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Home care staff requirements in Connecticut

Connecticut has two tracks: home health care agencies and home health aide agencies follow Department of Public Health rules, while non-medical homemaker-companion agencies register with the Department of Consumer Protection. Health agencies must run a state and national criminal check plus a nurse aide registry review before hiring, and their aides need a 75-hour training and competency program and about 12 hours of in-service a year. Homemaker-companion agencies must run a set comprehensive background check, including sex offender and federal exclusion list checks, before making a job offer.

Licenses

• State law defines home health care agencies (nursing plus at least one other service) and home health aide agencies (RN-supervised supportive services) as separate agency types (Conn. Gen. Stat. 19a-490(d)-(e)).
• Department of Public Health rules set operating standards for home health care agencies and for homemaker-home health aide agencies (Conn. Agencies Regs. 19-13-D66 to 19-13-D92).
• Agencies that provide only non-medical companion or homemaker services must hold a certificate of registration from the Department of Consumer Protection before operating (Conn. Gen. Stat. 20-671).
• Homemaker-companion agency registrations expire every year and must be renewed (Conn. Gen. Stat. 20-677(e)).
• Homemaker-companion agencies that use the word care in ads must state that they solely provide nonmedical care (Conn. Gen. Stat. 20-677(g)).

Background checks

• Home health care agencies, home health aide agencies and hospice agencies must have every worker with direct patient access submit to a background search before an offer of employment or contract (Conn. Gen. Stat. 19a-491c(c)(1)).
• The background search includes a review of the state nurse aide registry, state and national criminal history record checks, and any other registry the Department of Public Health names (Conn. Gen. Stat. 19a-491c(a)(1)).
• An agency does not have to repeat the search if the worker shows a clean search done within the past three years (Conn. Gen. Stat. 19a-491c(c)(2)).
• An agency may hire on a conditional basis for up to 60 days while results are pending, but only with direct on-site supervision and a signed statement from the worker that they have no disqualifying offense (Conn. Gen. Stat. 19a-491c(f)(2)).
• An agency may not employ someone the Department reports as having a disqualifying offense unless the Department grants a waiver (Conn. Gen. Stat. 19a-491c(e)).
• Homemaker-companion agencies must complete a comprehensive background check before offering a job (Conn. Gen. Stat. 20-678(a)).
• The comprehensive check includes an in-person or video interview, Social Security number verification, license verification if needed, a Connecticut sex offender registry check, a national name-based criminal search plus the U.S. Justice Department sex offender website through an accredited screening company, and other states' records if the applicant lived in Connecticut less than three years (Conn. Gen. Stat. 20-670(5)).
• Homemaker-companion agencies may not hire someone listed on the federal OIG exclusion list for a conviction in the past five years, or with certain health care fraud, patient abuse, financial or drug felony convictions in the past five years (Conn. Gen. Stat. 20-678(a)).
• Homemaker-companion applicants must sign a form about past convictions and licensing discipline, and new hires must complete an I-9 (Conn. Gen. Stat. 20-678(b)-(c)).
• Homemaker-companion agencies must keep copies of background check materials for inspection and tell clients about their background check policy in writing (Conn. Gen. Stat. 20-678(d)).

Training and competency

• Home health aides working for a home health care agency must complete a state-approved training and competency evaluation program of at least 75 hours taught in lecture and clinical settings (Conn. Agencies Regs. 19-13-D69(d)(2)).
• The aide curriculum must cover topics such as communication, reporting patient status, vital signs, infection control, emergencies, personal care, safe transfers, range of motion and nutrition (Conn. Agencies Regs. 19-13-D69(d)(2)(A)).
• A homemaker-home health aide is defined as an unlicensed person who has completed a department-approved training and competency evaluation program (Conn. Agencies Regs. 19-13-D66).
• Home health care agencies must provide in-service education averaging at least one hour per month for each employee serving patients, and aides must attend (Conn. Agencies Regs. 19-13-D71(a)(2)).
• Homemaker-home health aide agencies must provide in-service education averaging at least one hour per month for each aide (Conn. Agencies Regs. 19-13-D85(a)(2)).
• Agencies must give each employee an orientation and record the date, content and who gave it in the personnel file (Conn. Agencies Regs. 19-13-D71(a)(1)).
• Homemaker-companion agencies that advertise memory-care training must state the type of training and number of hours each employee received (Conn. Gen. Stat. 20-677(g)).

Health screening

• Home health care agency staff need a physical exam, including a tuberculin test and a statement that they are free from communicable disease, before being assigned to patient care (Conn. Agencies Regs. 19-13-D71(a)(5)).
• Homemaker-home health aide agency staff need the same physical exam with a tuberculin test before patient care (Conn. Agencies Regs. 19-13-D85(a)(5)).

Also in the personnel file

• A registered nurse must assess each patient receiving aide services at least every 60 days, with the visit made while the aide is working in the home (Conn. Agencies Regs. 19-13-D69(a)(3)(J)).
• Personnel records must include education and work history, current license or certification, written performance evaluations, a signed contract or appointment letter, and health exam records (Conn. Agencies Regs. 19-13-D71(b)).
• Agencies must have a written annual performance evaluation policy and position descriptions (Conn. Agencies Regs. 19-13-D71(a)(3)-(4)).
• Since July 1, 2025, homemaker-companion agency employees must wear a photo ID badge with their name at every client visit (Conn. Gen. Stat. 20-686).
• Homemaker-companion agencies must send employee information to the Department of Consumer Protection for the state home care provider registry (Conn. Gen. Stat. 20-685).

Common questions

Some rules for Connecticut weren't confirmed from an official source. Check with the state before relying on this page.

Sources

• Conn. Gen. Stat. ch. 400o, 20-670 to 20-686 (homemaker-companion agencies), cga.ct.gov
• Conn. Gen. Stat. ch. 368v, 19a-490 and 19a-491c (definitions; background search program), cga.ct.gov
• Conn. Agencies Regs. 19-13-D66 (definitions), Cornell LII
• Conn. Agencies Regs. 19-13-D69 (services), Cornell LII
• Conn. Agencies Regs. 19-13-D71 (personnel policies, home health care agencies), Cornell LII
• Conn. Agencies Regs. 19-13-D85 (personnel policies, homemaker-home health aide agencies), Cornell LII

This page summarizes state licensing rules in plain words, with links to the rules themselves. It is not legal advice, rules change, and your license type decides what applies: check the linked source and your licensing agency. Medicare-certified home health agencies also follow 42 CFR 484.80. Checked October 2026.

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