To assure an adequate supply of licensed psychiatric technicians for state hospitals for the developmentally disabled, the State Department of Developmental Services, to the extent necessary, shall establish in state hospitals for the developmentally disabled a course of study and training equivalent, as determined by the Board of Vocational Nurse and Psychiatric Technician Examiners, to the minimum requirements of an accredited program for psychiatric technicians in the state. No unlicensed psychiatric technician trainee shall be permitted to perform the duties of a licensed psychiatric technician as provided by Section 4502 of the Business and Professions Code unless such trainee performs such duties pursuant to a plan of supervision approved by the Board of Vocational Nurse and Psychiatric Technician Examiners as part of the equivalency trainee program. This section shall not be construed to reduce the effort presently expended by the community college system or private colleges in training psychiatric technicians.
(Added by Stats. 1978, Ch. 429.)