Senior Clinical Director, Access to Care in Decatur, Illinois at Heritage Behavioral Health Center

Senior Clinical Director, Crisis and Access to Care

Full-Time | Exempt | Decatur, IL

Salary Range: $90,000 – $120,000 annually, commensurate with education, experience, and licensure

Heritage Behavioral Health Center is a mission-driven Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) dedicated to providing comprehensive, high-quality behavioral health services to individuals across Macon and DeWitt counties. We recognize that all individuals at our organization have an impact on client care — regardless of the position they hold.

At Heritage, we believe in taking care of our staff’s needs so that they can concentrate on taking care of the needs of the individuals we serve. Our staff are our greatest asset, and we treat them as such!

• Collaborative, mission-led work environment with a dedicated team
• Competitive salary aligned with education, experience, and licensure — $90,000 to $120,000 annually
• Every other Friday off — paid wellness day
• Generous Time Off: vacation, sick, personal, and holiday leave
• Health, dental, and vision insurance with substantial agency contributions
• Flexible Spending Accounts (healthcare and dependent care)
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and fitness reimbursement
• Retirement: 401(k) and Roth options
• Professional Growth: tuition assistance and continuing education opportunities
• Loan forgiveness eligibility through the National Health Service Corps (NHSC)
• Additional life insurance options

At Heritage Behavioral Health Center, we believe that how someone first experiences help matters as much as the help itself. We are seeking a Senior Clinical Director, Access to Care who shares that belief — and who has the clinical depth, operational creativity, and human-centered leadership to bring it to life every single day.

This is a role built for a moment of real transformation. Access to care is one of the most pressing challenges in behavioral health, and Heritage is actively expanding the front door of our system. You will lead a portfolio of services that make up that front door: the first conversation, the moment of crisis, and the bridge to lasting care. In a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) environment, you will have the structure, resources, and mandate to do this work right.

Guided by Heritage’s philosophy of finding creative ways to help people, the Senior Clinical Director will build and strengthen systems of engagement, advance trauma-informed practices, and support staff in providing exceptional behavioral health services. We are looking for someone who understands that warmth, dignity, and genuine welcome are not soft extras in behavioral healthcare — they are clinical tools. When a person in crisis is met with calm attentiveness, when a family navigating intake is treated with unhurried respect, when a peer specialist in a respite setting creates a space that feels human and safe — that is the standard of care we are building.

This senior leader will have oversight of four interconnected programs within Heritage’s Access to Care continuum:

Heritage’s primary entry point for individuals seeking mental health, substance use, or integrated behavioral healthcare. This program encompasses intake coordination, standardized screening, comprehensive assessment, and individualized treatment planning — and sets the tone for the entire care relationship.

A timely, lower-barrier pathway for individuals experiencing behavioral health needs. This service reflects Heritage’s commitment to meeting people where they are, before a situation escalates.

Crisis Call Center

The first voice a person in crisis hears can change everything. Heritage's Crisis Call Center provides 24/7 telephone-based crisis intervention, support, and triage for individuals experiencing acute behavioral health distress. Staffed by trained crisis specialists, the Call Center serves as a critical access point — connecting callers to the right level of care, dispatching mobile crisis teams when needed, and ensuring that no one navigates a moment of crisis alone. This program reflects Heritage's commitment to being available, responsive, and genuinely present whenever and however someone reaches out for help.

Community-based crisis response teams that bring care directly into the community at the moment of crisis to anyone, anytime, and anywhere in Macon, DeWitt, and Piatt counties.

A peer-driven respite model offering an alternative to hospitalization for individuals experiencing psychiatric crisis. The Living Room prioritizes connection, autonomy, and community, creating a safe environment for individual to process a crisis.

