Ohio instituted new regulations on January 1, 2013 that make criminal background checks more frequent, detailed, and uniform among the thousands of workers who provide home and community based care. The goal is meant to strengthen background checks and develop consistent standards across state agencies.
One of the biggest changes to occur is the mandate that employees undergo a new criminal background check every five years. Also, these rechecks will be more extensive than before, and include more database searches, such as registries that list sex offenders, inmates, and abusive caregivers. Eric Poklar, a spokesman for Gov. John Kasich’s Office of Health Transformation, stated “the overall changes make progress without making it too difficult, or improbable, for appropriate people with past convictions to be able to work.”
According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are more than 93,000 home-care workers in Ohio.
Here is a link to a story on the subject:
Background Checks Expand for Home-Health Workers