 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

City-level figures. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.