August 2025

• “I wanted to thank you and your team for putting on such an incredible week for the kids. My son had so much fun, especially yesterday! He’s been wearing his new shirt all morning and talking about camp. Thanks for taking such great care of him all week long! Our family is so grateful for you and your team.” (Jazmine, Mindful Movers)

• “I have learned more about my daughter in 4 days than in 10 months of preschool. The insights and recommendations have been deeply insightful and helpful.” -parent of 3 year old (Michelle, Courageous Kids)

• “[I’m worried about] touching a tarantula because they shoot hairs out of their butts, and that worries me because I read that it’s super itchy.”

Our annual Walk for Apraxia will be September 27th, Cierra will be sharing more details in an upcoming email.

While the entire policy is outlined, please read bold sections carefully for relevant changes.  If you have any specific questions, please reach out to Kellie or Cierra directly.

1. Clinical Hour Requirements

• A therapist is considered full-time when they maintain 30 or more clinical hours per week for at least two consecutive pay periods.
• One clinical hour = one client session.
  • Example: A session with two clients at the same time counts as 2 clinical hours.

2. 12-Week Skills Groups/Private School Groups Hour Conversions for Full-Time Classification

• 12-Week Skills Groups / Private School Groups:
  • 1 hour if fewer than 3 participants
  • 2 hours if 3 or more participants
• Public School Sessions:
  • Each hour spent at a public school site counts as 1 clinical hour, regardless of how many students are seen.
  • These sessions follow a 3:1 productivity ratio: for every 4 hours worked, 3 should be direct treatment and 1 indirect (e.g., documentation, prep).

3. School Compensation Notes for Full-Time Classification

• Public school hours are paid by shift, not by the number of students seen
• Clinic group pay rates do not apply to school sessions.
  • Example: If 3 students are seen in a 30-minute group during a 4-hour school shift, that group is paid as a 1:1 session.

4. What Does Not Count Toward Full-Time Classification

• Temporary hours such as:
  • Short-term coverage
  • One-off caseload increases
  • Special case projects (such as IEEs)
  • Evaluations
  • Report write-ups (such as progress reports, evaluation reports, home programs)

5. Maintaining Full-Time Status for PTO
Once classified as full-time, therapists must maintain 30 weekly clinical hours to remain eligible for paid time off (PTO), except during the following approved periods:

• Summer seasonal drop (June 15 – Start of Fall Schedule in Mid-August)
  B. Winter holiday break (up to 2 weeks)
  C. Therapist vacation (as scheduled and approved)

These exceptions do not impact full-time status or PTO eligibility.

6. Monitoring and Maintaining Full-Time Therapist Status
Therapist clinical hours are monitored weekly by the OT and Speech Department Directors.

7. If a Full-Time Therapist Drops Below 30 Weekly Clinical Hours
To maintain full-time status after a decrease in clinical hours, the therapist must:

• Meet 1:1 with their Department Director (paid at the administrative preset) to review their caseload and confirm their intent to remain full-time.
• The Department Director will support schedule adjustments and reserves the right to assign additional clients, groups, or school contracts at their discretion to help the therapist return to full-time status (30+ clinical hours/week) within 2 full pay periods (the “holding period”).
• During the 2 pay period holding period, the therapist retains their full-time classification.
• If clinical hours are not restored to 30+ by the end of the holding period (excluding approved exceptions such as seasonal drops or planned vacation), the following applies:
  • PTO accrual will pause beginning the pay period after the holding period ends.
  • PTO accrual will resume once the therapist maintains 30+ clinical hours/week for 2 consecutive pay periods.
  • The holding period is only granted to therapists who communicate a clear intent to maintain full-time status.

8. If a Therapist Chooses to Move to Part-Time
If a therapist no longer wishes to maintain full-time status:

• They must schedule a 1:1 meeting with their Department Director (paid at the administrative preset) to update their caseload and preferred weekly hours.
• They will be reclassified as part-time, and:
  • Will become ineligible for PTO accrual and holiday pay.
  • Will be removed from the full-time policy framework effective the current pay period.

9. Returning to Full-Time in the Future
A therapist who later wishes to return to full-time status must:

• Maintain 30+ weekly clinical hours for 2 consecutive full pay periods to regain eligibility for PTO.

