RECREATION THERAPIST II

Position/Program Information

FILING DATES: 5/9/2016

EXAM NUMBER: Y5872M

OPEN COMPETITIVE JOB OPPORTUNITY
Until the needs of the service are met and is subject to closure without prior notice.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS A REBULLETIN TO UPDATE THE EXAMINATION CONTENT INFORMATION.

SPECIAL SALARY INFORMATION :
Due to Critical Shortage Recruitment, new appointments and current incumbents shall be compensated at step 3 of the applicable salary range. This is in effect until June 30, 2025 or until it is determined that a shortage no longer exists, whichever is sooner.

Correctional Health Services - 20% Recruitment and Retention Bonus
The County of Los Angeles is currently offering a 20% bonus for full-time Recreation Therapist II hired by Correctional Health Services and working on-site in a designated facility to meet critical healthcare needs for the uniquely underserved jail population.

ABOUT THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY:
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS) is the second largest municipal health system in the nation. DHS operates as an integrated health system, operating 25 health centers and four acute care hospitals, in addition to providing health care to youth in the juvenile justice system and inmates in the LA County jails. Across the network of DHS' directly operated clinical sites and through partnerships with community-based clinics, DHS cares for about 600,000 unique patients each year, employs over 23,000 staff, and has an annual operating budget of 6.9 billion. For additional information regarding DHS please visit www.dhs.lacounty.gov . Through academic affiliations with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of Southern California (USC), and the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Sciences (CDU), DHS hospitals are training sites for physicians completing their Graduate Medical Education in nearly every medical specialty and subspecialty. In addition, to its direct clinical services, DHS also runs the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Agency and the County's 911 emergency response system, as well as Housing for Health and the Office of Diversion and Re-entry, each with a critical role in connecting vulnerable populations, including those released from correctional and institutional settings, to supportive housing.

MISSION:
To advance the health of our patients and our communities by providing extraordinary care.

DEFINITION:
Provides a full range of professional recreational therapy services to assist patients with mental or physical disabilities to attain, regain, or maintain physical, social, or mental functioning or to adjust to their disabilities.

Essential Job Functions

• Plans, organizes and directs a recreation therapy program designed to assist in the treatment and rehabilitation of hospital, clinic, or institutionalized patients or clients, or specifically defined patient populations, including conceptualization and demonstration projects.
• Supervises and conducts a variety of individual and group therapeutic recreational, social and physical treatment modalities and techniques Including therapeutic intervention, instruction, leadership and counseling techniques which focus on the restoration of physical, mental, and social capabilities.
• Conducts and/or coordinates social/leisure discharge planning and community adjustment programs, and referral and patient-family education services to assist the patient or client in reintegrating into the community and utilizing community resources.
• Contributes to the medical and rehabilitative services by participating in case, colleague and systems consultations, and serves on special committees representing recreation therapy in various hospitals, institutions, departmental, or community settings.
• Evaluates the quality and effectiveness of existing recreation therapy programs and services and revises or modifies the program in keeping with the changing needs of the patient and the inter-disciplinary team objectives.
• Defines recreation therapy goals and objectives and plans, develops and implements the recreation therapy programs through effective and efficient utilization of subordinate staff, recreation facilities and equipment and supplies.
• Defines recreation therapy goals and objectives and plans, develops and implements the recreation therapy programs through effective and efficient utilization of subordinate staff, recreation facilities and equipment and supplies.
• Delegates responsibilities and assigns treatment procedures to subordinate recreation therapy personnel and students, reviews their work and may prepare their performance evaluations.
• Develops and maintains liaison with community agencies and recreation facilities to encourage their participation in recreation therapy and coordinate after care follow-up programs.
• Documents treatment services in accordance with departmental, local, state, federal, and JCAHO regulations and regulatory standards.
• Orients new staff and members of inter-disciplinary team to therapeutic recreation procedures and the role of recreation therapy and provides on-going informal and formal in-service training to recreation therapy staff.
• Selects, administers, analyzes, and interprets a variety of standardized and non-standardized assessment techniques of cognitive and social skills, affective behavior, and sensory motor integration to evaluate patients or clients; provides appropriate interventions requiring ongoing interpretation of assessment/re-assessment data which supports treatment goals and objectives.
• Evaluates current and future need for facilities, supplies and equipment, prepares and submits budget requests and follows through with ordering supplies and equipment.
• Provides technical guidance to subordinate staff and students by instructing and training them in therapeutic methods and by recommending treatment modalities and intervention when appropriate.
• Attends and participates in professional conferences, seminars and workshops.

Requirements

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:
*Graduation from an accredited college or university with specialization in Recreation Therapy or Therapeutic Recreation -AND- Two (2) years of experience in the practice of Recreation Therapy at the level of Recreation Therapist I**. A Master's degree in Recreation Therapy or Recreation with a specialization in Therapeutic Recreation may be substituted for one year of the required experience.

LICENSE:
*Current certification to practice as a Recreation Therapist issued by the California Board of Parks and Recreation Certification -OR- Current certification to practice as a Therapeutic Recreation Specialist issued by the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification.

