Job Description

The Gateway to One of the Greatest Sights in the World, Welcome to Porterville!
The Community - Porterville, California
Known as the gateway to the Sequoia National Forest and the Sequoia National Monument, this is the true entryway to magnificent giant sequoias, creeks, rivers, a lake, forest with the biggest trees in the world, world class rock climbing, places to camp and hike, hunt and fish, and so much more.

Porterville offers an old-town charm and pioneering spirit to visitors as well as serving as the port, if you will, as mentioned above to the Sequoia National Forest and the Great Western Divide Highway. Nestled up against the Sierra Nevada, Porterville is the entryway to winter fun as there are several areas on Sequoia National Forest in which to play in the snow. The community's charming downtown area offers a number of attractions such as unique boutique-style retailers, antique stores, restaurants, a multicultural art center and beautiful historic downtown murals. Mainstreet is also home to numerous special events, such as the popular Iris Festival held at the end of April and the Veterans Day/Homecoming Parade that has been held on Veterans Day for more than 90 years. Speaking of celebrations, arguably the most popular is the Iris Festival, which draws more than 20,000 to the city. The festival is a celebration of Porterville's official city flower, the purple iris. Many other events and activities are offered throughout the community year-round, including a community-supported country fair and various cultural offerings, not to mention, California's longest running community theater.

Explore Porterville here.

About the Facility - DDS - STAR Porterville Facility
The State-Operated Stabilization Training Assistance Reintegration homes are committed to affording each consumer a safe and nurturing environment where opportunities for growth, realization, self-expression and goal achievement is celebrated. The homes strive to empower individuals to be self-reliant as their skills, strengths, perseverance and abilities allow so they can transition from crisis stabilization services to long-term community living. STAR provides services to adolescents (7-17 years old) and adults (18 years of age and older) with developmental disabilities receiving regional center services and who are in need of time-limited crisis stabilization services for up to 13 months. STAR homes provide person-centered support and crisis stabilization to the individuals being served, so that they can successfully transition to a community living setting.

This facility is a 5-bed crisis home temporarily at Porterville Developmental Center and serving adolescents ages 12-17.

Facility Address: This is a remote tele-health position.

RESPONSIBILITIES (listed are included but not limited to)
  • Responsibility for initial consultation: the Psychiatrist shall assess the client in a timely fashion (based on facility policies, and depending on the individual's medical and psychiatric ability, recent and previous medical and psychiatric history, presence of significant or previously unidentified medical and psychiatric conditions).
  • Shall seek, provide, and analyze needed information regarding a client's current status, recent history, and medications and treatments, to enable safe, effective continuing care and appropriate regulatory compliance.
  • For a client who is to be transferred to the care of another health care practitioner, continue to provide all necessary psychiatric medical care and services pending transfer until another psychiatrist has accepted responsibility for the client.
  • Shall follow up with clients in a timely fashion, based on facility policies, consistent with applicable state and federal regulations, depending on the client's medical psychiatric stability, recent and previous medical and psychiatric history, presence of significant or previously unidentified medical and psychiatric conditions, or problems that require follow-up.
  • Determine progress of each client's condition at the time of follow up by evaluating the client, talking with staff as needed, talking with responsible parties/family as indicated, and reviewing relevant information as needed.
  • At each consult/follow-up, provide a legible progress note in a timely manner for placement on the chart (timely to be defined by facility policies). Over time, these progress notes should address relevant information about significant ongoing, active, or potential problems, including reasons for changing or maintaining current treatments or medications, and a plan to address relevant psychiatric issues.
  • Properly define and describe client symptoms and problems, clarify and verify diagnoses, relate diagnoses to client problems, and help establish a realistic prognosis and care goals.
  • In consultation with the facility's staff, determine appropriate services and programs for a client, consistent with diagnoses, condition, prognoses, and client wishes, focusing on helping clients attain their highest practicable level of functioning in the least restrictive environment.
  • Analyze the significance of abnormal test results that may reflect important changes in the client's status and explain the medical rationale for subsequent interventions or the decisions not to intervene based on those results when the basis for such decisions is not otherwise readily apparent.
  • Be alert to, and report to the facility administrator - and other appropriate individuals as named through facility protocol - any observed or suspected violations of clients/resident rights, including abuse or neglect, in accordance with facility, policies and procedures.