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Home care staff requirements in West Virginia

West Virginia's licensing rules for home care agencies could not be verified yet. What was verified is that home health agencies, hospice providers and personal care service providers must screen direct access workers through the state WV CARES program, which uses registry prescreening and a fingerprint-based state and FBI check. Workers may start on a supervised provisional basis for up to 60 days while the check is pending.

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Background checks

Home health agencies, hospice providers and providers of personal care services are covered providers under the state background check program (W. Va. Code § 16B-15-1).
The background check is a prescreening of registries set by the Inspector General's rule plus a fingerprint-based search of state and federal criminal history records (W. Va. Code § 16B-15-1).
A covered provider may not employ an applicant before the background check process is complete, except for provisional employment (W. Va. Code § 16B-15-3).
An applicant with a negative finding on a required prescreening registry may not be engaged right away, and the employer must tell the applicant about the finding (W. Va. Code § 16B-15-3).
An applicant may work provisionally for up to 60 days while the check is pending if they are under direct on-site supervision and sign a statement that they have no disqualifying offense (W. Va. Code § 16B-15-6).
Fingerprints are kept by the State Police and FBI for a rap back program that reports later criminal history events (W. Va. Code § 16B-15-2; W. Va. Code § 16B-15-1).
A worker must go through prescreening and a background check again between 90 and 60 days before their clearance expires (W. Va. Code § 16B-15-3).
A worker who already has a clean full check does not need new fingerprints to work for the same type of provider if rap back has found nothing disqualifying (W. Va. Code § 16B-15-7).

Common questions

What background checks do home care aides need in West Virginia?

Home health agencies, hospice providers and providers of personal care services are covered providers under the state background check program (W. Va. Code § 16B-15-1).

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

Sources

W. Va. Code Chapter 16B, Article 15 (§§ 16B-15-1 to 16B-15-9), WV CARES background checks (official PDF)

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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