The ideal candidate brings a distinctive combination of traits that go beyond credentials:

• A commitment to the whole experience of care. You understand that the experience of seeking behavioral healthcare — the tone of a first phone call, the feel of a waiting space, the way a clinician listens — shapes outcomes. You actively design systems that make every touchpoint feel respectful, human, and responsive.
• Creative and innovative thinking. You have a proven ability to create solutions others have not tried yet — in how staff are supported, how services are structured, and how individuals are engaged. You see what is possible, not just what exists.
• A genuine orientation toward partnership. You approach community partners, health systems, funders, payers, and peer organizations as co-creators of a stronger behavioral health system.
• Deep belief in community-based response. You believe that community-based response is not a backup plan — it is often the best plan. You understand how to bring care into people’s lives rather than expecting people to find their way to care.
• CCBHC knowledge and literacy. You are fluent in CCBHC required service standards, quality measures, and documentation expectations. You are able translate policy into ensuring individuals receive access to the care they need, when they need it.
• Hands-on, present leadership. You lead by doing. You spend time in the programs you supervise, you understand the work from the ground level, and you earn credibility by showing up.
• Barrier-free access as a leadership value. You maintain and promote a philosophy that supports individuals accessing the care they need without barriers, and you champion that philosophy across every program you lead.

• Demonstrates creativity and innovation, particularly as it relates to staff development and enhancing the experiences of individuals seeking services.
• Skilled in identifying solutions, collaborating across teams and leadership groups, and operationalizing initiatives from grant application to successful project outcomes.
• Models expected behaviors by engaging in hands-on understanding of each role supervised, gaining direct experience alongside front-line staff.
• Effectively manages multiple high-priority projects simultaneously with equal attention and rigor.
• Proactively strengthens programs using evidence-based and trauma-informed practices, and takes initiative without waiting to be asked.
• Maintains and promotes a philosophy that supports individuals accessing the care they need without barriers.
• Well-versed in Rule 132/140 and SUPR 2060/2090 regulatory standards and their application across program types.
• Experienced in managing multiple programs with diverse contract and compliance requirements, including grant implementation and outcome reporting.
• Possesses a thorough and applied understanding of trauma-informed care — its principles, practices, and essential role in supporting individuals in a manner that is sensitive, empathetic, and effective.
• Comprehensive knowledge of Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) service standards, required service categories, and quality performance measures.

• Provide clinical, administrative, and fiscal sustainability oversight of all assigned agency services and programs.
• Create and implement a sustainable plan for staff development, training, and well-being that aligns with the agency’s mission and long-term goals.
• Partner with existing agency leaders to build and sustain a high-performing leadership team grounded in trauma-informed, clinically excellent practice.
• Provide direct support, supervision, and strategic program planning for clinical directors within the Access to Care continuum.
• Demonstrate and model the behaviors, values, and clinical practices expected of each team — including developing working knowledge of every role supervised.

• Serve as the administrative and clinical expert on the following areas:

• Person-served engagement
• Access to care
• Quality of care
• Contract compliance for clinical outcomes
• Staff performance

• Develop and maintain grants within the assigned clinical continuum, including oversight of implementation, outcomes, and reporting.
• In collaboration with program leaders, create and refine systems for new and existing programs, including:

• Clinical case reviews
• Clinical record workflows and documentation standards
• Data tracking systems
• Program start-up processes

• Achieve performance measures outlined through quarterly reporting, plans of improvement, and training budgets associated with program areas.

• Represent Heritage in statewide initiatives aimed at strengthening and advancing behavioral healthcare policy and practice.
• Identify gaps across the agency and broader community behavioral health landscape and propose sustainable, innovative solutions to those gaps.
• Ensure accountability to the executive team regarding all program outcomes within the assigned continuum of care — including fiscal, clinical, and compliance dimensions.
• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders — including health systems, community organizations, payers, and referral sources — as genuine partners in expanding and improving access to care.

Licensure as a Licensed Practitioner of the Healing Arts (LPHA) is required. Qualifying licensure includes:

• Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)
• Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC)
• Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)

Candidates must bring meaningful experience in senior clinical leadership — as a clinical director or equivalent — with demonstrated success managing multidisciplinary programs in a behavioral health setting.

The successful candidate will be detail-oriented, strengths-focused, collaborative, and effective working both independently and as part of a senior leadership team.