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Functional Title: Director Habilitation Therapies
Job Title: Manager VII
Agency: Health & Human Services Comm
Department: Physical Therapy Clinical Svs
Posting Number: 17587
Closing Date: 09/03/2026
Posting Audience: Internal and External
Occupational Category: Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Salary Range: $9,720.33 - $13,051.00
Pay Frequency: Monthly
Salary Group: TEXAS-B-28
Shift: Day
Additional Shift: Days (First)
Telework: Not Eligible for Telework
Travel: Up to 5%
Regular/Temporary: Regular
Full Time/Part Time: Full time
FLSA Exempt/Non-Exempt: Exempt
Facility Location: Rio Grande State Supported Living Center
Job Location City: HARLINGEN
Job Location Address: 1401 S RANGERVILLE RD
Other Locations:
MOS Codes: 0203,0207,0302,0520,0602,0802,1802,5502,6302,6502,7202,7208,7210,7220,111X,112X,113X,114X,16GX,41AX
611X,612X,631X,632X,641X,648X,86M0,86P0,8U000,9G100,SEI15
Brief Job Description:
Come work in an environment where we truly value and respect those we serve and believe in the mission that all people can achieve a higher level of wellness and independence.
The state supported living centers serve people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are medically fragile or who have behavioral problems. The centers provide campus-based direct services and supports at 13 centers located throughout the state. Learn About Our State Supported Living Centers
If you are looking for a place to work where you can establish a career that is filled with purpose, this is the job for you!
Serves in an on-call rotation, as assigned.
The Habilitation Therapies Director performs highly advanced managerial work, overseeing the clinical and administrative functions of a State Supported Living Center (SSLC) Habilitation Therapies department. Oversees the habilitation therapies department with the SSLC to ensure quality and integration of complex therapeutic services with other disciplines, alignment with SSLC strategic goals, and regulatory compliance. Direct and oversees the formulation and execution of long-term strategic departmental plans, departmental policies and procedures, and oversees implementation of local and statewide initiatives. Oversees and evaluates the quality, timeliness, effectiveness and outcomes of therapeutic plans produced by the department staff. Ensures the habilitation services department is focused on continuous process improvement by identifying issues, providing solutions and managing quality improvement plans. Performs managerial functions and provides professional oversight and guidance to highly specialized employees including Speech Language Pathologists (SLP), Occupational Therapists (OT), Physical Therapists (PT), Audiologists and, at times, Dietitians. Oversees daily habilitation therapies activities, provides feedback, and ensures coordination, integration and collaboration. Within areas of licensure, completes diagnostic evaluations, develops therapeutic programs, and performs and monitors treatments as needed. Prepares for and responds to annual survey and regulatory audits. Serves on or leads the work of committees and workgroups. Oversee special projects and the implementation of special initiatives, as assigned. Reviews, develops and approves documents and reports. Works with the State-office Discipline Coordinator for Habilitation Therapy Services and State Reviewers in state-wide efforts to share and facilitate best practices, ensure uniformity of procedures, support system values and mission, and to assist the coordinator to complete projects as requested. Performs other related duties as assigned. Works under minimal supervision with extensive latitude for initiative and independent judgement.
Essential Job Functions (EJFs):
Attends work on a regular basis and may be required to work a specific shift schedule or, at times, even a rotating schedule, extended shift and/or overtime in accordance with agency leave policy and performs other duties as assigned. (Serves in an on-call rotation, as assigned.)
Oversees the habilitation therapies department with the SSLC to ensure quality and integration of complex therapeutic services with other disciplines, alignment with SSLC strategic goals, and regulatory compliance with the overarching goal of providing treatment and clinical services for individuals to establish a new skill or ability, remediate, or restore an impaired skill, and maintain or improve the individual's level of health and function related to dysphagia, communication, cognitive impairment, mobility challenges, physical impairment, and activities of daily living (ADLs). Ensures that Physical Nutritional Management Team (PNMT), Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Speech and Language Pathology, Audiology, Wheelchair Fabrication and other habilitation therapy programs in the department are effective and meet Intermediate Care Facility Serving Persons with Intellectual Disabilities ( ICF-IID), U.S. Department of Labor, and all other relevant state and federal laws, rules and regulations, and are delivered within the scope of licensure for all Registered Therapists and Registered Therapist Assistants and in accordance with the "registered therapist organization practice" for each therapeutic area. Oversees procurement of items necessary for robust service delivery such as adaptive equipment, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) systems, and wheelchair materials, including fabric and parts. Leads the department in resolving clinical differences of opinion between colleagues or across disciplines to foster collaboration.
