Recreational Therapist Job Description Templates for Care Settings
6 templates for the operators who hire without an HR department: long-term care, assisted living activity director, behavioral health, rehab, day programs, and activity assistants. Download as DOCX.
The first recreational therapist posting I ever read at a small nursing home asked for someone to "plan fun activities for residents." The facility could not fill it for five months. The job it was actually hiring for involved clinical assessment, care plan goals, documentation that survey inspectors read, and a Tuesday van run to the garden center. None of that was on the page.
That gap is the whole problem with this role. Recreational therapy sits between clinical work and programming, and the title changes meaning depending on whether you run a skilled nursing facility, an assisted living community, a psychiatric program, or a group home. Copy a hospital system posting into a fifty-bed building and you describe a job nobody there is doing.
At FirstHR we write hiring templates for operators who do not have a corporate HR department behind them. The six below cover long-term care, an assisted living activity director, behavioral health, inpatient rehabilitation, a disability day program, and the hourly activity assistant, each with the credential, classification, and screening language the generic versions skip.
TL;DR
A recreational therapist uses activity as clinical treatment: assess, write goals into the care plan, deliver interventions, document response. The national median is $61,960 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Only six jurisdictions license the profession, CTRS is the national credential, and nursing facility activity directors must meet one of four federal qualification routes. Six templates below.
Where the Role Actually Sits
The setting decides the job, not the title. A recreational therapist in a skilled nursing facility works under a federal activities requirement and a survey process. The same title in a psychiatric program means scheduled clinical groups with treatment plan documentation. The duties, the credential bar, and the paperwork all move with the building.
The federal Occupational Outlook Handbook puts the concentration of these jobs in psychiatric and substance use hospitals, general hospitals, nursing care facilities, and assisted living communities. Two of those four are dominated by independently owned operators who write their own postings.
Skilled nursing and long-term care
The rules are federal
An ongoing activities program is a condition of participation, it has to be built on each resident's assessment and preferences, and it has to be directed by someone who meets one of four qualification routes. Survey findings follow the documentation.
Assisted living and memory care
The rules are your state's
State licensing sets activity staffing and training requirements, and they vary widely. The role is usually titled Activity Director or Life Enrichment Director, and it often carries a budget, a small team, and a van.
Behavioral health and substance use
A scheduled clinical service
Recreation therapy is a billed or scheduled part of the treatment day, with treatment plan goals and progress notes. Accreditation and payer requirements sit above state law here, and evening and weekend group coverage drives the schedule.
Public parks and VA systems
Out of scope here
Municipal recreation departments and federal facilities hire through a central personnel office, a classification system, and a published pay grade. If that is you, the position description is largely written for you already.
Write the Posting for the Building, Not the Profession
Before you write a word, answer four questions in writing: how many residents or clients, what the documentation requirement is, whether the person carries a caseload or runs a calendar, and who covers weekends. Candidates in this field ask all four in the first interview. Answering them on the posting saves you a screening round and filters out the applicants who wanted a different job.
Recreational Therapist, Activity Director, or Activity Assistant
These are three different jobs at three different pay levels, and small facilities blur them constantly. A recreational therapist is a clinician with a caseload and treatment goals. An activity director runs a program, a team, and a budget. An activity assistant delivers the calendar hour by hour and is always non-exempt.
Blurring them is expensive in both directions. Post a therapist role and pay assistant wages and nobody qualified applies. Post an assistant role and expect clinical documentation and you get a survey finding. Our general guide to writing a job description covers the structure that keeps a posting honest about scope.
Recreational Therapist
Activity Director
Activity Assistant
Core work
Clinical assessment and treatment
Program, staff, and budget ownership
Delivering the published calendar
Typical credential
Degree in therapeutic recreation plus CTRS
One of four federal qualification routes
High school diploma, trained on the job
Documentation
Assessments, goals, progress notes
Calendar, attendance, survey records
Same-day attendance and participation
Supervises
Volunteers and students
Activity assistants and volunteers
Nobody
FLSA classification
Turns on duties and the salary test
Turns on duties and the salary test
Non-exempt, always
Nearest BLS occupation
Recreational therapists
No exact match; recreation workers is nearest
Recreation workers
What Belongs in the Posting
A recreational therapist job description does four jobs at once: it describes the setting honestly, it filters on credentials, it protects you on classification and screening, and it closes the candidate. Most postings in this field do only the first, and vaguely. Here is the full inventory.
