• Continous filing dates have been deleted.
• Any editable section on the Exam Bulletin has been updated.
• Any editable section on the Exam Bulletin has been updated.
• Any editable section on the Exam Bulletin has been updated.

Upcoming Filing Cutoff Dates:

Examination/Employment Application (STD 678) must be received or postmarked by the filing date indicated above. Applications postmarked, personally delivered or received via interoffice mail after the filing date will be processed in the next group.

Applicants who meet the Minimum Qualifications as stated on this bulletin may apply for and take this examination. Once you have taken this examination, you may not retake it for nine (9) months. Unless otherwise stated on this bulletin, you must meet the Minimum Qualifications by the Final Filing Date or cut-off-date stated above.

The information below will help you determine which classification(s) is(are) appropriate for you. Applicants must meet the Minimum Qualifications as stated on this bulletin to compete in this examination.

Open and Open, Non-Promotional Examination(s):

• PSYCHIATRIC TECHNICIAN APPRENTICE - Open

For all Classifications, once you have participated in any of the following examinations, you may not recompete for 9 months:

Exam Code(s):

3685

For PSYCHIATRIC TECHNICIAN APPRENTICE, once you have participated in any of the following examinations, you may not recompete for 9 months:

Exam Code(s):

• EX-03685

1. Go to Psychiatric Technician Apprenticeship Program (Fast Track) (napavalley.edu) for PT

Fast Track Program Requirements. Enroll with Napa Valley College and obtain a verification letter to be submitted.

2. Applicants are required to submit an Examination Application (STD 678), found at 

https://calcareers.ca.gov/ either by mail, in person, or via email to the address listed below. Exam will be scheduled upon review of Steps 1 & 2.

Applicants must complete Steps 1 and 2 by the Final Filing Date. Failure to do so will result in a delay in the examination process. Acceptance into this exam is on a first come, first served basis as seats are limited to 100 examinees.

The primary method of contact for this exam will be email. Please ensure your CalCareers account is updated with your current email address. 

The preferred method to apply is by emailing your STD 678 to: PsychTechApprentice-FastTrack@dsh.ca.gov.

 
Electronic signatures are acceptable.

Special Testing Arrangements:

If you require assistance or alternative testing arrangements due to a disability, please contact the testing department listed in the Contact Information section of this bulletin.

Submit an Examination/Employment Application (STD 678) to apply for this examination.

Electronic applications can be submitted through your account at www.CalCareers.ca.gov.

You may apply by mail to:

• Department of State Hospitals
  Selection Services Unit
  1215 O Street, MS 14
  Sacramento, CA 95814
  

Indicate the Examination Code and Classification(s) on your Examination/Employment Application (STD 678).

You may drop off your application and any applicable or required documents at:

• Department of State Hospitals
  Selection Services Unit
  1215 O Street, MS 14
  Sacramento, CA 95814
  8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Indicate the Examination Code and Classification(s) on your Examination/Employment Application (STD 678). All applicants must provide proof of identification. Accepted forms of identification are: 1) a photo identification card or 2) two forms of signed identification.

If you require assistance or alternative testing arrangements due to a disability, indicate on your application that you need reasonable accommodation. You will be contacted by a representative of the testing department to make the necessary arrangements. If you have not been contacted by the time you receive notification of testing, please contact the testing department listed in the Contact section of this bulletin.

If you are unable to submit your application or complete the test due to a disability, please contact the testing department listed in the Contact section of this bulletin.

All applicants must meet the education and/or experience requirements as stated on this exam bulletin to be accepted to the examination.

Unless otherwise stated in the Minimum Qualifications, qualifying experience may be combined on a proportionate basis if the requirements stated below include more than one pattern and are distinguished as "Either" 1, "or" 2, "or" 3, etc. For example, applicants possessing qualifying experience amounting to 50% of the required time of Pattern 1 and additional experience amounting to 50% of the required time of Pattern 2 may be accepted to an examination as meeting 100% of the overall experience requirement.

Eligibility for enrollment in an accredited Psychiatric Technician Training Program as evidenced by passage of the required entrance examinations. and Education: Equivalent to completion of the 12th grade.

This examination consists of the following component(s):

A final score of 70% must be attained to be placed on the eligible list.

Examination Date: It is anticipated the multiple choice in person exam will be held in mid October 2024.  Applicants who meet the Minimum Qualifications and are accepted into this exam will receive a Notice to Appear with instructions for the test site.  Please remember to check your spam/junk folder.