Direct and oversees the formulation and execution of long-term strategic departmental plans, departmental policies and procedures, and oversees implementation of local and statewide initiatives. Sets priorities for achieving goals and objectives, developing and approving schedules for work completion on an ongoing basis. Conducts annual, quarterly, monthly or more frequent monitoring, such as assessment audits, Physical and Nutritional Management (PNMP) monitoring, Integrated Health Care Plan (IHCP) monitoring, and adaptive equipment monitoring, depending upon the level of need of the individual. Develops and implements tools and techniques which monitor habilitation therapies services and activities such as Section O, P and R of the Quality Service Review (QSR) tool. Establishes interrater reliability on QSR tool with the therapist leads. Oversees and evaluates the quality, timeliness and effectiveness of therapeutic plans produced by the department staff, including direct therapy, IHCP goals, requested consultations, using QSR tools, PNMP audit tools and individualized audit tools created and approved to target specific areas. Evaluates the outcomes of the habilitation therapies services, such as upgraded diet texture and consistency, increased mobility, or increased independence in communication and ADLs, provided through personal observation, staff interviews, document reviews, and by using available data. Oversees the development of remedial plans to address needs and deficiencies, and to ensure compliance with relevant laws, standards, and policies.
Ensures the habilitation services department is focused on continuous process improvement including in the areas of meal-time monitoring, compliance with individualized positioning plans, proper use of communication devices and cleanliness of the adaptive equipment. Proactively identifies issues and provides solutions. Oversees and manages corrective action plans and quality improvement plans designed to achieve established goals and objectives, including formal quality improvement plans and plans of correction following regulatory or state-office reviews. Establishes minimum standards for each QAQI meeting and then supplements these by identifying areas of deficits. Focuses on those areas for QAQI by leading a root cause analysis, establishing baseline data, developing and implementing a plan and tracking progress. Develops new departmental procedures to improve programs and services. Policy areas include physical and nutritional management, meal-time coordination, Speech Language Pathology service, and OT/PT services.
Provides professional oversight and guidance to highly specialized employees including Speech Language Pathologists (SLP), Occupational Therapists (OT), Physical Therapists (PT), Audiologists and, at times, Dietitians, seeking additional clinical expertise when clinical issues are outside their licensure and scope of practice. Ensures department staff are in adhere to regulatory standards, established state and local procedures/protocols and are using best practices for an integrated approach to the treatment of individuals with complex medical, behavioral and therapeutic needs. Examples of integration include collaborative approaches to identifying and addressing the root cause of criteria events such as aspiration pneumonia, fractures, increased falls, gastrointestinal issues, compromised skin integrity, weight issues, and failure to thrive. Performs managerial functions, directly supervising the registered therapists and has line management authority over all department staff. Performs personnel activities as hiring, supervising and evaluating staff and fostering recruitment and retention of professional staff in order to maintain a professional and sufficient departmental workforce.
Oversees daily habilitation therapies activities by attending the daily morning medical meeting and Incident Management Team Review (IMRT) and by maintaining a frequent physical presence on the homes/units to oversee habilitation services and to ensure coordination of habilitation therapies with other areas throughout the facility to facilitate best practices, ensure uniformity of procedures, and to support system values and mission. Provides feedback to habilitation therapies staff and residential services leadership of their findings in areas such as implementation of physical and nutritional management supports. Interacts with individuals residing on campus in an emotionally supportive and therapeutic manner to model and provide an environment of caring, dignity and respect. Within areas of licensure, completes diagnostic evaluations such as modified barium swallow studies, wheelchair assessment and fabrication, or other standardized tests within the scope of practice. Based on assessments, develops therapeutic programs such as a dysphagia management plan, range of motion and strengthening plan or plan to improve ADLs, and performs and monitors treatments in accordance with the plan, as needed.
Prepares for and responds to annual survey and regulatory audits, which can occur at any time. Responds to requests for information such as monitoring schedules and for list of individuals with assistive equipment, who have had a fall, who use augmentative and alternative communication devices, who have a new G-Tube placement, and individuals receiving direct therapy services. Serves on or leads the work of committees and workgroups including QA/QI council, IMRT, Administrative Review team, Critical Incident Team, Mortality Review Committee, and other special projects and other cross-functional committees and teams. Assistants with facility management such as being the assigned duty officer (ADO). Oversee special projects and the implementation of special initiatives, as assigned. Examples of special projects include topics of pneumonia, falls, and skin integrity.
Works with the State-Office Discipline Coordinator for Habilitation Therapy Services and State Reviewers in state-wide efforts to share and facilitate best practices, ensure uniformity of procedures, support system values and mission, and to assist the coordinator to complete projects as requested. Established Inter-Rater reliability on the QSR tools with the State Reviewers. To prepare for monthly meetings, ensures staff enter habilitation therapies data into the assessment timeliness tracker, MATS and other electronic systems. Reviews the data produced in the SSLC Key Indicators Platform (SKIP). Participates in discussions on trends (falls, pneumonia, etc.), policy updates, trends and changes needed based on issues seen through state-wide reviews and through individual cases such as in mortality review committee. Represents the SSLC as requested at local, state, and national conferences and meetings as requested.
