BILL NUMBER: S5605

SPONSOR: RIVERA
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the public health law, in relation to
including the record of completion of annually required in-service
education in the state home care worker registry

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

Allows an individual's annual in-service training and hours to be
submitted for inclusion in the Home Care Worker Registry by the home
care services entity conducting the in-service for the worker.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends subdivision 3 of section 3613 by allowing the record of
each in-service training and hours completed by the worker to be entered
into the Home Care Worker Registry by the home care services entity
conducting the in-service for the worker.

Section 2 establishes the effective date.
              

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Many aides work for more than one agency and it is very difficult to
track the amount of in-service training hours they have satisfied when
each agency provides such training. Requiring that home care providers
update the registry with in-service training hours will ensure that
there is a record of the number of hours of in-service training courses
each aide has taken; ensure that aides take the required amount (6 hours
for PCAs and 12 hours for HHAs) and required topics on an annual basis;
allow agencies to correctly track how aides are fulfilling these
requirements; save agencies time and resources as they will not have to
verify such training with their aides' current and/or past employers;
and avoid duplication that results when agencies provide similar train-
ing to aides who work for more than one agency because they cannot veri-
fy their satisfaction of the in-service requirements.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
January 1 after the bill becomes law.