PTO Eligibility

• Eligibility for PTO benefits will be confirmed by HR (Bambee) once full-time status is met.
• Full-time status is defined as 30+ billable clinical hours per week, maintained for two full pay periods.
• PTO begins accruing after the 2 full pay periods are completed.
• If full-time status begins mid-pay period, the two full pay period wait begins on the following payroll cycle.
• PTO eligibility and tracking are handled in Gusto. You can view your available PTO in your Gusto portal.

Tracking & Notification

• Department Directors monitor weekly billable hours.
• Once you maintain 30+ billable hours for 2 consecutive pay periods, you will be notified by email.
• The Director will notify the Company Owner, who will update your employment classification to full-time in Gusto.

PTO Usage Guidelines

• PTO is paid at your base 1:1 therapy hourly rate. Group rates do not apply.
• PTO may only be used on days the employee is regularly scheduled to provide direct client services.
  • This means you must have a consistent, established caseload on that day of the week (e.g., every Monday or Friday) to be eligible to use PTO for that day.
  • If a day is typically unscheduled or inconsistently scheduled (e.g., occasional parent consultations, evaluations, or one-time client sessions), PTO cannot be used for that time off.
• PTO is not applicable to administrative time, such as reviewing the monthly newsletter.
• Clarification on Irregular Workdays
  • Employees occasionally working outside of their normal schedule (e.g., picking up an evaluation on a day they do not usually deliver direct services, or holding a one-time parent consultation on a day they do not usually work in the clinic) does not establish eligibility to use PTO on those days in the future.
  • Only your primary, consistent workdays are eligible for PTO coverage.
  • PTO cannot be used on:
    • Unscheduled or irregular workdays
    • Days typically used for occasional evaluations, parent consults, or admin tasks
    • Administrative hours (e.g., reviewing newsletters)

PTO Accrual and Rollover

• Therapists may accrue up to 40 hours of PTO.
• Unused PTO may roll over into the next calendar year, up to a maximum cap of 60 hours.
  • Example: If you roll over 30 hours, the maximum new accrual that year is 30 hours.

Holiday Pay
Little Hands Observed Holidays
Holiday Pay is provided for the following company-observed holidays:

• Christmas Eve
• Christmas Day
• New Year’s Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Day After Thanksgiving

Holiday Pay Eligibility

• Paid at your 1:1 therapy hourly rate, based on your typical client schedule for that day.
• You must be regularly scheduled to work on that holiday to qualify.
• You must work the last scheduled day before and the first scheduled day after the holiday unless excused by a pre-approved PTO request.
• Case management hours falling on a holiday are not eligible for PTO or holiday pay.

Questions about available time off?
Please contact Gusto for PTO balances and details.

Fall Schedule begins the week of August 18th.

• August 2025:

• Friday  8/8 – Therapists finalize schedules in Fusion

• Week of Monday 8/11 – Friday 8/15 – Therapists send email reminders regarding the start to fall scheduling.

• Friday 8/15: Admin sends out mass email campaign reminder to all clients that Fall Schedule starts Monday.

• Monday, 8/18 – Fall Schedule Begins!

Fall Scheduling Admin Time: For therapists building their own fall schedule, admin time will be provided. For therapists working under 20 hours, up to 4 hours of admin time will be allotted.  For therapists working over 20 hours, up to 6 hours of admin time will be allotted. 

Please be sure to add your case management time to your Ensora schedule when outlining your fall schedule and ensure that you’re not exceeding an 8-hour work day.

If you make a client referral or have questions, Dr. Shumaker generously offered his phone number: 510-928-4986 or email: dr.shumaker@risingstarvision.com.  His information will also be on the drive in our Referral Resources If you do end up referring a patient, a few short notes about what prompted the referral could be helpful to pass along to their practice.

Kayla will be out of the office from Wednesday, August 13th, through Friday August 22nd. She will be back in the clinic on Monday, August 25th. Volunteers will be available to help you on the floor as needed, just ask! The schedule is updated on the staff refrigerator. Please use the last few minutes of the session to help clean up with your clients, and ask the volunteers, Emily, or Isabelle if you need more assistance with this. Emily and Isabelle will also be available to assist with any transitions.

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