Home › Home care staff requirements › Illinois

Home care staff requirements in Illinois

Illinois licenses home health, home nursing and home services agencies, plus home nursing and home services placement agencies, through the Illinois Department of Public Health. Every direct-care worker must clear the Health Care Worker Registry and a fingerprint-based background check, and conditional work for up to three months is allowed with supervision. Home services workers need 10 hours of training (5 before their first assignment) and 10 hours every year after that.

Licenses

• A license from the Illinois Department of Public Health is required to run a home health agency, home services agency or home nursing agency (77 Ill. Adm. Code 245.80(a)-(c)).
• Home services means non-medical help with daily living, housekeeping, laundry and companionship in the client's home (77 Ill. Adm. Code 245.40(c)(1)).
• The rule also covers home nursing placement agencies and home services placement agencies (77 Ill. Adm. Code 245.212; 245.214).
• Each franchise location must hold its own license (77 Ill. Adm. Code 245.80(d)(3)).

Background checks

• Agencies must follow the Health Care Worker Background Check Act and its rules (77 Ill. Adm. Code 245.72).
• Before hiring, the employer must check the Health Care Worker Registry to see whether the person already has a fingerprint check on file and is active (77 Ill. Adm. Code 955.165(a)).
• If the person has no prior check or is not active on the registry, the employer must start a fingerprint-based criminal history check (77 Ill. Adm. Code 955.165(b)).
• The worker must be fingerprinted by a livescan vendor within 10 working days after signing the authorization form (77 Ill. Adm. Code 955.165(i)).
• Employers must also search the Illinois and national sex offender registries, IDOC inmate and fugitive searches, and the HHS OIG exclusion list (77 Ill. Adm. Code 955.165(c)).
• Employers may not hire direct-care staff with a registry finding of abuse, neglect, misappropriation or theft, or a substantiated finding on the Adult Protective Services registry (77 Ill. Adm. Code 955.150(c), (d)).
• An employer may conditionally employ an applicant for up to three months while the fingerprint check is pending, with adequate supervision (77 Ill. Adm. Code 955.165(l)).
• No new fingerprint check is needed as long as the worker stays active on the registry (77 Ill. Adm. Code 955.165(a)(1)(A)).
• Employers must verify employment and update each worker's information in the registry at least once a year and report hire and separation dates within 30 days (77 Ill. Adm. Code 955.145(a)).
• Home health and home nursing agencies must check the registry for abuse, neglect or misappropriation findings before employing a home health aide (77 Ill. Adm. Code 245.70(f)).

Training and competency

• Home services agencies must provide at least 10 hours of training to each home services worker: 5 hours before the first assignment and 5 more within the first 30 days (77 Ill. Adm. Code 245.71(c)).
• Home services workers must pass an agency competency evaluation on the first 5 hours before their first assignment, and be tested again after the second 5 hours (77 Ill. Adm. Code 245.71(c)).
• Home services placement agencies must require proof of at least 8 hours of training before the worker's first assignment (77 Ill. Adm. Code 245.71(b)).
• Home services training must cover set topics, including dementia, abuse and neglect prevention and reporting, infection control, personal care tasks and emergencies including basic first aid (77 Ill. Adm. Code 245.71(e)).
• Home services workers must complete at least 10 hours of training each year of employment, and the first 10 hours count for year one (77 Ill. Adm. Code 245.71(f)).
• Home health aides at home health and home nursing agencies must be on the Health Care Worker Registry, finish an approved CNA-type training program, or meet a listed equivalency (77 Ill. Adm. Code 245.70(a), (b)).
• An RN must do a competency evaluation of home health aides covering 16 listed subjects, including dementia care and skin changes (77 Ill. Adm. Code 245.70(e)).
• All training must be documented with the date, time on each topic, instructor and qualifications, a short content description, and the worker's signature or dated electronic certificate (77 Ill. Adm. Code 245.71(i)).

Health screening

• Agencies must have infection control policies that follow CDC guidelines, and home health agencies must give staff infection control education (77 Ill. Adm. Code 245.75(a)-(c)).

Also in the personnel file

• The employee file must show the home services worker has no disqualifying background check without a waiver, plus a copy of the Social Security card and proof of work eligibility (77 Ill. Adm. Code 245.71(a)).
• A home services supervisor must visit on site at least every 90 days and observe each worker giving care at least once a year (77 Ill. Adm. Code 245.40(c)(6)(B)).
• For home health agencies, the supervising RN or therapist must make a supervisory visit at least every two weeks (77 Ill. Adm. Code 245.40(b)(3)).
• For home nursing agencies, the supervising RN must make a supervisory visit at least every 60 days (77 Ill. Adm. Code 245.40(b)(4)).
• Home services workers who apply simple bandages as first aid must have lay first aid training and an agency competency check (77 Ill. Adm. Code 245.40(c)(4)(A)).
• Employers must keep criminal records request files for 5 years, and keep authorization forms, livescan forms and results for the length of employment (77 Ill. Adm. Code 955.220(a)).
• The employee file must hold a registry screen print and a screen print showing the required web searches were done (77 Ill. Adm. Code 955.220(b), (c)).
• Agencies must provide orientation for new staff and regular in-service education, and hire according to job descriptions (77 Ill. Adm. Code 245.40(a)).

Common questions

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

Sources

• 77 Ill. Adm. Code 245, Home Health, Home Services, and Home Nursing Agency Code (ilga.gov JCAR)
• 77 Ill. Adm. Code 955, Health Care Worker Background Check Code (ilga.gov JCAR)

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.

More for Illinois

Illinois background check laws · Illinois drug testing laws · Medicare home health aide rules · All states

Nearby states

Iowa home care staff requirements · Indiana home care staff requirements · Kentucky home care staff requirements · Missouri home care staff requirements · Wisconsin home care staff requirements