The parts candidates read first
Setting and population, stated in one sentence
Census or caseload size
Whether the program is clinical or social in scope
Schedule reality: weekends, evenings, holidays
The parts that filter applicants
Degree field and level
CTRS credential marked required or preferred
State license or registration, where your state has one
Driving, lifting, and transfer requirements
The parts that protect you
FLSA classification stated on the posting
Background and registry clearance before the first shift
Essential physical functions written plainly
Equal opportunity statement
The parts that win the hire
Pay or a good-faith range
Budget authority and supply budget size
Who else is on the team and who supervises
Continuing education support for credential renewal
The most common omission is the physical and schedule reality. Transfers, wheelchair pushing, standing for most of a shift, weekend rotation, holiday coverage, and driving a community vehicle are all normal parts of this work and all easier to state up front than to discover in week two.
6 Recreational Therapist Job Description Templates to Download
Download all six as one file or copy them individually. Each follows the same structure: facility overview, position summary, key responsibilities, required qualifications, a classification and compliance note, an equal opportunity statement, and how to apply. The bracketed fields are the only parts you need to change.
Download All 6 Recreational Therapist Job Description Templates
Long-term care, activity director, behavioral health, inpatient rehab, day program, and activity assistant. All in one download.
Skilled Nursing and Long-Term Care
Assessment, care plan, survey
The clinical long-term care role, with recreation therapy assessment, care plan goals, documentation, and survey readiness written in.
Activity Director
Owns program, team, and budget
For assisted living and memory care, with the four federal qualification routes listed so candidates can self-check against the bar.
Behavioral Health
Groups on the clinical schedule
For psychiatric and substance use programs: group facilitation, treatment plan contributions, discharge leisure planning, and safety checks.
Inpatient Rehabilitation
Function transferred to real life
For a rehab program: functional evaluation, community reintegration outings, family training, and treatment minute tracking.
Day Program or Group Home
Service plans and staff coaching
For disability services agencies, with individual service plan goals, staff coaching, funder documentation, and registry screening.
Activity Assistant
Hourly, non-exempt, entry level
For the floor staff who run the calendar, with the non-exempt classification and the pre-shift clearance requirement stated plainly.
Template 1: Recreational Therapist, Skilled Nursing and Long-Term Care
The clinical long-term care role, with recreation therapy assessment, care plan goals, documentation timelines, and survey readiness written in. Pair it with the CNA templates if you are staffing the floor at the same time.
Recreational Therapist, Skilled Nursing and Long-Term Care Job Description
Reports to: [Administrator / Director of Nursing / Director of Life Enrichment]
Employment type: Full-time
FLSA status: [Exempt / Non-exempt] (see classification note)
Compensation: $_ per [year / hour]
ABOUT [FACILITY NAME]
[Facility Name] is a [number]-bed skilled nursing and rehabilitation community in
[City, State]. We serve [long-stay residents / short-stay rehab patients / a
memory care unit], and our activities program runs [seven days a week / six days
a week] across [number] neighborhoods.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Recreational Therapist assesses each resident's leisure interests and
functional level, writes individualized treatment goals into the care plan,
delivers group and one-to-one interventions, and documents response to treatment
in the medical record.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Complete a recreation therapy assessment on admission and on schedule
thereafter, and contribute the activities section of the MDS and care plan
•Write measurable treatment goals tied to physical, cognitive, social, or
emotional function
•Plan and lead a weekly calendar of group programs and one-to-one visits,
including evenings and weekends on a rotation
•Adapt interventions for residents with [dementia, aphasia, low vision,
wheelchair use, isolation precautions]
•Document participation and response to treatment in [EHR name] within
[timeframe]
•Attend care plan conferences and report resident progress to the
interdisciplinary team
•Recruit, train, and schedule volunteers and student interns
•Manage the activities supply budget of $________ per [month / quarter]
•Support survey readiness: keep the calendar, assessments, and documentation
current and available
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•Bachelor's degree in therapeutic recreation, recreational therapy, or a
closely related field
•[CTRS certification through NCTRC required / preferred]
•[State license or registration required: confirm whether your state regulates
recreational therapy]
•[Number] years in a long-term care, rehabilitation, or geriatric setting
•CPR certification and clearance of all background checks and registry checks
required for long-term care staff in our state
•Comfortable documenting in an electronic health record and standing, walking,
and transferring equipment for most of a shift
CLASSIFICATION AND COMPLIANCE NOTE (read before posting)
Classify honestly on duties and pay, not on the title. A recreational therapist
performing genuine clinical assessment and treatment planning may meet the FLSA
learned professional exemption, but unlike teachers there is no free pass on the
salary test: the employee must also be paid on a salary basis at not less than
$684 per week ($35,568 per year). Anyone below that line is non-exempt, hourly,
and owed overtime past 40 hours in a week regardless of credentials. Federal
requirements of participation for long-term care facilities also require that the
activities program be directed by a qualified professional and that the facility
not employ anyone with a substantiated abuse or neglect finding on the state
nurse aide registry. This is general information, not legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Facility Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ per [year / hour], [benefits summary], [shift
differential for weekend rotation]
To apply, email __ with your resume and your CTRS number if
you hold one.
