LA County DMH Psychiatric Technician
LA County DMH Psychiatric Technician Student Stipends
Introduction
The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LAC DMH) Stipend Program is a workforce initiative funded through the Mental Health Services Act for five fiscal years, 2022-23 thru 2026-27. Campbellsville University – Los Angeles Education Center at Encino, CA, is the fiscal entity and administrator of the LAC DMH Stipend Program.
What is the Purpose of the LAC DMH Stipend Program?
The purpose of the LAC DMH Stipend Program is to recruit and grow the public mental health workforce with qualified clinical professionals completing their mental health-related degrees.
Eligibility Requirements
- Students who are currently participating in their final year of clinical field placement (traineeship, internship, or practicum)
- Students enrolled in an academic program that leads to a Psychiatric Technician degree/certificate
- Students who are in good standing in their academic program
- Students who do not have any existing service obligation with other entities, including other HCAI or county workforce incentive programs that require a post-degree service obligation
What Degrees are Eligible?
- Associate’s degree or certificate from an accredited college or university in Psychiatric Technology
How Many Stipends are Awarded?
The number of stipends designated for Psychiatric Technicians is 20. The stipend award is $9,250. LA County has the option to amend the number of allocated stipends between disciplines based on the number of qualifying applicants.
12-month Employment Obligation
Students awarded a stipend will need to commit to one year of full-time, paid employment post-degree in a clinical capacity at either a directly-operated LAC DMH facility or an agency that’s contracted by LAC DMH.
Objectives of the LAC DMH Stipend Program
The objectives of the LAC DMH Stipend Program are to:
- Contribute to the public mental health workforce with newly qualified clinical professionals
- Provide a financial incentive to attract well-trained, linguistically and culturally competent students that will serve communities and clients who have been historically underserved due to geographic location and cultural and linguistic barriers
- Recruit students with experience in the LAC DMH mental health delivery system through practicum training
- Recruit students with the linguistic capacity to provide services in one of the threshold languages
Threshold Languages
The county has identified the following as threshold languages:
- Arabic
- Armenian
- Cambodian
- Cantonese, Mandarin, and additional Chinese dialects
- Farsi
- Korean
- Russian
- Spanish
- Tagalog
- Vietnamese
- American Sign Language
Threshold languages include languages other than English that are primarily spoken by consumers of mental health services in Los Angeles County.
Who is Encouraged to Apply?
To fulfill the goal and objectives of the LAC DMH Stipend Program, students with any of the following are encouraged to apply:
- Interest in post-degree clinical training and practice of mental health care
- Interest in working as a mental health clinician in their own communities
- Field training (practicum) in a DMH operated or contracted agency
- Field training (practicum) in a community setting (non-DMH) that provided experience applicable to public mental health care
- Capacity to provide clinical services in one of LA County’s threshold languages
- Knowledge and training in evidence-based practices
- Experience in field-based practice such as in schools, homes, and other community sites
- Clinical service to older adults, veterans, immigrants, or the unhoused
- Clinical care to those dealing with trauma, domestic violence, child/elderly abuse, or substance use/abuse
- Personal experience overcoming hardships or emotional/physical challenges
- Personal experience of family members dealing with serious mental health illnesses
- Clinical experience providing in-person care
Who is Eligible to Apply for this Year’s Stipend?
Students who complete their degree between September 1, 2024, and August 31, 2025, qualify to apply for the 2024-25 stipend. Students completing their degree after August 31, 2025, will be eligible to apply next year for the 2025-26 LA County Stipend Program.
How to Prepare for the Application
Applications must be done in one sitting. The application cannot be saved. To avoid submitting incomplete applications, students are strongly encouraged to review the essay questions in advance.
TIP: Prepare your answers, especially the required essays, before accessing the application. Be sure to review your responses for accuracy. Then, when filling out the application you can copy and paste your responses to the proper questions.
When is the Application Open?
The application will be open in Spring 2025.
The Application has Three Parts:
Part One – Applicant Identifying Information includes student’s identifying information, school attending, and the degree student will complete.
Note that some application information requested is for data collection purposes; they are not eligibility criteria and are not scored.
Students will be required to check two boxes in order to move forward on the application. One box affirms that the student knows that if awarded a stipend the student will need to complete one year of full-time employment in an agency directly operated by or contracted with LAC DMH. The second box affirms that the student can work legally in the United States.
Part Two – Qualifications and Experience - This section asks students to discuss their:
- Current or past employment at an LA County DMH directly-operated or contracted agency (agency name and city)
- Current or past practicum training at an LA County DMH directly-operated or contracted agency (agency name and city)
- Current or past practicum training at an LA County non-DMH agency (agency name, city)
- Clinical services provided in a threshold language (other than English)
- Capacity to provide culturally competent services (limited to 50 words)
Part Three – Essays – This section includes six essays, which are limited to 200 words per essay. Students are asked to describe their:
- Professional interest in public mental health practice
- Personal background and individual strengths they bring to clinical care in public mental health settings
- Work experience and how it will apply in public mental health settings
How are the Essays Scored?
Scoring of Parts Two and Three will be by a Selection Committee consisting of mental health professionals in said discipline who are knowledgeable in the clinical programs and the client populations served within the Los Angeles County’s mental health delivery system.
The scores will be ranked. Students selected to receive a stipend will be based on the ranking of scores in their discipline. The county selects those applications to be awarded a stipend based on the ranking of scores by discipline. Students will be informed via the personal email provided in Part One, whether their application was selected or not selected to receive the stipend. (Please note that applicant scores will not be provided to students.)
Stipend Orientation
If you are notified that your application was selected, you will receive a Zoom invitation to attend a Stipend Orientation.
What will be Covered During the Stipend Orientation?
The Stipend Orientation will provide information on the following:
- The Stipend Employment Contract, which students will need to sign and submit
- Students’ obligation to secure full-time employment in an LAC DMH directly-operated facility or in a contracted mental health agency
- Guidance on how to search for qualifying employment
- The issuance of the stipend funds and required forms for stipend disbursement
- Other required documentation, including official transcript, employment verification letter, employment completion letter
- Q & A
Contact Us
All communication to and from students will be through either of the following email addresses: caconsortium@campbellsville.edu or stipends@campbellsville.edu.
