Resources for Home Care Organizations

Apply for a Home Care Organization License
Find out how to become a licensed Home Care Organization.

Search the Home Care Aide Registry
Check the status of your affiliated home care aides.

Laws and Policies
Find out about the rights and responsibilities of owning a Home Care Organization.

Frequently Asked Questions (Coming Soon)
FAQs are in development and will be updated on a regular basis.

Fact Sheets
Below are various Fact Sheets pertaining to the Home Care Services Program. When additional Fact Sheets are developed, they will be distributed via Provider Information Notices (PINs) and posted below.

• HCSCPA Fact Sheet
• Home Care Services Fact Sheet
• Licensed vs Unlicensed Care Fact Sheet

Termination of the COVID-19 Vaccination and Masking Requirements

Effective April 3, 2023, the State Public Health Officer Order, Adult Care Facilities and Direct Care Worker Vaccine Requirement was terminated. As a result, there is no longer a COVID-19 vaccination and booster requirement for Covered Workers, which includes but not limited to Registered Home Care Aides (HCAs) and Home Care Organization (HCO) staff with direct contact with clients or prospective clients at HCOs. Licensees are no longer required to maintain records for COVID-19 vaccination or exemption status of Registered HCAs and HCO staff with direct contact with clients or prospective clients. Registered Independent HCAs are no longer required to maintain records of their COVID-19 vaccination or exemption status.

The California Department of Social Services continues to encourage all Registered HCAs and HCO staff with direct contact with clients or prospective clients to stay updated with COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters, as this remains the most important strategy to prevent serious illness and death from COVID-19.

Effective May 11, 2023, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH)  sunset its Guidance for the Use of Face Masks. CDPH provides updated masking recommendations in Get the Most out of Masking. As the risk for transmission increases in the community, wearing a mask will be an important consideration for individuals at a higher risk of getting very sick from COVID-19. For additional information, see the CDPH Face Coverings Questions & Answers.

Receive Important Updates

If you wish to receive updates from the Department concerning topics such as Provider Information Notices (PINs), webinars, program updates, and more, click the following links to sign up for Home Care Organization updates, Home Care Aide updates, or both.

Transfers

You may transfer a registered home care aide to a new organization by submitting the following forms. Be sure to include a copy of the individual's photo I.D. If you are transferring a registered home care aide that has been granted an exemption through the Care Provider Management Branch, see the table below for information on transferring the exemption.

If a home care aide has a current:

Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Spending Plan

California's HCBS Spending Plan provides $3 billion in enhanced federal funding to support initiatives that enhance, expand, and strengthen Medi-Cal's HCBS services. The CMS approval of the state's proposal will support services provided by six state departments. On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Section 9817 of ARPA provides qualifying states with a temporary 10 percentage point increase to the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for certain Medicaid expenditures for HCBS from April 1, 2021 through March 31, 2022.

States must use the federal funds attributable to the increased FMAP to supplement, not supplant, existing state funds expended for Medicaid HCBS in effect as of April 1, 2021. In addition, states must use state funds equivalent to the amount of federal funds attributable to the increased FMAP to implement or supplement the implementation of one or more activities to enhance, expand, or strengthen HCBS under the Medicaid program by March 31, 2024.

As submitted to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on July 12, 2021, and updated on October 27, 2021, California's initial HCBS Spending Plan and initial HCBS Spending Plan Narrative involve several the state departments, and total approximately $3B in enhanced federal funding for the following categories of services:

• Workforce: Retaining and Building a Network of HCBS Direct Care Workers
• HCBS Navigation
• HCBS Transitions
• Services: Enhancing HCBS Capacity and Models of Care
• HCBS Infrastructure and Support

Supplemental Resources:
CMS HCBS Conditional Approval Letter – January 4, 2022

Stakeholder Meetings

The Department will be hosting stakeholder meetings. These meetings are to provide updates on the implementation process, seek input, answer questions, and discuss next steps related to the law. If you are looking to join our stakeholder meetings, send an email to HCSB@dss.ca.gov to be included in upcoming email distributions.

Meeting materials will be posted after each meeting date concludes.

Items of Interest

• Health and Safety Information

To file a complaint of professional misconduct by a CCLD employee, please refer to the CCLD Ethics Helpline.