Opportunities at Work

New York State Department of Civil Service announces Continuous Recruitment Examination Open to the Public

Mental Health Therapy Aide Trainee

Applications Accepted
Continuously
Tests To Be Held
Periodically

 

Exams Included on This Announcement
Exam Number Exam Title Salary Grade Salary
20-945 Mental Health Therapy Aide Trainee Equated to G-7* $29,278
20-946 Mental Health Therapy Aide Trainee (Spanish Language Equated to G-7* $29,278

Appointees in the New York City area (Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Queens, Richmond [Staten Island], Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties) will receive an additional $3,026 annual downstate adjustment. Appointees who work in Dutchess, Orange, or Putnam Counties will receive an additional $1,513 annual mid Hudson adjustment.

* As a Mental Health Therapy Aide Trainee, you would participate in a 12-month traineeship. At the successful conclusion of your traineeship, you would advance without further examination to Grade 9 (Beginning Salary $32,653, Job Rate $40,136).

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Minimum Qualifications

You must have graduated from high school or have earned a high school equivalency diploma (such as a GED) or higher. You must include the name and location of the high school or governmental authority that granted the diploma in the "Education" section of your application. Your high school diploma or equivalency diploma must have been awarded by a high school or educational institution recognized by the New York State Education Department as following acceptable educational practices.

There will be a written test administered in English only, which you must pass. If you pass the written test, you must meet the QUALIFICATIONS FOR APPOINTMENT.

Qualifications for Appointment

Background Investigation: Your background will be screened and a thorough character investigation and a criminal background check will be conducted. All convictions must be reported. Conviction of a felony or misdemeanor or any falsified or omitted information may bar appointment or result in removal after appointment. Each case is determined on its own merits and consistent with the applicable provisions of state and federal laws. Fingerprinting is required at the time of appointment and you will be required to pay the processing fee. If you will be working in a facility providing services to children, you will also be required to be cleared through the New York State Child Abuse Registry.

Notes

  1. You may have to pass a medical examination, including drug screening.
  2. License Requirements: depending on assignment, you may be required to possess a valid license to operate a motor vehicle in New York State at the time of appointment and continuously thereafter.
  3. Your high school diploma or equivalency diploma must have been awarded by a high school or educational institution or one recognized by the NYS Education Department as following acceptable educational practices. If your high school diploma was awarded by an educational institution outside the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. You can write to the Examination Information Desk of the NYS Department of Civil Service for a list of acceptable companies who provide this service. You must pay the required evaluation fee.
  4. An appointee not meeting required standards can be terminated at any time after the initial four (4) weeks and before completion of the traineeship.
  5. A candidate cannot be tested more than once during the same test form period. Each test form period runs from September 1st through August 15th of the following year. If you take the test more than once during the same test form period, you will only receive a score for the first test.
  6. If you receive a passing score on the written test, your name will be placed on the eligible list for OMH facilities in the geographic area where you took the exam. You may also request to have your score activated on the open competitive lists used by other OMH facilities in other geographic areas. (See page 2 for a complete listing of geographic areas.) Instructions on how to change or add to your geographic preference will be enclosed with your written score notice if you pass the exam.
  7. This examination uses the same test as the Direct Support Assistant Trainee and Developmental Disabilities Secure Care Treatment Aide Trainee examination. A candidate cannot be tested more than once during the same test form period. Each test form period runs from September 1st through August 15th. You may request to have your score transferred from New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) to Office of Mental Health (OMH), or from OMH to OPWDD depending on where you took the exam. Instructions for how to transfer your score will be included with your written test score notice, if you pass the exam.
  8. Transition examinations No. 10-020 and 10-021, Mental Health Therapy Aide Trainee, are also offered for qualified employees of the Office of Mental Health. Contact your personnel office for the appropriate application form.
  9. If you are considered for appointment to a language parenthetic position, you will be required to demonstrate proficiency in that language. Proficiency must be at a level which will permit you to perform the duties of the position satisfactorily.
  10. Please be advised that the Mental Health Therapy Aide Trainee Exam Nos. 20-487/20-488 have been canceled and replaced with exams 20-945 & 20-946. If you meet the new minimum qualifications you must reapply for the new exam demonstrating on your application that you have a high school diploma or a high school equivalency diploma (such as a GED).
  11. In order to be eligible for appointment and to maintain employment, you cannot be listed as an excluded individual or entity on any of the Federal and/or State Medicaid and Medicare exclusion lists (or excluded from any other Federal or Federally assisted program). If you are appointed and subsequently listed as an excluded individual or entity on any of these lists (or excluded from any other Federal or Federally assisted program), you may be terminated from your employment.

The Positions

These positions are located throughout the State in facilities and community-based programs operated by New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH).

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Duties

As a Mental Health Therapy Aide Trainee, you would provide direct services, treatment, rehabilitation, and support to individuals diagnosed with mental illness that receive services in an institutional or community-based setting. You would help individuals to participate in games and recreational programs; coach and encourage individuals to develop daily living skills; and provide a clean, safe, and comfortable environment. You would work with other staff to develop, carry out, and record care plans, and, in accordance with special instructions you may administer medication. This position may be physically demanding. You would need to be prepared to act to ensure the health and safety of patients and staff in emergency situations. You must be able to do such things as bend, stretch, and stand for long periods of time.