Template 2: Activity Director / Life Enrichment Director
For assisted living and memory care, with the four federal qualification routes listed so candidates can check themselves against the bar before applying.
Activity Director / Life Enrichment Director Job Description
ACTIVITY DIRECTOR / LIFE ENRICHMENT DIRECTOR JOB DESCRIPTION
Community: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Executive Director / Administrator]
Employment type: Full-time
FLSA status: [Exempt / Non-exempt] (see classification note)
Compensation: $_ per year
ABOUT THIS ROLE
[Community Name] is a [assisted living / memory care / continuing care] community
in [City, State] with [number] residents. We are hiring an Activity Director to
own the life enrichment program end to end: the calendar, the team, the budget,
and the documentation that keeps us compliant.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Activity Director designs and directs an ongoing program of individual and
group activities built on resident assessment, preference, and care plan,
supervises the activity staff and volunteers, and maintains the records our state
and federal requirements demand.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Direct the activities program and publish a monthly calendar residents and
families can plan around
•Interview each new resident about interests, history, and routines, and build
those preferences into the plan of care
•Supervise [number] activity assistants: hiring, scheduling, training, and
performance
•Coordinate outings, transportation, entertainers, and community partnerships
•Own the activities budget of $________ per year and the supply inventory
•Keep attendance, participation, and progress documentation current for survey
•Run a volunteer program: recruitment, orientation, background clearance, and
recognition
•Partner with nursing, social services, and dietary on residents who are
declining or withdrawing
•Report resident status changes through the interdisciplinary team process
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
Meet at least one of the qualification routes our regulator recognizes:
•Licensed or registered by the state (where the state regulates the role) and
eligible for certification as a therapeutic recreation specialist or an
activities professional by a recognized accrediting body, OR
•Two years of experience in a social or recreational program within the last
five years, one of which was full-time in a therapeutic activities program, OR
•A qualified occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant, OR
•Completion of a state-approved activity director training course
Also required:
•Supervisory experience and comfort building a schedule that covers evenings
and weekends
•Clearance of all background checks and registry checks required for our setting
•Valid driver's license and willingness to drive the community vehicle
[if applicable]
CLASSIFICATION AND COMPLIANCE NOTE
The federal requirements of participation for long-term care facilities require
an ongoing activities program, based on the comprehensive assessment and the
preferences of each resident, directed by a qualified professional who meets one
of the routes listed above. Assisted living communities are licensed by the state
rather than by those federal rules, so confirm your own state's activity
director qualification and training requirements before you set the bar in the
posting. On overtime: a director who genuinely supervises two or more full-time
equivalent staff and is paid at least $684 per week on a salary basis may meet
the executive exemption, but a working director who mostly runs activities
personally probably does not. This is general information, not legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Community Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ per year, [benefits summary], [budget authority]
To apply, email __ with your resume and a sample monthly
activity calendar you built.
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Template 3: Recreation Therapist, Behavioral Health and Substance Use
For psychiatric and substance use programs: group facilitation, treatment plan contributions, discharge leisure planning, and environmental safety checks. If the role is talk therapy rather than activity, use the mental health counselor templates instead.
