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AGING with an Attitude
State Licensing … how it affects you
Dorie Sugay is the Executive Director of Visiting Angels , a company that provides living-assistance services to seniors and adults-in-need who wish to stay in their own home or receive one-on-one care within a facility .
This article is for informational and educational purposes only . It was written independently of Visiting Angels . The names of clients and caregivers were changed to protect their privacy .
In October of 2015 , agencies that provide in-home healthcare were informed by the Department of Social Services that by January 2016 , all had to be licensed to operate and could only hire caregivers who were registered with the State . Here it is a year later and the challenges continue — the whole process has affected many who need nonmedical caregiving services . Let ’ s go through how these new requirements ( and new laws that were passed ) may affect you in the near future , if they haven ’ t already .
THERE IS A SHORTAGE OF CAREGIVERS ! Caregivers who have been working are not necessarily qualified for registration . If your caregiver had to stop working for you , that could be the case . The Department of Social Services either allows someone to work while they go through their process , or they may direct employers to suspend the caregiver from working . Agencies that do not comply face a $ 250 penalty per day that someone who has no authority to work is put to work . Please be reminded that HIPAA and the Privacy Act prevent your agency from divulging the reason a caregiver has to stop working for you .
The Live Scan ( background check ) goes back to age 18 and if a potential caregiver ’ s background triggers a concern , it does not matter how old it is , they have to file an exemption application . Both the Federal Bureau of Investigation ( FBI ) and the Department of Justice ( DOJ ) records are reviewed . Some are approved , some are not . If the exemption application is rejected , there is an appeal process . All this takes time . It seems that caregivers with old infractions have waited from two to six months for a ruling and those with more recent infractions could wait up to a year to receive a decision . Even if records were expunged , the caregiver has to go through this process .
An agency in Pleasanton had a 63-yearold employee who had a misdemeanor when she was 22 years old ( nothing else ) and her application for exemption was rejected . The exemption application of another caregiver in her late 30s with three pages of infractions committed when she was in her early 20s , received an approval in five months . Decisions vary depending on which analyst is handling the case .
There is also a shortage of caregivers that agencies can hire because the Department of Social Services is so inundated with work , and the process is very slow . A small error causes further delay and worse — sometimes it is considered a misrepresentation so the caregiver has to provide an explanation for the error and wait yet again . Sadly , some caregivers end up taking jobs elsewhere rather than wading through this process . If your agency has no fillins when your caregiver falls ill , any of these could be the reasons they do not have someone in the wings ready to jump in .
AGENCIES WERE SLAPPED WITH HUGE UNEXPECTED EXPENSES . Agencies were informed in October , and by January , they had to come up with a license fee that was not in their budget . Furthermore , new laws have also hit agency budgets with requirements to pay caregivers for sick time , travel time and mileage between two different clients . Also providing more paid-training is a hit to the budget . Of course , insurance costs have risen . All these expenses have compelled many agencies to increase cost of services .
State licensure is good for the industry , and protects our seniors . When the process starts to work , the State will have a system that promotes accountability . All caregivers placed by a licensed agency will have gone through a screening process , that involves thorough screening of their background for infractions that could be considered a threat to the safety of our adults-in-need and our seniors . Their social security numbers will be verified , their legal right to drive will be checked , and the State will ensure that registered caregivers have had the state-required TB test . Should a caregiver commit an infraction / crime while registered , the Department of Social Services ( DSS ) will automatically be informed . At this time , independent caregivers are not required to be registered , but there is talk that the DSS will be focusing on them next . If you happen to prefer to work with an independent contractor and you encounter one who has chosen to register independently , that is a big plus ! DO NOT ASSUME that all caregivers who are registered have strong qualifications . The screening does not include qualifying them for their ability to provide good care . This is the State ’ s way to screen out those with backgrounds that present a risk to our seniors and adults-in-need .
82
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN MARCH / APRIL 2017 gmhtoday . com
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AGING
with an
Attitude
State
Licensing …
how it
affects you
Dorie Sugay is the Executive Director
of Visiting Angels, a company that
provides living-assistance services to
seniors and adults-in-need who wish
to stay in their own home or receive
one-on-one care within a facility.
This article is for informational and
educational purposes only. It was
written independently of Visiting
Angels. The names of clients and
caregivers were changed to
protect their privacy.
82
I
n October of 2015, agencies that provide
in-home healthcare were informed by
the Department of Social Services that
by January 2016, all had to be licensed to
operate and could only hire caregivers who
were registered with the State. Here it is a year
later and the challenges continue—the whole
process has affected many who need non-
medical caregiving services. Let’s go through
how these new requirements (and new laws
that were passed) may affect you in the near
future, if they haven’t already.