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Subject of Examination

There will be a written test which you must pass in order to be considered for appointment. The written test is designed to test for knowledge, skills, and/or abilities in such areas as:

  1. Dealing with daily situations in an OMH/OPWDD setting - These questions test for the ability to apply common sense in dealing with daily situations encountered by Aides in OMH and OPWDD settings. No specific knowledge or training is needed to answer these questions.
  2. Observing and recording situations of daily living - These questions test for the ability to accurately observe and record situations of daily living. Candidates will be given a brief description of a situation of daily living, followed by a number of sentences. Candidates must indicate whether or not the sentences factually and accurately describe the situation presented.
  3. Understanding and applying written instructional material - These questions test for the ability to understand and apply written instructional material. Each question has two parts. The first part presents a short piece of instructional information. The second part describes a related situation. For each question, candidates must pick the one best answer, based on the instructional material and the situation presented.
  4. Arithmetic for daily living - These questions test for the ability to use basic arithmetic in daily living situations encountered by Aides in OMH and OPWDD settings. The situations involve the application of simple addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division, as well as interpreting information from simple tables, to answer the problems presented.

Your final score must be 70 or higher in order to pass. Rank on the eligible list will be determined after adding any wartime veterans' and Civil Service Law Section 85-a credits to your final passing score.

How and Where to Apply

There is no fee to take these examinations. On application form,NYS-APP#4, 20-945 & 20-946(pdf), specify the number(s) and title(s) of the examination(s) you wish to take. Indicate the geographic areas(s) where you would like to take the examination. All statements made on the application are subject to investigation. You may be asked to provide additional information and/or documentation to support statements made on the application. Mail the Application to: Central Recruitment Unit, Office of Mental Health, 44 Holland Avenue, Albany, NY 12229. Please note that if you are a current Office of Mental Health employee, you must file the application NYS-APP#4 10-020 & 10-021 for the transition examination No. 10-020 or 10-021.

The NYS Office of Mental Health has an ongoing need for persons qualified for appointment to these positions and will accept applications at any time and will schedule the written tests whenever additional eligibles are needed. It is anticipated that the examinations will be held on a periodic basis throughout the year. For the testing schedule and other information about this examination, contact NYS Office of Mental Health at any of the following phone numbers: for the Capital District, Hudson River, and Long Island Regions, call 1-800-550-2903; or for the New York City Region, call 1-800-551-0675; or for the Western New York and Central New York Regions, call 1-800-550-2863.

Retest Policy

Candidates may file as frequently as once a year, but a new application is required each time.

GEOGRAPHIC AREA LISTINGS FOR THE NEW YORK STATE OFFICE OF MENTAL HEALTH

AREA COUNTIES
AREA 1 Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga, Oswego
AREA 2 Broome, Chenango, Delaware, Otsego, Tioga, Tompkins
AREA 3 Allegany, Chemung, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Yates
AREA 4 Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Wayne, Wyoming
AREA 5 Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Niagara
AREA 6 Dutchess, Ulster, Putnam
AREA 7 Rockland, Westchester
AREA 8 Nassau, Suffolk
AREA 9 Bronx, New York (Manhattan, Ward's Island), Queens, Kings (Brooklyn), Richmond (Staten Island)
AREA 10 Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren, Washington
AREA 11 Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Montgomery, Oneida
AREA 12 Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence
AREA 13 Orange, Sullivan (will be tested in Area 6 or 7)

Additional Information

New York State is an Equal Opportunity Employer

It is the policy of the State of New York to provide for and promote equal opportunity employment, compensation, and other terms and conditions of employment without discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, religion, disability, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, veteran or military service member status, marital status, domestic violence victim status, genetic predisposition or carrier status, or arrest and/or criminal conviction record unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification or other exception.

Appointment to many positions in State government require candidates to undergo an investigative screening. This may include a thorough character investigation, a Federal Bureau of Investigation Criminal Record History Check, a Child Abuse Registry clearance, or other similar procedures. Candidates may be fingerprinted and may be required to pay any necessary fees for that procedure. Depending on the nature of the job, the criminal convictions discovered, or any falsified or omitted information revealed, the investigative findings may bar appointment or result in removal after appointment.

Eligibility for Employment

You must be legally eligible to work in the United States at the time of appointment and throughout your employment with New York State. If appointed, you must produce documents that establish your identity and eligibility to work in the United States, as required by the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, and the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Reasonable Accommodations in Testing

It is the policy of the Department of Civil Service, in accordance with the New York State Human Rights Law and the Americans with Disabilities Act, to provide qualified persons with disabilities equal employment opportunity and equal opportunity to participate in and receive the benefits, services, programs, and activities of the Department. It is the policy of the Department to provide such persons reasonable accommodations and reasonable modifications as are necessary to provide equal opportunity. Persons with disabilities who require an accommodation to participate in an examination must note this on their application. Further information is available from the Test Administration Unit of the Department of Civil Service. In the Albany area, call 518-457-2487 [press 2, then press 2]. Outside of the Albany area, call toll free at 1-877-697-5627 [press 2, then press 2]. For TDD services, call NY Relay at 711 (requires a fee) or 1-800-662-1220.

New York State Residence Is Not Required For Most Positions

However, you must be eligible for employment in the United States.

Cell Phones or Electronic/Communication Devices at the Test Site

Do not bring cell phones, beepers, headphones, or any electronic or other communication devices to the test site. The use of such devices at the test site in the test room, hallways, restrooms, building, grounds, or other areas could result in your disqualification.

Continuous Recruitment/Eligible Lists

Candidates who meet the qualification and pass this examination will have their names placed on the eligible list in the order of final scores, regardless of the date on which they filed or took the test. Generally, the names of qualified candidates will remain on the eligible list for two years. Appeal of ratings will not be allowed as the opportunity for retest exists. The department of Civil Service reserves the right to terminate this special recruitment program.

S1/TB1 SAR-vla
Reissued: 11/11

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