Recreation Therapist, Behavioral Health and Substance Use Job Description
RECREATION THERAPIST JOB DESCRIPTION (BEHAVIORAL HEALTH / SUBSTANCE USE)
Program: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Clinical Director / Program Director]
Employment type: Full-time [or part-time, per diem]
FLSA status: [Exempt / Non-exempt] (see classification note)
Compensation: $_ per [year / hour]
ABOUT THIS PROGRAM
[Program Name] is a [inpatient psychiatric unit / residential substance use
treatment program / partial hospitalization program] in [City, State] serving
[adults / adolescents] with [number] beds. Recreation therapy is a scheduled part
of the clinical day, not an extra.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Recreation Therapist delivers group and individual therapeutic recreation
interventions that build coping skills, stress management, social connection, and
healthy leisure patterns clients can carry into discharge, and documents progress
against treatment plan goals.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Assess each client's leisure history, current functioning, and treatment goals
For a rehab program: functional evaluation, community reintegration outings, family training on adapted activity, and treatment minute tracking alongside the occupational therapy team.
attention, problem solving, social confidence] through real activity
•Plan and lead community reintegration outings, including transportation,
accessibility scouting, and risk planning
•Train patients and families on adapted equipment and adapted activity for home
•Contribute to the interdisciplinary treatment plan and weekly team conference
•Document evaluations, daily treatment, and progress toward discharge goals
within [timeframe]
•Track treatment minutes and units where required by the program
•Keep equipment, adapted gear, and vehicles maintained and inspected
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•Bachelor's degree in therapeutic recreation or recreational therapy
•[CTRS certification through NCTRC required / preferred]
•[State license or registration where required]
•Experience in physical rehabilitation preferred, including transfers and
adaptive equipment
•CPR certification and a valid driver's license for community outings
•Clearance of criminal background check and registry checks required in our
state
CLASSIFICATION AND COMPLIANCE NOTE
Two things to settle in writing. First, classification: a recreational therapist
carrying an independent clinical caseload has a stronger learned professional
case than an activity aide, but the salary level and salary basis tests still
apply, so a therapist paid hourly below $684 per week is non-exempt and owed
overtime. Second, driving: if the role includes transporting patients, confirm
the license class your vehicle requires, check the motor vehicle record before
the start date, and put the driving requirement in the posting as an essential
function. This is general information, not legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Facility Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ per [year / hour], [benefits summary], [continuing
education allowance]
To apply, email __ with your resume.
Template 5: Recreation Therapist, Day Program or Group Home
For disability services agencies, with individual service plan goals, staff coaching, funder documentation, and registry screening. It works alongside your direct support professional postings rather than replacing them.
Recreation Therapist, Day Program or Group Home Job Description
RECREATION THERAPIST JOB DESCRIPTION (DAY PROGRAM / GROUP HOME)
Agency: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Program Manager / Director of Services]
Employment type: Full-time [or part-time]
FLSA status: [Exempt / Non-exempt] (see classification note)
Compensation: $_ per [year / hour]
ABOUT THIS ROLE
[Agency Name] supports [number] adults with intellectual and developmental
disabilities across [number] group homes and a day program in [City, State]. We
are hiring a Recreation Therapist to build individualized leisure and community
participation into every person's service plan rather than leaving it to whoever
is on shift.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Recreation Therapist assesses each individual's interests, abilities, and
support needs, writes leisure and community participation goals into the service
plan, coaches direct support staff on how to run activities, and documents
outcomes for the funder.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Assess interests, abilities, communication style, and support needs for each
individual served
•Write measurable leisure, social, and community participation goals into the
individual service plan
•Design activity plans that direct support professionals can run consistently
across shifts
•Coach and train staff on adaptation, prompting, choice-making, and dignity of
risk
•Build community connections: [gyms, libraries, faith communities, clubs,
volunteer sites, employers]
•Document participation and progress in the format the funder requires
•Take part in the person-centered planning meeting for each individual
•Manage the program activity budget and adaptive equipment
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•Bachelor's degree in therapeutic recreation, recreation, human services, or a
related field
•[CTRS certification through NCTRC required / preferred]
•Experience supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities
•Valid driver's license, acceptable motor vehicle record, and willingness to
drive agency vehicles
•Clearance of criminal background check, abuse registry check, and any other
screening our funder requires
•[Medication administration training / CPR / crisis prevention certification]
where the role requires it
CLASSIFICATION AND COMPLIANCE NOTE
Two risks sit in this role specifically. The first is classification drift: a
recreation therapist who spends most of the week covering direct support shifts
is doing direct support work, and the posting, the pay, and the overtime
treatment should match reality. Track hours for anyone non-exempt, including
travel between sites during the shift, which generally counts as hours worked.
