Recreation Therapist at Department of Justice

Other

Duties

Responsible for facilitating therapeutic recreation, leisure, social psychology, rehabilitation, and human development theories and concepts as related to the nature and scope of human service delivery systems, and integrates these in a variety of settings. Responsible for providing comprehensive care and treatment to inmate patients through an inter-disciplinary team approach. Maintains current records of treatment and programs, to include monitoring and determining effectiveness of interventions and revising plan as necessary. Designs and administers therapeutic recreation programs when established treatment programs are not applicable; must substantially adapt programs for inmate patients who are acutely ill or have severe mental disabilities. Along with all other correctional institution employees, incumbent is charged with responsibility for maintaining security of the institution. The staff correctional responsibilities precede all others required by this position and are performed on a regular and recurring basis.

Requirements

Career Transition Programs (CTAP or ICTAP): These programs apply to Federal and/or DOJ employees who meet the definition of surplus or displaced from a position in the competitive service. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: 1. Meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; 2. Be rated well-qualified for the position, scoring at least half of the total possible points for the vacancy KSAs or competencies; and 3. Submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. NOTE: Applicants claiming CTAP/ICTAP eligibility must complete all assessment questions to be rated under the established category rating criteria.

Qualifications

To be considered for the position, applicants must meet the following basic qualification requirements: Basic Requirements: Applicants must meet one of the following educational requirements: A. Bachelor’s or graduate/higher level degree in therapeutic recreation, art therapy, drama therapy, dance therapy, or music therapy; OR B. Bachelor’s or graduate/higher level degree in a related field involving therapeutic emphasis or concentration that included at least 36 semester hours in therapeutic courses as described below: a.18 semester hours of therapeutic recreation courses; AND b.18 semester hours that include a combination of abnormal psychology, physiology, human anatomy and development, disabilities and general recreation Education must have been obtained from an accredited program recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained. AND In addition to having the above Basic Requirements, applicants must also meet the following: Education: Two years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master’s degree OR master's or equivalent graduate degree. OR Experience: You must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the next lower grade level. To be creditable, this experience must have equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and must typically be in or related to the position to be filled. Some examples of this qualifying experience are: Experience in assessing and treating patients for therapeutic recreation needs and obtaining information through records or professional staff. Experience in updating and documenting clinical information regarding the treatment process in medical records. Experience in planning, coordinating, and facilitating a broad range of adult individual group therapeutic recreation activities. OR Combination of Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed graduate level education and specialized experience may be used to meet total experience requirements. Only graduate level education in excess of the amount required to next lower grade may be combined with experience. This experience must have equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the major duties of this position as described above. If applicable, credit will be given for paid and unpaid experience. To receive proper credit, you must show the actual time (such as the number of hours worked per week) spent in activities. **Your eligibility for consideration will be based on your responses to the questions in the application.**

Education

See Qualifications Section for education requirements, if applicable. ONLY if education is a requirement/substitution for specialized experience, applicant MUST upload legible transcripts as verification of educational requirement. Transcripts MUST be uploaded and electronically linked from USAJOBS at the time you apply and MUST include identifying information to include School Name, Student Name, Degree and Date Awarded (if applicable). All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, Click Here. Foreign Education: For information regarding foreign education requirements, please see Foreign Diploma and Credit Recognition at the U.S. Department of Education website: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications. If you are selected for this position and qualified based on education (i.e. basic education requirement and/or substitution of education), you will be required to provide an OFFICIAL transcript prior to your first day on duty.

Other Information

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 3307, a maximum entry age of 36 has been established for initial appointment to a position in a Bureau of Prisons institution. If you are above the maximum entry age and have prior federal law enforcement coverage, you MUST submit an SF-50 to verify prior coverage. Qualified Preference Eligible Veterans may be exempt from meeting the maximum age. Please refer to the Required Documents Section for the appropriate documentation to submit to validate veteran eligibility. Special Conditions of Employment Section: Appointment is subject to satisfactory completion of a pre-employment and panel interview, urinalysis, physical, and background investigation. All applicants are subject to, and must satisfactorily pass all screening requirements in relation to National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and credit check. All applicants not currently working in an institution will be required to complete a qualification inquiry regarding convictions of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence in order to be authorized to carry a firearm. The Core Value Assessment (CVA) is an in-person assessment that must be facilitated at a Bureau of Prisons Human Resource Servicing office. On the day of the scheduled interview, a CVA will be administered. The applicant assessment must be completed within a 70 minute time period and a passing score of 68 must be obtained. Further employment consideration will not be extended if the applicant fails to complete the examination or fails to achieve a passing score. Note: The Core Value Assessment will not be administered to current BOP employees. Successful completion of the "Introduction to Correctional Techniques", three-week training course at Glynco, Georgia is required. Additional selections may be made if vacancies occur within the life of the certificate. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Exceptions may apply. See 5 CFR part 11.