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WASHINGTON · CARE PROGRAM

Home Care Agencies (in-home personal care)

DOH-licensed home care agencies (chapter 246-335 WAC, Part 2): long-term care workers through DSHS's BCCU, other personnel, contractors and volunteers through WSP. Medicaid-contracted agencies also follow chapter 388-71 WAC.

HOME CARE · ON FILE
Registries named
7
Required
3
Expected
4
Screened by ezOIG
4 of 7
Rules checked
October 16, 2026

Required checks

Named by a regulation, a statute or the state's Medicaid agency

  1. DSHS background check (Background Check Central Unit)

    Department of Social and Health Services, Background Check Central Unit

    NOT SCREENED YET Requires an employer account
    WHEN
    AT HIRE Before working with a client, with an FBI fingerprint check at hire; Medicaid-contracted agencies repeat the name and date of birth check every two years
    BASIS
    RCW 74.39A.056(1), (2)(a); WAC 388-71-0511, 388-71-0513

    All long-term care workers shall be screened through state and federal background checks in a uniform and timely manner to verify that they do not have a history that would disqualify them from working with vulnerable persons. The department must process background checks for long-term care workers

    Read the source app.leg.wa.gov

  2. Washington Access to Criminal History (WATCH)

    Washington State Patrol, Identification and Background Check Section

    NOT SCREENED YET Paid access
    WHEN
    AT HIRE Before direct contact, renewed within two years of the previous check
    BASIS
    WAC 246-335-425(6), 246-335-430; RCW 43.43.830 to 43.43.842

    (a) Criminal history background checks must be processed through the Washington state patrol (WSP); (b) Disclosure statements must be approved by the department; and (c) All criminal history background checks and disclosure statements required under this chapter must be renewed within two years from the date of the previous check;

    Read the source app.leg.wa.gov

  3. Provider Credential Search

    Washington State Department of Health

    SCREENED BY EZOIG License verification
    WHEN
    AT HIRE Before hiring, home care aide certification or the exempting credential (NA-C, LPN, RN)
    BASIS
    WAC 388-71-0971(1)(a), (2)(a)(i); WAC 388-71-0975; WAC 246-335-425(5)

    (1) When the individual is a home care aide certified under chapter 18.88B RCW, the home care agency or CDE must: (a) Verify that the individual's home care aide certification is current and in good standing; and

    Read the source app.leg.wa.gov

Expected checks

Standard practice, or implied by a provider's enrollment duties; no rule names them outright

  1. List of Excluded Individuals/Entities

    HHS Office of Inspector General

    SCREENED BY EZOIG Federal exclusion check against the HHS-OIG list
    WHEN
    MONTHLY At hire and monthly
    BASIS
    CMS State Medicaid Director Letter #09-001; no Washington rule found for DSHS-contracted home care agencies (WAC 182-502-0016 binds HCA enrollees)

  2. Provider Termination and Exclusion List

    Washington State Health Care Authority and Department of Social and Health Services

    SCREENED BY EZOIG State Medicaid exclusion list check
    WHEN
    MONTHLY At hire and monthly
    BASIS
    Standard practice for DSHS-contracted providers; the DSHS social services listing covers terminated social service providers

  3. Washington State Registered Sex and Kidnapping Offender website

    Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs

    NOT SCREENED YET The registry blocks automated access
    WHEN
    AT HIRE At hire
    BASIS
    Implied by WAC 388-113-0030(4): registered sex offender status automatically disqualifies in-home long-term care workers

  4. SAM.gov exclusions

    General Services Administration

    SCREENED BY EZOIG Federal exclusion check against SAM.gov
    WHEN
    MONTHLY At hire and monthly
    BASIS
    Standard practice for Medicaid providers; no Washington rule names it

Also required

Not registry lookups; ezOIG doesn't run these
  • FBI fingerprint-based check through BCCU at initial hire, and again after living outside Washington (RCW 74.39A.056(1)(b)-(c); WAC 388-71-0511(3))
  • Disclosure statement approved by the Department of Health (WAC 246-335-425(6)(b))
  • Character, competence and suitability determination (WAC 246-335-425(7); WAC 388-113-0050)
  • Long-term care worker training and home care aide certification (WAC 388-71-0523, 388-71-0975; chapter 246-980 WAC)
  • Tuberculosis risk assessment at hire and annually (WAC 246-335-425(12)(c))

Why some registries are not screened yet

The registry blocks automated access
The registry's website turns away automated lookups. We don't work around that, so for now your staff search it themselves.
Requires an employer account
Searches go through the employer's own account with the agency, so ezOIG doesn't run them for you.
Paid access
The agency charges for access, and ezOIG doesn't include it yet.

Guidance, not legal advice

This page summarizes ezOIG's research into Washington's rules for this program, checked against the regulations as of October 16, 2026. Rules change, and an agency's own contract or license can add to them. Confirm what applies to you with Washington State Health Care Authority (Apple Health) or your own counsel before relying on it.

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