Reviews, develops and approves documents and reports such as assessments in the electronic medical record, PNMPs, trends, data from SKIP and MATS. At least monthly, reviews documentation of staff into the electronic health record for accuracy and completeness and abiding by individual therapy practice acts and facility standards. Depending upon the tenure and experience of a therapist or the nature of complexity of an individual, reviews, at least monthly, the collection of data and production of plans involving individual residents such as PNMP, IHCP, or direct therapy. When they are issued, review the findings from annual regulatory survey, monitoring visits and other audits to look for trends and areas within habilitation therapies that need improvement. Uses information contained to address both personnel and system issues and guide future CAPs and QIPs to produce improved outcomes in the areas of upgraded diet texture and consistency, increased mobility, increased independence in communication and ADLs Ensures documents produced by staff are of professional quality and appearance and have accurate and appropriate content.
Other duties as assigned include but are not limited to actively participating and/or serving in a supporting role to meet the agency’s obligations for disaster response and/or recovery or Continuity of Operations (COOP) activation. Such participation may require an alternate shift pattern assignment and/or location.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs):
Knowledge of applicable laws, regulations, and departmental and agency policy.
Knowledge of ICF/IID Standards and their application as well as other relevant federal and state laws and regulations.
Extensive knowledge of therapy services including state-of-the-art practices.
Knowledge of the principles and techniques of habilitation and rehabilitation therapy in working with people with neurological and psychological disorders.
Knowledge and skills in administering all aspects of the delivery of habilitation therapies to persons with developmental disabilities.
Knowledge of approved methods of facilitating, instructing, interacting, engaging, and supervising individuals with a wide range of speech/communication deficits, swallowing and dysphagia challenges, social and pragmatic delays, physical health challenges, hearing impairments, and cognitive difficulties.
Knowledge of the principles of clinical therapeutic evaluation and treatment and their application to individuals with IDD complex histories, and dual diagnoses.
Skill in assessing, diagnosing and analyzing individual’s skills and abilities, and to train and oversee others in these areas.
Skill in the application, maintenance, repair and use of habilitation and rehabilitation tools, equipment, and materials.
Skill in the use of computer software programs and the Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system to document, track and trend data and produce reports.
Advanced leadership skills in motivating staff and effectively implementing program changes.
Ability to communicate effectively in verbal and written form to individuals or groups including presentations, professional papers, procedures, technical reports, other narratives.
Ability to employ administrative/management skills to make effective decisions to benefit individuals’ services.
Ability to coordinate separate programs (OT, PT, Audiology, SLP, Dietitians) into an integrated department.
Ability to establish goals, plan activities, complete complex tasks, solve complex problems, develop and implement policies and procedures, and make varied decisions within broad parameters and minimal supervision.
Ability to collaborate within the team setting, assume leadership, and to assign and supervise the work of others and to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
Ability to effectively supervise OT, PT, SLP, Audiologist, Dietitians, paraprofessional, and clerical staff.
Ability to establish and maintain working relationships with staff at all levels, individuals served, parents, guardians, and other residents.
Ability to work with minimal supervision and make varied decisions within broad guidelines/parameters.
Registrations, Licensure Requirements or Certifications:
Current license in Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Speech Language Pathology (Speech) or Audiology.
Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) is required for licensed Speech Therapists.
Initial Screening Criteria:
Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university.
Five (5) years of experience as a registered or licensed rehabilitation therapist (OT, PT, Speech or Audiology).
Experience in program development or administration.
Experience working with people with Intellectual or Development Disabilities is preferred.
Additional Information:
Applicants must pass a fingerprint criminal background check, pre-employment drug screen, and registry checks including the Client Abuse/Neglect Reporting System (CANRS),
Nurse Aide, Medication Aide and Employee Misconduct and HHS List of Excluded Individuals/Entities (LEIE).
Males between the ages of 18 – 25 must be registered with the Selective Service.
All State Supported Living Center Employees are subject to Random Drug Testing.
Flexibility in work hours may be required for this position. The position may be required to work overtime and/or extended hours. Must be willing to work weekends and holidays.
All applicants must be at least 18 years of age to be considered for employment at a state-operated facility.
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Active Duty, Military, Reservists, Guardsmen, and Veterans:
Military occupation(s) that relate to the initial selection criteria and registration or licensure requirements for this position may include, but not limited to those listed in this posting. All active-duty military, reservists, guardsmen, and veterans are encouraged to apply if qualified to fill this position. For more information please see the Texas State Auditor’s Job Descriptions, Military Crosswalk and Military Crosswalk Guide at Texas State Auditor's Office - Job Descriptions.
ADA Accommodations:
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), HHSC and DSHS agencies will provide reasonable accommodation during the hiring and selection process for qualified individuals with a disability. If you need assistance completing the on-line application, contact the HHS Employee Service Center at 1-888-894-4747. If you are contacted for an interview and need accommodation to participate in the interview process, please notify the person scheduling the interview.
Pre-Employment Checks and Work Eligibility:
Depending on the program area and position requirements, applicants selected for hire may be required to pass background and other due diligence checks.
HHSC uses E-Verify. You must bring your I-9 documentation with you on your first day of work. Download the I-9 Form
Telework Disclaimer:
This position may be eligible for telework. Please note, all HHS positions are subject to state and agency telework policies in addition to the discretion of the direct supervisor and business needs.