There is also a shortage of caregivers that
agencies can hire because the Department of
Social Services is so inundated with work, and
the process is very slow. A small error causes
further delay and worse—sometimes it is
considered a misrepresentation so the caregiver
has to provide an explanation for the error
and wait yet again. Sadly, some caregivers end
up taking jobs elsewhere rather than wading
through this process. If your agency has no fill-
ins when your caregiver falls ill, any of these
could be the reasons they do not have some-
one in the wings ready to jump in.
THERE IS A SHORTAGE OF CAREGIVERS!
Caregivers who have been working are not
necessarily qualified for registration. If your
caregiver had to stop working for you, that
could be the case. The Department of Social
Services either allows someone to work while
they go through their process, or they may
direct employers to suspend the caregiver
from working. Agencies that do not comply
face a $250 penalty per day that someone
who has no authority to work is put to
work. Please be reminded that HIPAA and
the Privacy Act prevent your agency from
divulging the reason a caregiver has to stop
working for you.
The Live Scan (background check) goes
back to age 18 and if a potential care-
giver’s background triggers a concern, it
does not matter how old it is, they have
to file an exemption application. Both the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and
the Department of Justice (DOJ) records are
reviewed. Some are approved, some are not.
If the exemption application is rejected, there
is an appeal process. All this takes time. It
seems that caregivers with old infractions have
waited from two to six months for a ruling
and those with more recent infractions could
wait up to a year to receive a decision. Even
if records were expunged, the caregiver has to
go through this process.
An agency in Pleasanton had a 63-year-
old employee who had a misdemeanor when
she was 22 years old (nothing else) and her
application for exemption was rejected. The
exemption application of another caregiver
in her late 30s with three pages of infractions
committed when she was in her early 20s,
received an approval in five months. Decisions
vary depending on which analyst is handling
the case.
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
MARCH/APRIL 2017
AGENCIES WERE SLAPPED WITH HUGE
UNEXPECTED EXPENSES.
Agencies were informed in October, and by
January, they had to come up with a license fee
that was not in their budget. Furthermore, new
laws have also hit agency budgets with require-
ments to pay caregivers for sick time, travel
time and mileage between two different clients.
Also providing more paid-training is a hit to
the budget. Of course, insurance costs have
risen. All these expenses have compelled many
agencies to increase cost of services.
State licensure is good for the industry,
and protects our seniors. When the process
starts to work, the State will have a system t ���)�ɽ��ѕ́����չх�����丁�����ɕ��ٕ�́������)�䁄������͕��������ݥ�����ٔ������ѡɽ՝�)��͍ɕ�������ɽ���̰�ѡ�Ѐ���ٽ�ٕ́ѡ�ɽ՝�)͍ɕ���������ѡ��ȁ�����ɽչ����ȁ���Ʌ�ѥ���)ѡ�Ё��ձ��������ͥ��ɕ����ѡɕ�ЁѼ�ѡ��ͅ����)�����ȁ��ձ�̵��������������ȁ͕����̸�Q����)ͽ�����͕��ɥ�䁹յ���́ݥ������ٕɥ������ѡ���)������ɥ��ЁѼ��ɥٔ�ݥ�������������������ѡ�)Mхє�ݥ�������ɔ�ѡ�Ёɕ���ѕɕ����ɕ��ٕ�́��ٔ)����ѡ���хє�ɕ�եɕ��Q�ѕ�и�M��ձ������ɔ�)��ٕȁ�����Ё������Ʌ�ѥ����ɥ���ݡ����ɕ��̴)ѕɕ���ѡ������ѵ��Ё���M������M��٥��̀�ML�)ݥ�����ѽ��ѥ����䁉������ɵ����Ёѡ�́ѥ���)����������Ё��ɕ��ٕ�́�ɔ���Ёɕ�եɕ��Ѽ���)ɕ���ѕɕ�����Ёѡ�ɔ��́х���ѡ�Ёѡ��ML�ݥ�����)����ͥ������ѡ������и�%���ԁ�������Ѽ��ɕ���)Ѽ�ݽɬ�ݥѠ��������������Ё����Ʌ�ѽȁ���)�ԁ����չѕȁ����ݡ����́���͕��Ѽ�ɕ���ѕ�)����������ѱ䰁ѡ�Ё�́���������̄�<�9=P)MMU5�ѡ�Ё������ɕ��ٕ�́ݡ���ɔ�ɕ���ѕɕ�)��ٔ���ɽ����Յ������ѥ��̸�Q���͍ɕ����������)��Ё����Ց���Յ���她��ѡ�����ȁѡ��ȁ�������Ѽ)�ɽ٥����������ɔ��Q��́�́ѡ��Mхї�é݅�Ѽ)͍ɕ�����Ёѡ�͔�ݥѠ������ɽչ�́ѡ�Ё�ɕ͕��)��ɥͬ�Ѽ���ȁ͕����́������ձ�̵��������)���ѽ��乍