By Jill Scott
This week I came across the article Ohio to bolster checks on home health care workers on www.wdtn.com. Not
only has the state of Ohio received $2.1 million in
federal grant money to use towards background checks for home health
caregivers,
but the state has said that it will also pitch in $700,000 to help boost
access to background information on caregivers to direct-care
providers. This funding means more access to the AG’s fingerprint
database. The electronic system
will allow for faster background checks and immediate notifications of a
caregiver’s arrest or conviction.
Upon further research, a press release from the Governor’s
Office of Health Transformation dated May 15, 2013, stated the following:
Ohio will use the
funds to extend use of the Ohio Attorney General’s Retained Applicant Fingerprint
Database Information Exchange (RAPBACK) system to individuals who are working as
direct-care providers. The electronic system
will make post-hiring background checks timelier and less burdensome, saving
time and money for taxpayers and home-health provider agencies and improving safety
for individuals who receive Medicaid services in their own home or other community-based
setting.
…
The RAPBACK system monitors
and reports post-hiring convictions in real time, allowing offenders with
disqualifying convictions to be removed from their jobs immediately. The three-year
demonstration for home-care workers who are required to obtain background
checks will begin July 1 and will also include:
· Implementation of recently enacted statutory
requirements for uniformity and consistency in background checks;
· training and technical support for appropriate
use of RAPBACK technology;
· the creation of a web-based avenue to access
national and state registries; and
· an ongoing dialogue and partnership between key
state agencies, providers and stakeholder groups regarding additional ways to
ensure consumer safety.
You can read
the entire press release here.
Obviously this is great news for direct-care providers in
Ohio and we can only hope that other states will follow suit, if they haven’t
already.
Providers in Ohio, can you tell us what you have heard about
this funding?
Providers in other states, what are your states doing, if
anything, to help the background check process in your state?
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