OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST II/HOUSING FOR HEALTH - EMERGENCY APPOINTMENT

Full Job Description

TYPE OF RECRUITMENT

Open Competitive Job Opportunity - EMERGENCY

EXAM NUMBER

Y5857K-EA

FILING START DATE

Applications will be accepted starting on Monday, August 25, 2025, at 8:00 A.M. (PT)

The LA County Board of Supervisors recently declared a local state of emergency for homelessness, and the County is working to revise and expand our response to help all who are affected.

We are looking for qualified and passionate individuals to help us in the mission of addressing issues like housing, mental health, and substance use.

If you are looking for a new career that will directly benefit the population of LA County, this may be the opportunity for you.Department of Health Services (Community Programs) is seeking qualified candidates to fill emergency Occupational Therapist II vacancies related to the homelessness crisis.Under the emergency order, applicants who meet the requirements may be hired for an initial period of up to 90 days, with an opportunity for permanent County employment.Before your initial work period ends, you will be assessed on your work performance.

This assessment will be weighted 100%.

Those who successfully pass the assessment will be considered for permanent appointment to Occupational Therapist II.

ABOUT LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES:

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS) is the second largest municipal health system in the nation.

Through its integrated system of 25 health centers and four acute care hospitals and expanded network of community partner clinics – DHS annually provides direct care for 600,000 unique patients, employs over 23,000 staff, and has an annual budget of over $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.

THE MISSION:

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

DEFINITION:

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

Requirements

• Manages caseloads of patients with severe disabilities and varied diagnoses providing interventions, treatments, and services in acute medical, rehabilitative hospital, clinic, or California Children's Services Medical Therapy Units.
• Arranges, schedules, and conducts clinics; evaluates and prioritizes patients for treatment; identifies patients for specific treatment eligibility; provides comprehensive follow-up care; initiates referrals for other services; and provides consultation and coordination of services with other agencies and treatment units.
• Supervises a small staff of occupational therapy assistants or therapy technicians and student occupational therapists; assigns and demonstrates elements of patients' treatment programs, reviews their work and prepares and discusses their performance with them; may prepare performance evaluation reports.
• Serves on a clinic health care team with physicians, orthotists and allied health personnel to coordinate services within a clinic; provides consultative guidance and instruction to inter-departmental agency personnel to resolve problems regarding therapy techniques/treatment, case management and proper use and care of patient equipment.
• Manages patients in a unit making key evaluation and treatment decisions; participates as the occupational therapy representative on inter-disciplinary treatment/review teams; advises and reports on the patient's condition to the team, families, and physicians, and recommends additional treatment and/or equipment needs.
• Orients and instructs other occupational therapy personnel, allied disciplines, and health and educational personnel in the use and care of functional equipment, behavioral management, and treatment procedures.
• Provides technical guidance for Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants or Rehabilitation Therapy Technicians and student therapists in occupational therapy services for acute or rehabilitative patients.
• Develops new and improved services through ongoing assessment of existing evaluation methods and treatment techniques and incorporating new techniques in clinical practice.
• Serves as a resource person to other occupational therapy staff in coordinating patients' discharges, orienting them to discharge procedures, and familiarizing staff with community or governmental agencies, placement facilities and/or resources.
• Provides consultative or liaison services to other occupational therapy personnel, allied health disciplines, and/or community agencies.
• Trains patients, family members, and allied health teams in use of adaptive and functional equipment such as environmental controls, electric wheelchairs, myoelectric hand braces, mobile arm supports, electric hand splints, individualized arm or hand braces and follows through with ordering or making arrangements for equipment purchases, loans and repairs.

Qualifications

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:
Bachelor's degree* from an accredited college/university with a curriculum in occupational therapy accredited by the American Occupational Therapy Association's Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) -AND- Two years' of experience in the practice of occupational therapy. A Master's degree* from an accredited college/university in occupational therapy, public health, special education or a related field may be substituted for one year of the required experience.

*To receive credit for your education, include a copy of your official diploma, official transcript, or letter/certificate from an accredited institution within 7 calendar days of filing your application. The document should show the date the degree was conferred and be in English; if it is in a foreign language, it must be translated and evaluated for equivalency to U.S. standards. For more information on our standards for educational documents, please visit: https://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/dhr/070812_PPG123.pdf and https://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/dhr/205105_PPG_123_ACE_Resource_Guide.pdf

LICENSE:

• Current license** issued by the California Board of Occupational Therapy as an Occupational Therapist.
• 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.

