The implementation date of the Home Care Services Consumer Protection Act has finally arrived. The act, which was passed in 2013, requires Home Care Organizations to be licensed within the Department of Social Services (CDSS) and creates a public online registry for Home Care Aides who have been background checked. This implementation went into effect on January 1, 2016. The law is intended to promote consumer protection for elderly and disabled individuals who hire private aides to come into their homes and provide assistance with activities of daily living.
Home care services are non-medical services and assistance provided by a registered Health Care Aid to a client who, because of advanced age or physical or mental disability cannot perform these services. These services enable a person to remain in his or her home and include but are not limited to assistance with the following:
- bathing
- dressing
- feeding
- exercising
- personal hygiene and grooming
- transferring
- ambulating
- positioning
- toileting and incontinence care
- housekeeping
- assisting with medication that the client self-administers
- meal planning and preparation
- laundry
- transportation
- correspondence
- making telephone calls
- shopping for personal care items or groceries
- companionship
A Home Care Aid who is employed by a Home Care Organization to provide home care services to a client and must be listed on the Home Care Aide Registry and are subject to a criminal background check, tuberculosis screening and training. The registration process can be conducted online here. Or, printable PDF of the CDSS LIC 408 form can be found here.
All convictions other than minor traffic violations, including misdemeanors, felonies and convictions that occurred a long time ago require an exemption. Simply defined, an exemption is a CDSS authorized written document that “exempts” the individual from the requirement of having a criminal record clearance. However, individuals convicted of serious crimes such as robbery, sexual battery, child abuse, elder or dependent adult abuse, rape, arson or kidnapping are not eligible for an exemption. In addition, CDSS examines arrest records to determine if there is possible danger to clients.