The second is screening: services funded through state contracts routinely
require abuse and neglect registry checks and fingerprinting on top of the
criminal background check, and clearance must be complete before the first shift
with an individual served. Confirm the exact list with your funder and state
agency. This is general information, not legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Agency Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ per [year / hour], [benefits summary], [mileage
reimbursement]
To apply, email __ with your resume.
Template 6: Activity Assistant / Recreation Aide
For the floor staff who actually run the calendar, with the non-exempt classification and the pre-shift clearance requirement stated plainly. Summer and camp programming is a separate posting: see the camp counselor templates.
[Community Name] is hiring Activity Assistants to run the daily program on the
floor: the morning group, the afternoon one-to-one visits, the outing on
[weekday], and the weekend coverage that keeps the calendar honest. This is the
entry point into the life enrichment field and we train.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Activity Assistant sets up and leads scheduled group and individual
activities under the direction of the Activity Director, escorts and supports
residents, and records attendance and participation.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Set up, lead, and clean up scheduled activities on the published calendar
•Visit residents who do not leave their rooms and provide one-to-one
engagement
•Escort residents to and from programs, including wheelchair transport
•Record attendance and participation the same day
•Assist with outings, transportation, and special events
•Support residents with dementia using redirection and validation techniques
as trained
•Report any change in a resident's condition or mood to the nurse on duty
•Report any suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation immediately, as required
of all staff
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•High school diploma or equivalent
•[Experience with older adults preferred / no experience required, we train]
•Clearance of criminal background check and all registry checks required for
our setting before the first shift
•Ability to [push a wheelchair, lift up to __ pounds, stand and walk for most
of a shift]
•Availability for [weekend / evening / holiday] rotation
•[Valid driver's license if driving the community vehicle]
CLASSIFICATION AND COMPLIANCE NOTE
This role is non-exempt, full stop. An activity assistant is paid hourly and owed
overtime past 40 hours in a week, and no job title, salary arrangement, or
"assistant director" label changes that. Track all hours worked, including setup
before the shift, cleanup after, and time spent on required training. Do not
average hours across two weeks of a biweekly pay period: overtime is owed per
workweek. Clearance must be complete before the first shift, not during the first
month. This is general information, not legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Community Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ per hour, [weekend differential], [benefits at __ hours
per week]
To apply, email __ with your resume and availability.
Credentials, Licensure, and the Activities Rule
The credential picture here has three layers: a national certification that most clinical employers use as the bar, state licensure that exists in only six jurisdictions, and a separate federal qualification standard that applies to whoever directs the activities program in a nursing facility. They are not the same thing and a posting that confuses them screens out good people.
The activities standard is the one most operators miss. Federal requirements of participation for long-term care facilities require an ongoing activities program based on each resident's comprehensive assessment and preferences, directed by a qualified professional meeting one of four listed routes.
CTRS is the national credential, not a license
The Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist credential is issued by the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification after a qualifying degree, supervised field experience, and a national exam. It is the closest thing the field has to a common standard, and most clinical employers use it as the bar. It is not, by itself, a government license, and holding it does not authorize practice in a state that regulates the profession. Treat it the way you would treat any national certification: a credible screen for competence and coursework, verifiable directly with the certifying body, with a renewal cycle you should track. Write it into the posting as required or preferred and mean the distinction, because a hard requirement in a thin market can leave a role open for months.
Only a handful of states license the profession
Recreational therapy is licensed in New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah, and the District of Columbia. Everywhere else there is no state license to check, and the CTRS credential plus your own screening carries the weight. That is a genuine advantage for a small operator in an unlicensed state, because it widens the candidate pool to people with the degree and the field experience who never sat the national exam. It also means you own the quality judgment entirely. If you are in a licensing jurisdiction, the license is not optional and not something to sort out after the start date. Verify the current requirement with your state agency before writing the qualification line, since state scope-of-practice rules change.
The activities program has a federal director standard
For nursing facilities, federal requirements of participation say the activities program must be directed by a qualified professional, and the regulation lists four routes to qualify: a state-licensed or registered therapeutic recreation specialist or activities professional who is also eligible for certification by a recognized accrediting body, two years of experience in a social or recreational program within the last five years with one year full-time in a therapeutic activities program, a qualified occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant, or completion of a state-approved training course. Put those routes in the posting verbatim. Candidates who qualify under the experience route often screen themselves out of a posting that asks only for a degree, and that route is how many excellent activity directors got there.
