Licensed Vocational Nurse, Per-Diem

Stars Behavioral Health Group

Joshua Tree, California

Posted Aug 13

Shift and hours: 8-⁠hour rotating
Unit and setting: Psych · Behavioral Health
License: LVN licenseValid California Driver’s License with an eligible driving record per company policy.
Term: Per Diem

Do you qualify?

License: Valid California Driver’s License with an eligible driving record per company policy. Check your license
Certification: Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist Certification preferred (or the ability to successfully complete the certification process within one year of employment).After hire · within one year
Certification: First Aid certification from an approved provider (such as the American Red Cross) or obtained upon hire.After hire
Also asks: Meet agency driver eligibility criteria

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What it pays

Benefits

Continuing education credits
Paid holidays
Health insurance
Dental insurance
Paid time off
On-the-job training

More benefits (3)

Vision insurance
PTO
CEU Allowance

The workplace

Stars Behavioral Health Group

Hiring organization

Organization profile

Worth asking

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Your fit

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On your path

Psychiatric Behavioral health spans inpatient, emergency, and community settings.

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Original listing

Posted on Stars Behavioral Health Group’s careers page.

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Partner with us in making a positive change!

Join a team where your work truly matters. We're proud to have been certified as a Great Place to Work for 8 years by our own employees. We invite you to partner with us in our mission to improve mental healthcare.

Job Title

Licensed Vocational Nurse - Per Diem

Division/Program

Joshua Tree: Morongo Oasis Crisis Residential Treatment

Starting

Compensation

30.00 - 35.00 USD Per Hour

Working Location

Joshua Tree, CA

Working Hours/Shift

Sunday - Saturday Various/Rotating Shifts AM - 6:00 AM - 2:30 PM PM - 2:00 PM - 10:30 PM NOC - 10:00 PM - 6:30 AM

Why Join Our Team?

Competitive

Compensation

Offering a salary that matches your skills and experience. Generous Time Off: Enjoy ample vacation and holiday pay.

Comprehensive Benefits Package

Employer-paid medical, dental, and vision coverage. Additional voluntary benefits to support your lifestyle.

Professional Growth Opportunities

On-the-job training with access to paid CEU opportunities. Career development programs designed to help you grow. Supervision for BBS hours for AMFT, ACSW, and APCC professionals (where applicable).

Employee Recognition & Rewards: A culture that celebrates and rewards your hard work and dedication

What You Bring to SBHG (Qualifications)

Experience & Background

Personal Lived

Experience

Self-identified personal experience as a consumer in the child welfare, probation, or mental health systems.

Education

High School Diploma or equivalent (GED, HiSET, etc.).

Professional

Experience

One (1) year of full-time experience performing non-professional, consumer-directed services (preferably within a mental health, healthcare, or social services agency serving individuals with disabilities).

Certifications & Licensure

Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist Certification preferred (or the ability to successfully complete the certification process within one year of employment).

Valid California Driver’s License with an eligible driving record per company policy.

First Aid certification from an approved provider (such as the American Red Cross) or obtained upon hire.

Meet agency driver eligibility criteria

How you will make a difference

The position has primary responsibility for using their lived experience and knowledge of the system to provide outreach and engagement, support, advocacy, and direct services to program clients of all age ranges. Peer Support Counselors are people who have lived experience in the mental health, judicial, and/or social service systems in some capacity. They serve as role models, companions, educators and advocates to our clients. The Peer Support Counselors will support clients in moving toward recovery, creating a meaningful role in their life, which is separate from their illness.

Division/Program

Overview

Program: The Crisis Residential Treatment (CRT) is a short-term voluntary residential facility.

Population Served: Designed to help adult residents, ages 18-59, who experience a psychiatric crisis to safely stabilize, recover, and transition back to community.

Facility & Setting: Short-term voluntary residential facility, 24/7 Program

Clinical Services: Therapeutic and mental health services, Medication evaluation and support services, Crisis intervention

Length of Stay: Short-term

Skills & Transition: Pre-vocational or vocational counseling, transition back to community

Skills & Services: Rehabilitation/recovery services, including substance use rehabilitation services, Daily exercise and health/wellness education

Learn more about SBHG at: https://www.starsinc.com/stars-inc/

What's around it?

In Joshua Tree, CA

Joshua Tree, CA

Living costs about 11% above the US average

Life in Joshua Tree, CA

NeighborhoodsSettling in the Morongo Basin usually means weighing the distinct personalities of communities along California Highway 62. The unincorporated town of Joshua Tree offers a bohemian, creative pocket close to the park's West Entrance, while nearby Yucca Valley provides suburban residential enclaves like Joshua Tree Highlands, Monument Manor, Joshua Cove, and Friendly Hills. Joshua Tree Highlands is an established, quiet hillside neighborhood favored by mature residents and remote workers, while Friendly Hills is widely regarded locally as a top residential choice. Further east, Twentynine Palms serves as a practical, value-oriented hub near military facilities and full healthcare services.