In addition to evaluating the applicant's relative knowledge, skill and ability as demonstrated by quality and breadth of education/experience, emphasis in each test component will be on measuring competitively, relative to job demands, each applicant's:

Knowledge of: Arithmetic computations including fractions; metric system; and spelling and grammar.

Ability to: Communicate effectively; acquire general behavioral and psychiatric nursing knowledge, skills, and attitudes; and apply technical nursing knowledge and understanding of the behavior of mentally or developmentally disabled clients.

After eligibility expires applicants must retake the examination to reestablish eligibility.

Veterans’ Preference will be granted for this examination. In accordance with Government Codes 18973.1 and 18973.5, whenever any veteran, or widow or widower of a veteran achieves a passing score on an open examination, he or she shall be ranked in the top rank of the resulting eligible list.

Veterans’ status is verified by the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR). Information on this program and the Veterans’ Preference Application (Std. form 1093) is available online at the following website:

https://www.jobs.ca.gov/CalHRPublic/Landing/Jobs/VeteransInformation.aspx

Additional information on veteran benefits is available at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Career credits are not granted for examinations administered on an Open or Promotional basis.

A Departmental Open eligible list for the PSYCHIATRIC TECHNICIAN APPRENTICE Classification will be established for:

• Department of State Hospitals

The names of successful competitors will be merged onto the eligible list(s) in order of final score regardless of test date. Eligibility expires 12 months after it is established. Applicants must then retake the examination to reestablish eligibility.

Veterans' Preference will be granted for this examination. Veterans' Preference is an assistance program for veterans, veteran widows and widowers, and spouses of 100% disabled veterans who seek employment with the state. Veterans' Preference is also extended to currently serving military members nearing their retirement or separation date.

You are not eligible for Veteran's Preference if you are:

• A veteran who has been dishonorably discharged or released.
• A veteran, widow or widower of a veteran, or spouse of a 100 percent disabled veteran who currently has permanent civil service status. (Permanent civil service status is the status of an employee who is lawfully retained in his/her position after completion of the applicable probationary period. This does not include limited term).

Veterans' Preference is codified in Government Code Sections 18973 – 18979.

Veteran status is verified by the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR). Directions to apply for Veterans' Preference are on the Veterans' Preference Application (Std. Form 1093), which is available at www.CalCareers.ca.gov, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Career Credits are not granted for examination(s) administered on an Open basis or a Promotional basis.

• Department of State Hospitals

Questions regarding this examination should be directed to:

California Relay Service: 1-800-735-2929 (TTY), 1-800-735-2922 (Voice). TTY is a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf, and is reachable only from phones equipped with a TTY Device.

Examination and/or Employment Application (STD 678) forms are available at the California Department of Human Resources, local offices of the Employment Development Department, and through your CalCareer Account (www.CalCareers.ca.gov).

If you meet the requirements stated on this examination bulletin, you may take this examination, which is competitive. Possession of the entrance requirements does not assure a place on the eligible list. Your performance in the examination described in this bulletin will be rated against a predetermined job-related rating, and all applicants who pass will be ranked according to their scores.

Department of State Hospitals reserves the right to revise the examination plan to better meet the needs of the service, if the circumstances under which this examination was planned change. Such revision will be in accordance with civil service laws and rules and all applicants will be notified.

General Qualifications: Applicants must possess essential personal qualifications including integrity, initiative, dependability, good judgment, the ability to work cooperatively with others, and a state of health consistent with the ability to perform the assigned duties of the class. A medical examination may be required. In open examinations, investigation may be made of employment records and personal history and fingerprinting may be required.

Eligible Lists: Eligible lists established by competitive examination, regardless of date, must be used in the following order: 1) sub-divisional promotional, 2) departmental promotional, 3) multi-departmental promotional, 4) service-wide promotional, 5) departmental open, 6) open. When there are two lists of the same kind, the older must be used first. Eligible lists will expire in one to four years unless otherwise stated on the bulletin.

High School Equivalence: Equivalence to completion of the 12th grade may be demonstrated in any one of the following ways: 1) passing the General Education Development (GED) Test; 2) completion of 12 semester units of college-level work; 3) certification from the State Department of Education, a local school board, or high school authorities that the competitor is considered to have education equivalent to graduation from high school; or 4) for clerical and accounting classes, substitution of business college work in place of high school on a year-for-year basis.

Accepted applicants must provide proof of identification at each in-person test session. Acceptable identification consists of a photo identification card or two forms of signed identification.