Illinois Department of Human Services awards $4 million in grants for behavioral health students

CHICAGO – The Illinois Department of Human Services announced that it has awarded $4 million in grant funding to support the Certified Recovery Support Specialist Success program. The CRSS Success program prepares students for entry-level positions as behavioral health workers, specifically in the areas of mental health and substance use recovery. The program is administered through IDHS’s Division of Mental Health and was created by the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act and is funded by adult-use cannabis tax revenue.
IDHS awarded CRSS Success Program grants to 11 post-secondary educational institutions across the state, including Heartland Community College and Northern Illinois University. The creation of this new program will expand the number of Recovery Support Specialists who can help to address the harmful effects of the war on drugs and heal residents in Illinois. Students in the program receive full funding that assists with tuition, textbook costs, application fees, childcare, and transportation. The program provides post-secondary education for up to 600 individuals with lived experience of mental health and/or substance use recovery to enter the behavioral health workforce.