Compliance guides and checklists for home health, hospice and behavioral health agencies

Documentation of at least 40 hours of training in the listed subject areas or passage of the AHCA competency test, with an in-person skills demonstration, before the aide provides services (Fla. Admin. Code R. 59A-8.0095(5)(c)); where the training came from another institution, school or agency, your own validation of the aide's competency (Fla. Admin. Code R. 59A-8.0095(5)(j)); the Level 2 eligibility result and signed attestation (Fla. Admin. Code R. 59A-35.090(3)(c)); the one-time HIV and AIDS course within 30 days of employment (Fla. Admin. Code R. 59A-8.0095(5)(r)); and current CPR certification plus in-service training each calendar year (Fla. Admin. Code R. 59A-8.0095(5)(k)). A Medicare-certified agency also holds the federal 75-hour training record and an RN competency evaluation (42 CFR 484.80(b), (c)). The full list, item by item, is in the Florida home health personnel file guide.

Licensed home health agencies are surveyed prior to initial licensure and at least every 36.9 months on an unannounced basis thereafter (Fla. Admin. Code R. 59A-8.003(2)(a)), not on the generic biennial cycle in s. 408.811(1)(b), F.S. Between surveys AHCA may request a certified report of a named person's services for a period up to two years back (s. 400.497(5)(b), F.S.), so per-staff service records need to be retrievable on short notice. See how AHCA reviews files.

Yes. An AHCA licensee must have each screened person rescreened every 5 years following licensure, employment or entry into a contract (s. 408.809(2), F.S.). A DCF licensee rescreens within five years from the date of the last screening results and every five years thereafter (Fla. Admin. Code R. 65D-30.004(4)(b)3.). AHCA administers its side from a different date, the retained prints expiration date on the Clearinghouse person profile, which it says can differ from the eligibility determination date by as much as 5 years (AHCA, Clearinghouse Renewals FAQ 9). A Clearinghouse Renewal may be initiated starting 60 days before that date; once the prints are purged there is no grace period and a whole new screening is required (AHCA, Clearinghouse Renewals and FAQ 3). Track every date that applies to you and act on the earliest. The Level 2 rescreening guide names all four clocks.

No federal statute or regulation sets a frequency. OIG's 2013 Updated Special Advisory Bulletin states at page 15 that providers are not required by statute or regulation to check the LEIE, and that providers may decide how frequently to check it; monthly is OIG's recommendation because it republishes the LEIE monthly. What is mandatory is the payment bar: no federal health care program payment may be made for items or services furnished by an excluded person (42 C.F.R. 1001.1901(b)(1)), and OIG may impose a civil money penalty on a provider that arranges or contracts with a person it knows or should know is excluded (42 C.F.R. 1003.200(b)(4)). If you bill Florida Medicaid, paragraph 5(r) of the December 2023 provider agreement forms makes a monthly search of the LEIE, SAM and AHCA's final order database a contract term. The OIG exclusion screening guide covers the roster, the three lists and the file.

Florida's home health personnel rule, Fla. Admin. Code R. 59A-8.0095, states no retention period, and Chapter 65D-30 sets none for personnel records either (its seven-year period at 65D-30.0041(2) applies to clinical records). Retention comes from other sources: bloodborne pathogens training records for 3 years from the training date (29 CFR 1910.1030(h)(2)(ii)); Form I-9 for 3 years after hire or 1 year after termination, whichever is later (8 CFR 274a.2(b)(2)(i)(A)); Florida eligibility documentation and E-Verify verification for at least 3 years (s. 448.095(2)(d), F.S.); and inspection reports for at least 3 years (s. 408.811(6)(a), F.S.). No federal rule sets a period for exclusion screening records; the OIG guide explains why we recommend six years. See retention, storage and organization and the OIG guide.

Not under Chapter 397 alone. Level 2 screening under Chapter 397 is role-scoped. Section 397.4073(1)(a), F.S. reaches owners, directors, chief financial officers and clinical supervisors; personnel with direct contact with children or with developmentally disabled adults; and peer specialists, who are screened under the separate s. 397.417(4) standard. Rule 65D-30.0034(2) separately requires level 2 screening of all owners, and managing entity contracts, payer agreements and accreditation standards commonly require it more widely. Rule 65D-30.004(4)(a) still requires records on all personnel and names seven contents for each file. Who is screened, and what the file holds for everyone else, is in the Florida DCF 65D-30 personnel guide.

Residential programs are governed by N.J.A.C. 8:111, not N.J.A.C. 10:161A: the residential chapter was readopted effective November 10, 2021 and recodified as 8:111 effective December 20, 2021. Outpatient programs are governed by N.J.A.C. 8:43K; the old outpatient chapter, N.J.A.C. 10:161B, was repealed effective April 6, 2026. The licensing agency is the New Jersey Department of Health. Residential (8:111) requires a fingerprint-supported State criminal history check for every staff member, student intern and volunteer; outpatient (8:43K) requires a written criminal history policy (N.J.A.C. 8:43K-4.11(a)7i) but does not mandate fingerprints. The New Jersey SUD personnel guide sets out both file lists.

For deemed status, the Medicare Conditions of Participation first: aide training, a competency evaluation before the first visit, at least 12 hours of in-service training in each 12-month period and an annual on-site observation of each aide (42 CFR 484.80; 418.76), discipline qualifications (42 CFR 484.115; 418.114), emergency preparedness training at least every 2 years (42 CFR 484.102(d); 418.113(d)) and, for hospices, criminal background checks (42 CFR 418.114(d)). Each accreditor adds its own standards on top; ACHC's free personnel file checklist adds items such as TB screening, a signed job description, an annual performance evaluation and annual competency assessment. The home health and hospice personnel file audit checklist sets out every row with its citation.

Texas licenses home health, hospice and personal assistance services as home and community support services agencies (HCSSAs). Each employee and volunteer record needs a signed job description, the application or volunteer agreement, verification of license, permits, references, job experience and education, evaluations and disciplinary actions, and a signed policy statement for direct care staff (26 TAC §558.246(a)). Unlicensed staff with client contact also need a Texas DPS criminal history check before any client contact (HSC §250.003(a-2)) and registry searches before hire and at least every 12 months (26 TAC §558.247(a)(5)(B)); since July 23, 2026 the registry rule requires a SEMARC check plus a Nurse Aide Registry search (26 TAC §561.3). The Texas HCSSA personnel file guide covers aides, hospice, attendants, administrators and the 2026 rule proposal.

CARF's personnel standards are in Section 1.I, Workforce Development and Management, of its Behavioral Health Standards Manual, which CARF sells; the 2026 edition covers surveys conducted between July 1, 2026 and June 30, 2027. CARF's own survey report lists the key areas of 1.I as composition of workforce, ongoing workforce planning, verification of backgrounds, credentials and fitness for duty, workforce engagement and development, performance appraisals, and succession planning, and 1.H adds competency-based training on health and safety procedures. Federal law sits underneath: an opioid treatment program must be accredited by an approved body to be certified (42 CFR 8.11(a)(2)), and a Medicaid psychiatric residential treatment facility must document restraint and seclusion training in the staff personnel records (42 CFR 483.376(g)). The CARF behavioral health personnel file guide sets out what CARF publishes, the federal and state rules, and a cited checklist.