Screening runs deeper than a criminal check
Long-term care and disability services carry screening obligations beyond a standard criminal history check. Federal rules bar a nursing facility from employing anyone found guilty by a court of abuse, neglect, exploitation, misappropriation of property, or mistreatment, or who has a finding entered on the state nurse aide registry for those acts, and they require the facility to report court actions against staff that indicate unfitness. State abuse registries, fingerprint-based checks, exclusion list screening, and funder-specific requirements stack on top of that and vary by setting and state. Build the sequence into hiring rather than the first week: state it in the posting, complete it before the first shift with a resident, and keep the clearances filed with their renewal dates.
List All Four Qualification Routes, Not Just the Degree
The single most self-defeating line in a nursing facility activity director posting is a bachelor's degree requirement with nothing after it. The federal standard also accepts two years of relevant experience within the last five, an occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant, or completion of a state-approved training course. A large share of capable working activity directors qualified through the experience route, read a degree-only posting, and moved on. Write all four routes into the requirements and watch the applicant pool change.
Overtime and the Professional Exemption
There is no special carve-out for therapists the way there is for teachers, so both halves of the test have to hold. To be exempt as a learned professional the employee must perform work requiring advanced knowledge in a field of science or learning, and must also be paid on a salary basis of at least $684 per week, which is $35,568 a year.
The regulation on the learned professional exemption requires that the advanced knowledge be customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction, and it excludes occupations where most people learn the work by experience instead. That language is why a degreed clinician with a caseload and an activity assistant trained on the job land on opposite sides of the line. Our breakdown of exempt versus non-exempt classification works through the tests in order.
Situation
Likely classification
What to do
Degreed CTRS, independent caseload, salary above $684 per week
Exempt learned professional is arguable
Document the duties, keep the salary basis clean, review annually
Recreational therapist paid hourly
Non-exempt
Track all hours and pay overtime past 40 in the workweek
Recreational therapist salaried below $684 per week
Non-exempt
Salary alone does not create an exemption; overtime is owed
Activity director supervising two or more full-time equivalents
Executive exemption is arguable
Confirm real supervisory authority and hiring input, not just a title
Working activity director who mostly runs programs personally
Likely non-exempt
Classify on the actual week, not the org chart
Activity assistant or recreation aide
Non-exempt, always
Hourly, overtime past 40, all setup and cleanup time counted
Everyone outside an exemption needs hours tracked and overtime paid past forty in a workweek, and overtime is calculated per workweek rather than averaged across a biweekly pay period. Care settings are covered enterprises under the Fair Labor Standards Act, so the size of your facility does not put you outside the rules.
What to Pay a Recreational Therapist
The national median for recreational therapists is $61,960 a year, but the percentile spread is wide enough that the median alone is a poor target. Setting drives most of it: hospital and government employers sit toward the top of the range and residential care toward the bottom.
National Wage Ladder for Recreational Therapists
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025), recreational therapists earned a median of $61,960 per year, or $29.79 per hour. The 10th percentile earned $40,990, the 25th $50,240, the 75th $79,930, and the 90th $100,420 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS national estimates).
There is no BLS occupation for activity directors or activity assistants, which is worth saying plainly rather than pretending otherwise. The closest classifications are recreation workers for the non-clinical roles and the allied therapy occupations for the clinical end. Benchmark to whichever sits nearest your actual job, then adjust to local market conditions.
Occupation (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
National median
How to use it
Recreational therapists
$61,960 per year ($29.79 per hour)
The direct benchmark for a degreed clinical role
Recreation workers
$36,560 per year ($17.58 per hour)
Nearest match for activity assistants and many activity directors
Personal care and service workers, all other
$41,600 per year ($20.00 per hour)
Sanity check for hourly engagement roles in residential care
Therapists, all other
$77,930 per year ($37.47 per hour)
Upper reference for specialized clinical therapy roles
Occupational therapy assistants
$72,300 per year ($34.76 per hour)
Relevant where an OTA qualifies as your activities director
Occupational therapists
$100,330 per year ($48.24 per hour)
Ceiling reference for the licensed therapy team
Publish a good-faith range where pay transparency laws apply, and remember that continuing education support matters more in this field than in most, because the CTRS credential carries a renewal cycle the candidate otherwise funds personally.