Settling in the Morongo Basin usually means weighing the distinct personalities of communities along California Highway 62. The unincorporated town of Joshua Tree offers a bohemian, creative pocket close to the park's West Entrance, while nearby Yucca Valley provides suburban residential enclaves like Joshua Tree Highlands, Monument Manor, Joshua Cove, and Friendly Hills. Joshua Tree Highlands is an established, quiet hillside neighborhood favored by mature residents and remote workers, while Friendly Hills is widely regarded locally as a top residential choice.

Further east, Twentynine Palms serves as a practical, value-oriented hub near military facilities and full healthcare services.

Sources

As of Oct 8, 2026Source 1: coastline840.com Source 2: ficustree.ai Source 3: reddit.com

Getting aroundThe Morongo Basin is overwhelmingly car-dependent, with California Highway 62 serving as the primary commercial and commuter spine connecting Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree, and Twentynine Palms. Local public transit is sparse, though Morongo Basin Transit offers select fixed bus stops and routes across the corridor. While local commutes within the high desert average around twenty-two minutes, healthcare workers traveling between the basin and lower desert facilities in places like Palm Desert often face drives of roughly an hour to two hours each way. Navigating unpaved desert backroads also requires caution with soft sand, ruts, and unfamiliarity with driving during rare desert rainstorms.

The Morongo Basin is overwhelmingly car-dependent, with California Highway 62 serving as the primary commercial and commuter spine connecting Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree, and Twentynine Palms. Local public transit is sparse, though Morongo Basin Transit offers select fixed bus stops and routes across the corridor.

While local commutes within the high desert average around twenty-two minutes, healthcare workers traveling between the basin and lower desert facilities in places like Palm Desert often face drives of roughly an hour to two hours each way. Navigating unpaved desert backroads also requires caution with soft sand, ruts, and unfamiliarity with driving during rare desert rainstorms.

Sources

As of Oct 8, 2026Source 1: realestate.usnews.com Source 2: ficustree.ai Source 3: quora.com Source 4: youtube.com

OutdoorsOutdoor recreation revolves directly around Joshua Tree National Park, an expansive preserve spanning hundreds of thousands of acres across the Mojave and Colorado desert ecosystems. Residents spend cool mornings scrambling boulders, rock climbing, and tackling scenic trails like the steep summit of Ryan Mountain. Nighttime stargazing is world-class thanks to the park's status as an International Dark Sky Park with minimal light pollution. Campgrounds like Ryan Campground offer immersive wilderness nights, though mid-day summer hiking becomes unsafe when temperatures soar.

Outdoor recreation revolves directly around Joshua Tree National Park, an expansive preserve spanning hundreds of thousands of acres across the Mojave and Colorado desert ecosystems. Residents spend cool mornings scrambling boulders, rock climbing, and tackling scenic trails like the steep summit of Ryan Mountain.

Nighttime stargazing is world-class thanks to the park's status as an International Dark Sky Park with minimal light pollution. Campgrounds like Ryan Campground offer immersive wilderness nights, though mid-day summer hiking becomes unsafe when temperatures soar.

Sources

As of Oct 8, 2026Source 1: nps.gov Source 2: whimsysoul.com Source 3: bontraveler.com Source 4: youtube.com

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Moving for this role?

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Living in Joshua Tree

Relocating to Joshua Tree offers healthcare professionals a complete departure from coastal California bustle, replacing traffic and noise with wide desert horizons, towering boulders, and dark, starry skies. Daily life along the California Highway 62 corridor revolves around distinctive pockets: Yucca Valley's established neighborhoods like Joshua Tree Highlands and Friendly Hills, the arts-forward town of Joshua Tree near the national park's West Entrance, and Twentynine Palms, which houses full municipal amenities and hospital services. Outside work, nurses can hike Ryan Mountain, grab tacos at Red Dog Saloon, or catch outdoor sets at Pappy & Harriet's in Pioneertown. The trade-offs require real intentionality, however. The high desert is car-dependent with minimal public transit, summer temperatures frequently exceed 110 degrees, and many local eateries shutter early in the week. Commutes down into Palm Desert or the Coachella Valley can stretch past an hour. For clinicians drawn to open space, rugged outdoor recreation, and an independent creative community, Joshua Tree delivers an authentic, slow-paced sanctuary.

AI area guide

Sources

As of 2026-05Source 1: coastline840.com Source 2: ficustree.ai Source 3: whimsysoul.com Source 4: quora.com

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