Sacramento Bee: California Report slams screening of state's private in-home care workers
A State of California report on lax oversight of in-home health care agencies underscores the need to ensure the home health care agency provider you work with knows how to carefully screen their caregivers. A Sacramento Bee article about the report is reprinted below.
A Family Member HomeCare assigns only certified Home Health Aides, Certified Nurse Assistants, RNs, LPNs, and Companions. All A Family Member HomeCare certified Caregivers must have the appropriate experience to match Client needs. Our proprietary screening processes go far beyond the State of Florida requirements and include: Report slams screening of California private in-home care workers
tvanoot@sacbee.com
Published Friday, Apr. 22, 2011
Lax state oversight of in-home health care agencies is allowing private caregivers with criminal backgrounds to work with the elderly and disabled, according to a Senate report issued Thursday.
A Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes review of Craigslist.org advertisements for in-home caregivers uncovered five confirmed cases in which the individuals offering services had extensive criminal records, including arrests for burglary, narcotics trafficking and prostitution.
It also found that more than 25 percent of caregivers identified in media reports as being convicted or accused of wrongdoing on the job had previous offenses on their records.
"Without criminal background checks, these consumers may unwittingly open their homes and finances to those who have shown a willingness to exploit or harm others," the report says.
California is one of six states that do not regulate private in-home caregivers. While the state now screens workers providing care for the mostly low-income, blind, disabled and elderly Californians enrolled in the In-Home Supportive Services program, a similar screening system does not exist for private providers.
But the public agencies that administer the IHSS program have failed to help consumers conduct criminal background checks on prospective caregivers as a 2008 law intended, the report found. The oversight office called 26 of the 56 public IHSS agencies to seek help checking the background of a prospective caregiver. All 26 refused to help.
Authors of the report, whose office was established by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, issued several recommendations for creating more stringent regulation of the industry.
They include a public awareness campaign to inform consumers of their options for obtaining background reports and establishing standards for agencies that claim to conduct criminal checks of workers.
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
Call Torey Van Oot, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5544.
From the Sacramento Bee
A Family Member HomeCare assigns only certified Home Health Aides, Certified Nurse Assistants, RNs, LPNs, and Companions. All A Family Member HomeCare certified Caregivers must have the appropriate experience to match Client needs. Our proprietary screening processes go far beyond the State of Florida requirements and include: Report slams screening of California private in-home care workers
tvanoot@sacbee.com
Published Friday, Apr. 22, 2011
Lax state oversight of in-home health care agencies is allowing private caregivers with criminal backgrounds to work with the elderly and disabled, according to a Senate report issued Thursday.
A Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes review of Craigslist.org advertisements for in-home caregivers uncovered five confirmed cases in which the individuals offering services had extensive criminal records, including arrests for burglary, narcotics trafficking and prostitution.
It also found that more than 25 percent of caregivers identified in media reports as being convicted or accused of wrongdoing on the job had previous offenses on their records.
"Without criminal background checks, these consumers may unwittingly open their homes and finances to those who have shown a willingness to exploit or harm others," the report says.
California is one of six states that do not regulate private in-home caregivers. While the state now screens workers providing care for the mostly low-income, blind, disabled and elderly Californians enrolled in the In-Home Supportive Services program, a similar screening system does not exist for private providers.
But the public agencies that administer the IHSS program have failed to help consumers conduct criminal background checks on prospective caregivers as a 2008 law intended, the report found. The oversight office called 26 of the 56 public IHSS agencies to seek help checking the background of a prospective caregiver. All 26 refused to help.
Authors of the report, whose office was established by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, issued several recommendations for creating more stringent regulation of the industry.
They include a public awareness campaign to inform consumers of their options for obtaining background reports and establishing standards for agencies that claim to conduct criminal checks of workers.
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
Call Torey Van Oot, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5544.
- Liability coverage to $1,000,000 and theft coverage to $100,000
- Workers' Compensation Protection
- Nationwide Background Screening
- Social Security Number Trace
- Motor Vehicle Report
- Drug Screening
- Written and Clinical Skills Test by RN
- Credentials Check
- Physical Health Screening
- Reference Verification
From the Sacramento Bee
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