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Two sentences belong in every recreational therapy and activities posting: one stating that employment is contingent on a criminal background check and all registry checks required in your state, and one stating that every employee is required to report suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation immediately.
Both are filters, not boilerplate. Candidates who will not clear a registry check stop reading, and candidates who will clear one read it as a sign you take resident safety seriously. Our guides to running a background check and to state background check laws cover the process and the notice requirements.
Clearance Comes Before the First Shift, Not During the First Month
The most expensive shortcut in long-term care hiring is letting someone start while the registry check is pending because the calendar has a hole in it. Federal rules bar a facility from employing anyone with a substantiated abuse or neglect finding on the state nurse aide registry, and state requirements stack additional checks on top. Build the clearance timeline backward from the start date and hold it. A shared checklist with real dates beats a folder on the administrator's desk every time.
Hiring Without an HR Department
Small operator hiring fails in three predictable places: the posting is copied from a health system and describes the wrong job, the candidate pool is thinner than the competition assumes, and the compliance paperwork has no owner. Each has a fix.
The administrator writes the posting between a survey and a staffing crisis
At an independently owned nursing home, an assisted living community, or a disability services agency, the person writing the recreational therapist job description is the administrator or the executive director, working in the gaps of a day that already has a census problem and a call-out to cover. There is no corporate HR department to send it to and no template library on the shared drive, so the posting either gets written properly once or it gets copied from a hospital system job that describes a different role entirely. Candidates notice. A posting that says nothing about census, caseload, documentation load, or whether the job is clinical or social reads as an employer who has not decided, and the strongest applicants have other options.
You are competing for a small pool against health systems and government employers
There are not many recreational therapists. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects about 1,300 job openings a year nationally over the 2024 to 2034 decade, which is a rounding error next to nursing, and a large share of them are absorbed by hospital systems and government facilities that pay on a published grade. You will not win on base pay alone, so compete on what a small operator actually has: real autonomy over the program, a budget you personally approve, no layer of committee between an idea and a Tuesday afternoon, continuing education paid for the credential renewal, and a hiring decision made in a week. Say those things in the posting rather than saving them for the second interview, and open the search in an unlicensed state to the experience route as well as the degree route.
Clearances, credentials, and training certificates expire and nobody is watching
This role carries more paper than most: the criminal background check, the state abuse or nurse aide registry check, fingerprinting where required, the CTRS credential and its renewal cycle, a state license in a handful of jurisdictions, CPR, crisis prevention certification, a motor vehicle record if there is a van, plus the annual abuse reporting and resident rights training every state expects. FirstHR was built for exactly this. The onboarding wizard runs the same sequence for every hire, e-signature handles the offer and the policy acknowledgments, document management stores each certificate against the employee profile with its expiry date attached, and training modules cover abuse reporting and resident rights before the first shift. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR. Note that FirstHR is an onboarding and HR platform, not a payroll provider.
Once the offer is signed, the work shifts to a repeatable onboarding checklist that covers clearances, credentials, orientation training, and the resident rights material before the first shift. Browse the rest of our hiring templates if you are filling other roles in the same building.
Key Takeaways
Recreational therapy is clinical treatment delivered through activity: assess, write goals into the care plan, deliver interventions, document response, adjust.
Recreational therapist, activity director, and activity assistant are three different jobs at three pay levels, and a posting that blurs them attracts the wrong candidates.
The national median is $61,960 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), with a 10th to 90th percentile spread of $40,990 to $100,420 driven mostly by setting.
CTRS is the national credential and only six jurisdictions license the profession, while a nursing facility activities program must be directed by someone meeting one of four federal qualification routes worth listing in full.
The learned professional exemption needs both advanced knowledge and salary basis pay of at least $684 per week, so hourly therapists and all activity assistants are non-exempt.
Background checks, abuse and nurse aide registry checks, and required training all have to clear before the first shift with a resident, not during the first month.
Care settings carry more expiring paperwork per hire than almost any other small business. FirstHR runs the same onboarding sequence every time, with e-signature for the offer and policy acknowledgments, document storage for clearances and credentials with renewal dates attached, and training modules for abuse reporting and resident rights before the first shift. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a recreational therapist do?
