Activities Therapist

The Position

This is a continuous filing exam. The next filing cut-offs are at 5:00 pm on: 6/26/26, 9/28/26, 12/28/26. Under direction, the Activities Therapist plans and performs therapeutic rehabilitation activities and functional life skills assessments for patients with a psychiatric or co-occurring disorder by using the principles and practices of recreation therapy. Activities Therapists work as a member of a multidisciplinary treatment team.

Examples of Knowledge and Abilities

Knowledge of: Principles and techniques of recreation therapy as applies in an acute care psychiatric facility; Basic characteristics of mental and emotional disorders, appropriate assessment techniques for planning and delivering recreation therapy services; A variety of individual and group facilitation techniques; Basic medical and psychiatric terminology; Basic regulations governing the treatment of people in psychiatric health facilities. Ability to: Conceptualize and plan appropriate recreation therapy programs for patients with mental disabilities; Adapt treatment programs by graduating tasks to meet patient's level of function; Work effectively as a member of a multidisciplinary treatment team; Use basic medical and psychiatric terminology; Lead and instruct patients in recreational and social activities; Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.

Employment Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications License Certificate Registration Requirement: 1. Current certification as a Recreation Therapist by either the (a) California Board of Recreation and Park Certification, or (b) National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification. OR 2. Current license as an Occupational Therapist by the Occupational Therapy Board of California. OR 3. Completion of a bachelor's degree program that meets the requirements for a Recreation Therapist certificate issued by either the (a) Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification; or (b) National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification OR 4. Completion of a bachelor's degree program that meets the requirements for an Occupational Therapist license issued by the Occupational Therapy Board of California. *Note: Failure to maintain the appropriate certification or registration may constitute cause for dismissal from the class under applicable Civil Service Rules. **Note: Failure to obtain the required certificate or license within six months from the appointment date constitute cause for dismissal from the class under applicable Civil Service Rules. ***Note: If the minimum qualifications include an educational or certificate/license requirement, applicants must submit proof of requirements with the application. Failure to submit proof of requirements may result in disqualification from the examination. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable. For guidelines on submitting acceptable proof of educational requirements, please click here or speak to someone in our office before the final filing or cut-off date listed in this notice.

General Qualifications Criminal History and Background Check: The County will access criminal history information on all candidates who have accepted a conditional offer of appointment for the above job class consistent with the provisions of Board of Supervisors Resolution No. 82-602, Personnel Policies and Procedure, and applicable federal and state law. The County shall not consider for employment any candidate who has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor that relates to or impacts the candidate's ability to perform the job duties of this class unless it is determined that mitigating circumstances exist. For purposes of accessing criminal history information, the candidate will be fingerprinted. A subsequent arrest notification may be obtained. The County will also conduct a background check on the candidate prior to appointment to a position within the class. The background check may include personal and professional references checks, credit history check, Social Security Number verification, professional license/registration verification, military service information and driving history. Information obtained in the course of this background check will be considered by the appointing authority in the selection process. In obtaining such information, the County will comply with applicable consent and disclosure practices in the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the California Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act. Child and Elder Abuse Reporting: Persons selected for employment must, as a condition of employment, sign a statement agreeing to comply with Section 11166 and 11160 of the California Penal Code relating to child and elder abuse reporting. Probationary Period The probationary period for this classification is six (6) months.

Application and Testing Information

Qualified applicants are encouraged to apply immediately. All applicants must complete and submit an online County of Sacramento employment application by 5:00 PM on the posted cut-off date.

Employment applications and all documentation requested in this announcement must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on the cut-off date. Employment Services is not responsible for any issues or delays caused by an applicant's computer or web browser. Applicants will be automatically logged out if they have not submitted their applications and all documentation prior to 5:00 p.m. on the cut-off date. Your application should highlight all relevant education, training, and experience, and clearly indicate how you meet the minimum qualifications for the position as of the cut-off date. Application information must be current, concise and related to the requirements in this job announcement. You may only apply for this recruitment once. Duplicate and incomplete applications will be disqualified. A resume may be included with your application, however it will not substitute for the information requested on the application.

Applicants are required to provide a full and complete response to each supplemental question. The Supplemental Questionnaire is located in the tab marked "Supplemental Questions". Please be descriptive in your response. Responses of "See Resume" or "See Application", or copy and paste of work experience are not qualifying responses and will not be considered. Supplemental Questionnaires must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on the cut-off date. Employment Services is not responsible for any issues or delays caused by an applicant's computer or web browser. Applicants will be automatically logged out if they have not submitted their applications and all documentation prior to 5:00 p.m. on the cut-off date. The supplemental questions are designed to elicit specific information regarding a candidate's experience, education, and training. Responses should be consistent with the information on your application and are subject to verification. Please provide place of employment, pertinent dates, and concise, descriptive and detailed information for each question. If a job included responsibilities applicable to several questions, separate the different functions of the job to answer all the questions completely. Resumes or referral to the application or other questionnaire responses will not be accepted in lieu of completing each question. If you have no experience, write "no experience" for the appropriate question. For many individuals, it is more efficient to develop responses to the supplemental questions in a word processing document and then paste them into the final document to be submitted. Changes or corrections to your Supplemental Questionnaire cannot be made once your application packet has been submitted. If the Supplemental Questionnaire is used in the Formula Rate exam, failure to complete all of the questions or incomplete responses will result in a lower score. While scoring the Supplemental Questionnaire, the candidate's application and/or attachments will not be reviewed, therefore, a candidate's responses to the questions should be accurate, thorough, detailed, and complete.

All candidates meeting the minimum qualifications by the cut-off date will have their Supplemental Questionnaire scored in the Formula Rate Examination. This examination will evaluate the relevance, level, recency, progression and quality of candidate's education, training and experience. The candidate's application or other materials will not be included in this examination. Therefore, the candidate's responses to the supplemental questionnaire should be thorough, detailed and complete. The score from the Formula Rate Examination will determine the ranking on the eligible/employment list for this job. All candidates competing in the testing process will receive written notice of their examination results by email. Notices can also be accessed in their governmentjobs.com inbox. Applicants achieving a passing score will be placed on the eligible list in rank order. The rank is determined by the test score attained from the examination.