How to hire a child life therapist

How to hire a child life therapist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step child life therapist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a child life therapist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new child life therapist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your child life therapist job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a child life therapist for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a child life therapist to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a child life therapist that fits the bill.

   The following list breaks down different types of child life therapists and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Child Life Therapist	Description	Hourly rate
   Child Life Therapist	Physical therapists, sometimes called PTs, help injured or ill people improve their movement and manage their pain. These therapists are often an important part of the rehabilitation, treatment, and prevention of patients with chronic conditions, illnesses, or injuries.	$17-33
   Life Skills Instructor	A life skills instructor advises people that are seeking support and coaching. They are responsible for helping them learn and develop skills like doing day-to-day tasks, interacting with other people, caring for themselves, as well as doing basic duties... Show more	$10-21
   Life Skills Trainer	Life skills trainers are personal health professionals who provide training assistance and supervision to patients, such as personal care, financial management, and social integration. These trainers are required to assist their clients with disabilities with daily living activities while documenting their behaviors and personal hygiene... Show more	$10-19

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Direct Care
   • Social Work
   • Physical Therapy
   • Therapeutic Recreation
   • Emotional Support
   • CPR
   • Autism
   • Traumatic Brain Injuries
   • Rehabilitation
   • Crisis Intervention
   • CPI
   • Family Therapy
   • Vital Signs

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Train and experience at managing challenging classroom situations using CPI methods and positive behavior reinforcement practices.
   • Work with clinical staff to implement clients' rehabilitation plans.
   • Serve on interdisciplinary team responsible for the treatment of acute psychiatric and mentally-ill chemically-addict veterans on an acute unit.
   • Attend CFT and IEP meetings for clients; advocate for client's best interest.
   • Develop individual educational plans (IEP) design to promote educational, physical and social development.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your child life therapist job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A child life therapist can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, child life therapists' average salary in tennessee is 48% less than in massachusetts.
   • Seniority. Entry-level child life therapists 46% less than senior-level child life therapists.
   • Certifications. A child life therapist with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a child life therapist's salary.

   Average child life therapist salary

   $50,768yearly

   $24.41 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level child life therapist salary

   $37,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 17, 2025

4. Writing a child life therapist job description

   A child life therapist job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a child life therapist job description:

   Child life therapist job description example

   PATH (People Acting to Help) Inc. is a comprehensive Community Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Center. We offer a wide of array of services and supports to meet the needs of our community in Northeast Philadelphia. PATH regularly achieves the highest levels of accreditation including a 5 Star Provider Rating by CBH, Philadelphia’s Managed Care Entity, and recognition and awards related to our high-quality, innovative programs and staff accomplishments and contributions.

   Our Mission? To Help Individuals Achieve a More Independent and Fulfilling Life.

   WHY WORK AT PATH?

   PATH understands the importance of having benefits, and so a comprehensive package is offered to our employees including:

   A company sponsored 403b retirement plan, Health Insurance (Medical Services, Prescriptions, Dental & Vision), Sick Leave, Personal & Vacation Time, Paid Holidays, Life Insurance, and Long-Term Disability!

   JOB SUMMARY:

   To promote the mission of PATH to help individuals achieve a more independent and fulfilling life by being an effective team member. Responsible for provision of brief, up to 6 weeks, clinical assessment, interventions and crisis management for children and their families in Northeast Philadelphia. The CMIS program operates 7 days/ week, 365 days/year between the hours of 8:00am – 9:00pm. Services include assessment, crisis intervention, parent education, brief resolution focused treatment and linkages to behavioral health and community services. Services may be provided with a bachelor’s level case manager as a team member.

   QUALIFICATIONS:

   • Master’s degree in the human services field from an accredited college or university.
   • 2 years verified, paid, post-master’s therapy experience with children/youth and training and experience in family therapy.
   • Excellent writing and interpersonal skills.

   SPECIFIC DUTIES:

   1. Upon referral assignment, contact the family to schedule an initial visit offering same day/next day availability.
   2. Engage the youth and family upon the first visit to develop an understanding of the events that led to the crisis, educate the family on the role and time limited nature of CMIS and begin treatment and crisis planning.
   3. During one of the initial 2 sessions with each family develop a treatment plan, implementation of interventions, including conflict resolution and crisis management.
   4. Collaborate with the psychiatrist on any medication and/or evaluation needs
   5. Provide therapeutic interventions for the youth and family, in the home, community and school, utilizing intensive crisis de-escalation techniques and parenting education that will focus on parenting education; conflict resolution skills and improvement of communication skills.
   6. Provide in home sessions as often as needed but at minimum 2 -3 times per week.
   7. Link the youth and family to the CRC or other 24/7 crisis staff and remain with the youth and family until the connection and collaboration is completed at the CRC.
   8. Promote family sustainability and assure services are family driven.
   9. Utilize approved evidence based tools, practices and assessments.
   10. Collaborate with the case manager on resources and linkages needed and assure the linkages are in place and the family well connected.
   11. Provide rotating on call coverage between the hours of 9:00pm and 8:00am.
   12. Provide direct crisis support and intervention with assigned families and during times of surges in mobile crisis (CMCT) calls.

   PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

   Minimal in nature.

   
   

   PATH is an Equal Opportunity Employer

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right child life therapist for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your child life therapist job on Zippia to find and attract quality child life therapist candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting child life therapists requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new child life therapist

   Once you've decided on a perfect child life therapist candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new child life therapist. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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