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Home care staff requirements in Nebraska

Nebraska licenses home health agencies through the Department of Health and Human Services, and home health aides need 75 hours of training (or an approved alternative) plus four one-hour in-service programs a year. Non-medical in-home personal services agencies are not licensed health care services, but state law still sets worker qualifications, registry rules and criminal and driving record checks. Licensed home health agencies must run pre-employment criminal and four registry checks and screen staff health before client contact.

Licenses

• Nebraska licenses home health agencies under the Health Care Facility Licensure Act (175 NAC 14-001).
• A home health agency is an entity that provides skilled nursing or at least one other therapeutic service in a person's home (Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-417).
• An in-home personal services agency, which provides non-medical attendant, companion and homemaker services, is not a licensed health care service (Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-415; Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-6501).
• The Department of Health and Human Services sets the procedures agencies use to verify home health aide qualifications (Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-6602; Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-6606).

Background checks

• A licensed home health agency must complete a pre-employment criminal background check on each direct care staff member through a government law enforcement agency or a private background company (175 NAC 14-010.04(A)(i)).
• A licensed home health agency must complete pre-employment checks of the Nebraska Nurse Aide Registry, Adult Protective Services Central Registry, Central Registry of Child Protection Cases, and Sex Offender Registry for each direct care staff member (175 NAC 14-010.04(A)(ii)).
• A home health agency cannot employ anyone with adverse findings on the Sex Offender Registry or the Nurse Aide Registry (175 NAC 14-010.04(A)(iv)).
• The agency decides whether work can start before results come back, and must document the reason for hiring anyone with a criminal record or other adverse registry finding (175 NAC 14-010.04(A)(iii)).
• A home health aide must not have a conviction punishable by more than one year in prison that relates to fitness to work as an aide (Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-6603).
• An in-home personal services agency must run a criminal history check on each worker, and a driving record check when the worker drives as part of the job, and keep proof on file (Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-6503).
• In-home personal services workers must have no adverse findings on the Adult Protective Services Central Registry, child abuse central registry, Medication Aide Registry, Nurse Aide Registry, or sex offender registry (Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-6502).

Training and competency

• A home health aide must complete a training course of at least 75 hours, with at least 16 hours of supervised practical training after at least 16 hours of classroom training, or meet another listed qualification such as an approved nurse aide course plus competency evaluation (Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-6603; Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-6608.01).
• The aide course must cover topics including communication, vital signs, infection control, emergencies, personal hygiene, safe transfers, range of motion, and nutrition (Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-6608.01).
• A registered nurse must verify each home health aide's competency through observation and a written or oral exam before the aide works in a client's home (175 NAC 14-010.04(G)(vi)).
• Home health agencies must provide or make available four one-hour in-service programs per year to home health aides (Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-6606).
• A home health aide who has not worked as an aide for three years must repeat the 75-hour training course (175 NAC 14-010.04(G)(i)).
• All new home health agency staff must get orientation covering job duties, organization, consumer rights, care and personnel policies, and abuse reporting (175 NAC 14-010.04(C)).
• In-home personal services workers must have training sufficient for the level of services offered (Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-6502).

Health screening

• A home health agency must complete a health screening for each staff member before the person has contact with or provides care to any consumer (175 NAC 14-010.04(A)(v)).

Also in the personnel file

• Each home health agency employment record must include the job title and duties, any required license or certification, performance evaluations within 6 months of hire and yearly after, the health screening, and all training (175 NAC 14-010.04(B)).
• Home health aides must be supervised by a Nebraska-licensed registered nurse (Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-6607).
• For aides giving personal care, supervision must include an onsite visit to each patient every 62 days and an onsite visit to watch each aide give care every six months (Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-6607).
• For aides giving basic therapeutic care, the nurse must make an onsite visit to each patient at least every two weeks (Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-6607).
• Home health aides and in-home personal services workers must be at least 18 years old (Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-6603; Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-6502).

Common questions

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

Sources

• 175 NAC 14-001, Scope and Authority (Cornell LII)
• 175 NAC 14-010, Standards of Operation, Care, and Treatment (Cornell LII)
• Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-415 (Nebraska Legislature)
• Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-417 (Nebraska Legislature)
• Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-6501 (Nebraska Legislature)
• Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-6502 (Nebraska Legislature)
• Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-6503 (Nebraska Legislature)
• Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-6602 (Nebraska Legislature)
• Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-6603 (Nebraska Legislature)
• Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-6606 (Nebraska Legislature)
• Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-6607 (Nebraska Legislature)
• Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-6608.01 (Nebraska Legislature)

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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