California joins several other states, such as Illinois, New Jersey, Washington and Florida to create specific laws to regulate senior caregiver training and the background check process for professional senior caregivers. California’s law, titled the “Home Care Services Consumer Protection Act of 2013” was officially signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown in October of 2013 and enforcement of some of the specifics of the law, such as caregiver training, begins in January of 2016.
Senior care companies needing digital training to meet this requirement may contact Caregiverlist at 312-669-8821 for information and a custom digital training resource.
California Assembly Bill 1217 Requires:
- Licenses Customized for Home Care Organizations as Businesses
- New Home Care Aide Registry to List all Professional Caregivers Working as Home Care Aide
- Home Care Aides Must Renew Registration Every 2 Years
The new guidelines mandated by California’s 1217 bill has been named the “Home Care Services Consumer Protection Act”.
The California State Department of Social Services will administer and enforce the requirements and this is why the legislation delays enforcement until January of 2016, in order to build the bureaucracy around it.
California senior home care agencies will now have their business license a bit more customized for senior home care, by requiring:
- General and Professional Liability Insurance in the amount of at least $1 million dollars per occurrence and $3 million dollars in the aggregate
- Worker’s Compensation Insurance
- List of Registered Home Care Aide Workers and Validation Aides
- Initial License Fee for 24-Months (2 Years) for a New Home Care Services Company
- 2-Year Renewal Fee based on Number of Full-Time Employees (FTE’s)
- TB Test for Home Care Aides within 7 Days After Employment and then Every 2 Years
- 5 Hours of Entry-Level Training for Newly Employed Senior Home Care Aides
- 5 Hours of Annual Training for Employed Home Care Aides
The California Home Care Services Consumer Protection Act identifies the specific caregiver training required for senior home care aides in section 1796.44 of the legislation under Article 8 titled Affiliated Home Care Aides.
As 10,000 Americans turn age 65 each day, and life expectancy continues to climb upwards, senior care professionals have predicted that more seniors will prefer to age-in-place in their own home or in the home of an adult child. Hospitals have also indicated that they believe that within the next decade, much of their care will be monitored in the home using technology to monitor vital signs and performing an equivalent of a Skype video call to allow the nurses and doctors to engage with the patient and daily intervals.
California’s senior caregiver training law will most likely be joined by additional states soon. The caregiver training and caregiver registry are the most valuable aspects of this legislation for seniors as most all senior home care agencies already followed the majority of the guidelines this new law requires.
The California Senior Caregiver will also now be called a Home Care Aide and this designation can be slightly different and called a “personal care aide” or “certified caregiver” as well.
Caregivers working in California most likely have already been trained in the skills mandated by Assembly Bill Number 1217. However, these caregivers will need to now have annual training consisting of 5 hours to show they are maintaining these skills.
Annual California caregiver training must relate to core competencies outlined by the legislation as:
- Clients’ Rights and Safety
- How to Provide for and Respond to a Client’s Daily Living Needs
- How to Report, Prevent and Detect Abuse and Neglect
- How to Assist a Client with Personal Hygiene and other Home Care Services
- How to Safely Transport a Client (if Transportation is Required)
This caregiver training may be completed through an online program. The Caregiver Training University Basic Caregiver Training does provide training meeting the California home care aide training requirements. Senior care companies in California can also subscribe to the senior home care agency caregiver training portal to easily train their caregiving staff and provide easy-to-use reporting. As more senior caregivers are already needed, anyone interested in working as a professional caregiver may take the online home care aide training course and apply for a caregiving job to be considered by professional senior care companies in their area who are always hiring. Need easy-to-administer professional caregiver training? Email susan@caregiverlist.com or call Caregiverlist at 312-669-8821.
