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OSF HealthCare
Ottawa, Illinois

Behavioral Health Associate

Behavioral Health TechFull-Time

Listed compensation

$18.98–$22.34 /hr

The week · per this posting · weekdays assumed

Ask the employer about call expectations, weekend coverage, nights and shift pattern and time off.

Posted 1mo ago · Verified live

Job Description

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Expected pay for this position is $18.98 - $22.34/hour. Actual pay will be determined by experience, skills and internal equity. This is an Hourly position.

Overview

Position Summary

The Behavioral Health Associate provides direct patient care to behavioral health patients including, but not limited to, milieu safety/management, group and individual patient interventions/interactions.

Assists with monitoring of visiting hours, being present in groups to co-facilitate or facilitate, engaging patients on the floor during down times, participating in code alerts, and assisting with patient arrival to the unit.

Behavioral Health Associate will also assist with goal planning and development of recovery supports outside the treatment center and promote leisure activities and teaching of activities of daily living.

Behavioral Health Associate support the work of the social service department and work in unison with the nursing services and recreational therapy.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

Education

  • Associates degree in Human Services
  • OR
  • High School Diploma with 2 years experience working with Behavioral Health patients
  • OR

If in Bachelors or Associates program, with major in human service (social services) or human behavior (psychology), will graduate within two years of hire date.

Preferred Qualifications

Education

Associates or Bachelors in Social Service area.

Experience

Internship or 1 year working with behavioral health population.

Other Skills/ Knowledge

  • Knowledge or education in Substance use field.
  • Basic counseling, ability to teach daily living skills, problem solving and good written and oral communication.
  • OSF HealthCare is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Key Responsibilities

The Behavioral Health Associate provides direct patient care, including milieu management, group facilitation, and individual patient interventions. They also assist with goal planning, recovery support, and daily living skills instruction while collaborating with nursing and social services.

Qualifications

Education
Associate degree

Key Skills

Individual interventionCrisis interventionSubstance use knowledgeWritten communicationPatient safety

Behavioral Health Career Context

Of the 40 active Behavioral Health listings this role was benchmarked against, 3% are remote, 60% have no call, 48% require no weekends.

Behavioral Health pay on WeekdayDoc is down 5.0% vs. the prior quarter (through Sep 2026).

The cost-of-living index for Illinois is 100.0 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$43k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $43k in an average-cost state. 62.6% of Illinois clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Top Behavioral Health Tech Jobs

21 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution21 jobs · 16 employers

7
<$45k
9
$45k-50k
1
$52k
2
$59k
2
$60k+

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks16 jobs

401k / retirement match
100%
CME allowance
38%
Sign-on bonus
6%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

Behavioral Health Technician - ED (Day/Evening/Night Shift)

Essentia Health · Duluth, Minnesota

$22.77-$33.86/hr
#2

Virtual Behavioral Health Technician

Guidelight Health · Remote - Nationwide

$28-$33/hr
#3

Behavioral Health Technician at Hill (83693)

$26.91-$28.58/hr
#4

Behavioral Health Technician (83534)

$26.91-$28.58/hr
+ 19 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 1.5this job 1.5
Better work-life than 50% of Behavioral Health listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 1,263 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • On-site

Living in Ottawa

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$219k
Typical market rent
$1,294/mo
Residents’ average commute
23 min
State income tax
Up to 5%
Sources & methodology

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

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