**Applicants must provide the license number, date of issue, date of expiration for the required license/permit in response to Question #7 of the Supplemental Questionnaire OR applicants must attach a legible photocopy of the license issued at the time of filing or within 7 calendar days. All required licenses and certifications must be active and unrestricted, or your application will not be accepted.

Physical Class III - Moderate:
This class requires that the incumbent stand or walk most of the time with bending, stooping, squatting, twisting, reaching, working on irregular surfaces, occasional lifting of objects weighing over 25 pounds, and frequent lifting of 10-25 pounds.

You MUST meet the above requirement(s) in order to be appointed to fill any vacancy related to this recruitment. No withholds are allowed for this examination. Applicants must meet the Minimum Requirements at the time of filing.

Additional Information

OUR ASSESSMENT PROCESS:
During your initial work period, the appointing department will evaluate your performance. Those who achieve a passing score on this evaluation will be considered for permanent appointment.

ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION:

Please note that ALL information included in the application materials is subject to VERIFICATION at any point during the hiring process, including after an appointment has been made. FALSIFICATION of any information may result in DISQUALIFICATION.

VACANCY INFORMATION:

The current vacancies are to be filled within the Department of Health Services (Community Programs).

AVAILABLE SHIFT:Appointees may be required to work any shift, including evenings, nights, weekends and holidays.APPLICATIONS & FILLING INFORMATION:Applications must be filed online only and will be reviewed for interview consideration on an ongoing basis.

If you have not been contacted within 60 days and the recruitment remains open or reopens for filing, we encourage you to submit a new application.

This will allow you to reaffirm your interest and update any relevant information.Applications must be submitted online only.

Applications submitted by U.S Mail, Fax, or in person will not be accepted.Apply online by clicking on the green "APPLY" button at the top right of this posting.

You can also track the status of your application using this website.Plan to submit your online application in a timely manner as you may be required to verify your email address.

This only needs to be done once per email address, and if you already have a job seeker account on www.governmentjobs.com/careers/lacounty, you can verify at any time by logging in and following the prompts.

This is to enhance the security of your online application and to ensure you do not enter an incorrect email address.

All correspondence will be sent electronically to the email address provided on the application. It is important that applicants provide a valid email address.

Please add jhernandezgutierrez@dhs.lacounty.gov as well asnoreply@governmentjobs.com 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.

Please note, you have the ability to opt out of emails from LA County. If you unsubscribe, you will not receive any email notification for any examination for which you apply with Los Angeles County.

Regardless of whether you choose to unsubscribe, you can always check for notifications by logging into governmentjobs.com and viewing your profile inbox, which saves a copy of all emailed notices.IMPORTANT NOTES:

• All information and documents provided by applicants 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 Class Specification and/or Minimum Requirements serving as your description of duties will not be sufficient to demonstrate that you meet the Requirements.

Comments such as "See Resumé" or referencing other unsolicited materials/documents will not be considered as a response; in doing so, your application will be rejected.

The acceptance of your application depends on whether you have clearly shown that you meet the Requirements.

Fill out your application completely and correctly to receive full credit for related education, and/or experience in the spaces provided so we can evaluate your qualifications for the position.

Please do not group your experience.

For each position held, give the name and address of your employer, your position title, beginning and ending dates, number of hours worked per week, and description of work performed.

If your application is incomplete, it will be rejected.

NOTE: If you are unable to attach required documents, please email the documents to the exam analyst, Jessica Hernandez Gutierrez at jhernandezgutierrez@dhs.lacounty.gov. Please include the exam number and the exam title.



SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER:

Please include your Social Security Number for record control purposes. Federal law requires that all employed persons have a Social Security Number.


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.




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.




ANTI-RACISM, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION (ARDI):

The County of Los Angeles recognizes and affirms that all people are created equal and are entitled to all rights afforded by the Constitution of the United States.

The Department of Health Services is committed to promoting Anti-racism, Diversity, and Inclusion efforts to address the inequalities and disparities amongst race.

We support the ARDI Strategic Plan and its goals by improving equality, diversity, and inclusion in recruitment, selection, and employment practices.




ADA COORDINATOR PHONE: (323) 914-7111
CALIFORNIA RELAY SERVICES PHONE: 800-735-2922


DEPARTMENT CONTACT:
Jessica Hernandez Gutierrez, Exam Analyst
HR Call Center: (213) 288-7000
jhernandezgutierrez@dhs.lacounty.gov