A recreational therapist uses activity as clinical treatment. The work runs in a cycle: assess the person’s functional level, history, and leisure interests, write measurable goals into the care or treatment plan, deliver interventions through arts, music, movement, games, aquatics, animals, or community outings, then document the response and adjust. The goal is never entertainment for its own sake. It is restoring or maintaining physical, cognitive, emotional, and social function, and building leisure patterns the person can sustain after discharge. In a nursing home that might mean pulling a withdrawn resident back into the dining room. In a rehabilitation program it means turning bench gains into a grocery trip that actually works. In behavioral health it means coping skills practiced in real activity rather than described in a worksheet.
What is the difference between a recreational therapist and an activity director?
Scope and credential, mostly. A recreational therapist is a clinician: a degree in therapeutic recreation, usually the CTRS credential, an individual caseload, treatment goals in the medical record, and documented response to treatment. An activity director runs a program: the monthly calendar, the activity staff, the budget, the volunteers, the outings, and the documentation the regulator wants to see. The two overlap heavily in small facilities, where one person does both, and the federal qualification standard for a nursing facility activities director explicitly accepts a therapeutic recreation specialist, an activities professional, an occupational therapist or assistant, a person with two years of relevant experience in the last five, or someone who completed a state-approved course. Decide which job you are actually filling before you write the posting, because the two attract different candidates at different pay.
Do recreational therapists need a state license?
In most states, no. Recreational therapy is licensed in New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah, and the District of Columbia. Everywhere else there is no state license to verify, and the national CTRS credential from the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification carries the screening weight instead. That distinction matters when you write the qualification line. In a licensing jurisdiction the license is a hard requirement, it is not something to complete after the start date, and practicing without it is a legal exposure for the employee and for you. In an unlicensed state you decide the bar yourself, which lets you consider strong candidates who hold the degree and the field experience but never sat the national exam. Verify the current status with your state agency, because scope-of-practice rules change.
Are recreational therapists exempt from overtime?
It depends on both duties and pay, and many are not exempt. Unlike teachers, there is no special carve-out here: to be exempt as a learned professional the employee must perform work requiring advanced knowledge in a field of science or learning, customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction, and must also be paid on a salary basis of at least $684 per week, which is $35,568 a year. Both parts have to be true. A degreed CTRS carrying an independent clinical caseload on a salary above that line has a real case. A recreational therapist paid hourly, or paid a salary below the threshold, is non-exempt and owed overtime past 40 hours in a week regardless of credentials. Activity assistants and recreation aides are non-exempt without exception. This is general information, not legal advice.
How much does a recreational therapist make?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025), the national median annual wage for recreational therapists was $61,960, or $29.79 per hour. The spread is wide: the 10th percentile earned $40,990 and the 90th percentile $100,420, with the 25th at $50,240 and the 75th at $79,930. Setting drives most of that range, since hospital and government employers sit toward the top and residential care toward the bottom. There is no separate BLS occupation for activity directors or activity assistants. The nearest classification is recreation workers, with a median of $36,560 a year, or $17.58 an hour, which is the better benchmark for an unlicensed activity assistant role. Benchmark against comparable local employers rather than the national median, and publish a good-faith range where pay transparency rules apply.
What qualifications should I require for an activity director in a nursing home?
Copy the federal standard into the posting rather than inventing one. The requirements of participation for long-term care facilities say the activities program must be directed by a qualified professional, and they accept four routes: a therapeutic recreation specialist or activities professional who is licensed or registered by the state where the state requires it and is eligible for certification by a recognized accrediting body, a person with two years of experience in a social or recreational program within the last five years with one of those years full-time in a therapeutic activities program, a qualified occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant, or a person who completed a state-approved training course. Listing all four widens the pool considerably, since the experience route is how a large share of working activity directors qualified. Assisted living is licensed at the state level instead, so check your own state rule before setting the bar.
How do I hire a recreational therapist for a small facility with no HR department?
Run a fixed sequence and start earlier than feels comfortable, because the candidate pool is small. Write one specific posting stating setting, census, caseload, schedule, classification, and pay. Decide up front whether you are hiring a clinician or a program director, since the two attract different people. Screen for documentation discipline as hard as for warmth, because survey findings live in the paperwork. Ask for a sample monthly calendar and a written treatment goal, which reveals more than any interview question. Verify the CTRS credential directly with the certifying body and the license where your state requires one. Then move fast, because speed is one of the few advantages a small operator has. Onboarding is where these hires usually go wrong: clearances, registry checks, and training certificates all have to be complete before the first shift with a resident. FirstHR handles that sequence with e-signature, document storage, and renewal tracking. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
