Tough background checks for Washington care workers

legislation to kick into gear in 2012. The law imposes stricter background checks on newly hired care home workers, and was overwhelmingly approved by voters back in November. Washington long has done state-level background checks for long-term-care workers it oversees, and it has checked workers’ names against abuse registries. DSHS also has done fingerprint and FBI criminal-history checks for paid caregivers who have lived in the state for less than three consecutive years. The new law would require the background check to move from state-level to national-level, providing a tighter net to ensure a safer environment. The new law is expected to cost the state about $18 million over the next year and a half, including payment of training costs and time for home-care workers who provide care under the Medicaid program for low-income and disabled people. Furthermore, the law now requires better training for those coming into the field. The Department of Social and Health Services is not expecting a huge influx of applicants seeking the extra training at the start of the year, because most of the state’s more than 40,000 home-care workers who serve Medicaid clients already were trained under the old 35-hour standard and are exempt from the new rules, officials said. This is a great start to the year for background screening and may indicate that states are taking the right steps to protecting our most vulnerable citizens.]]>