All required licenses and certifications must be active and unrestricted or your application will not be accepted.

A valid California Class C Driver License or the ability to utilize an alternative method of transportation when needed to carry out job-related essential functions. A valid California Class B Driver License may be required for appointment to some positions in this class.

PHYSICAL CLASS III - Moderate:
Includes standing or walking most of the time, with bending, stooping, squatting, twisting, and reaching; includes working on irregular surfaces, occasionally lifting objects weighting over 25 pounds, and frequent lifting of 10-25 pounds.
SPECIAL REQUIREMENT INFORMATION:

*In order to receive credit for any college course work, or any type of college degree, such as a Bachelor's degree, Master's degree, completion of a certificate program, certificate or license, you must include a legible copy of the official diploma, official transcripts, official letter from the accredited institution which shows the area of specialization; or official license or certificates with your application within 15 calendar days of filing. Applications submitted without the required degree or evidence of licensure and/or certification will be rejected as incomplete.

*The required license and/or certificate MUST be current and unrestricted; a conditional, provisional, probationary or restricted license and/or certificate will NOT be accepted.

**Experience at the level of Recreation Therapist I in the County of Los Angeles is defined as : performs professional recreation therapy services in acute medical, rehabilitation, or psychiatric hospitals, out-patient clinics, community health centers, mental health facilities, or institutional settings to enable physically, mentally, or socially disabled patients or clients attain, restore, or maintain physical, social, or mental functioning, or to adjust to their disability; serves as a member of an interdisciplinary medical and therapeutic treatment team.

Additional Information

EXAMINATION CONTENT:
This examination will consist of an evaluation of education and experience based upon application information weighted 100%.

Candidates must achieve a passing score of 70% or higher on the examination in order to be added to the eligible register.

Notification Letters and other correspondences will be sent electronically to the email address provided on the application. It is important that applicants provide a valid email address. Please add Gacaudillo1@dhs.lacounty.gov and info@governmentjobs.com to your email address book and to the list of approved senders to prevent email notifications from being filtered as SPAM/JUNK mail.

ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION :
Applications will be processed on an "as-received" basis and those receiving a passing score will be promulgated to the eligible register accordingly.

The names of candidates receiving a passing grade on the examination will be placed on the Eligible Register and will appear in order of their score group for a period of twelve (12) months following the date of promulgation.

NO PERSON MAY COMPETE IN THIS EXAMINATION MORE THAN ONCE EVERY TWELVE (12) MONTHS.

VACANCY INFORMATION :
The resulting eligible register from this examination will be used to fill vacancies throughout the Department of Health Services as they occur.

SPECIAL INFORMATION :
Appointees may be required to work any shift, including evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays.

AVAILABLE SHIFT:
Any

APPLICATION AND FILING INFORMATION:

APPLICATIONS MUST BE FILED ONLINE ONLY. APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED BY U.S. MAIL, FAX OR IN PERSON WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

Apply online by clicking on the "Apply" tab for this posting. You can also track the status of your application using this website.

All information is subject to verification. We may reject your application at any time during the examination and hiring process, including after appointment has been made. Falsification of any information may result in disqualification or rescission of appointment.

Utilizing VERBIAGE from the Class Specification and Minimum Requirements serving as your description of duties WILL NOT be sufficient to demonstrate that you met the requirements. Doing so may result in an INCOMPLETE APPLICATION and you may be DISQUALIFIED.

This examination will remain open until the needs of the service are met. Application filing may be suspended at any time without advance notice.

Fill out your application completely. The acceptance of your application depends on whether you have clearly shown that you meet the requirements. Provide any relevant education, training, and experience in the spaces provided so we can evaluate your qualifications for the job. For each job held, give the name and address of your employer, your job title, beginning and ending dates, number of hours worked per week, description of work performed, and salary earned. If your application is incomplete, it will be rejected.

Applications electronically received after 5:00 p.m., PST, on the last day of filing will not be accepted.

NOTE: If you are unable to attach the required documents, you must e-mail the documents to the exam analyst at Gacaudillo1@dhs.lacounty.gov within fifteen (15) calendar days of filing online or your application will be rejected. Please include the exam number and the exam title.

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER:
All applicants must enter a valid social security number at the time of filing. Entering anything other than a valid social security number (i.e. 000-00-0000, 111-11-1111, etc.) will result in an automatic rejection of your application.

COMPUTER AND INTERNET ACCESS AT PUBLIC LIBRARIES:
For candidates who may not have regular access to a computer or the internet, applications can be completed on computers at public libraries throughout Los Angeles County.

NO SHARING OF USER ID AND PASSWORD:
All applicants must file their application online using their own user ID and password. Using a family member's or friend's user ID and password may erase a candidate's original application record.

ADA COORDINATOR PHONE:
(323) 914-7111

CALIFORNIA RELAY SERVICES PHONE:
(800) 735-2922

DEPARTMENT CONTACT:
Gabriela Caudillo, Exam Analyst
Gacaudillo1@dhs.lacounty.gov (Best way to contact due to telework)
(213) 288-7000

For detailed information, please click here

• 

• Los Angeles County

• (800) 970-5478

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