TUCSON, Ariz. – Starting with the new year, Arizona’s licensed caregivers must make sure their employees are not on the Adult Protective Services database.
What sounds like something that should already be common practice could also help the hiring process. “There is some pressure on some employers to hire whoever they can get,” said Kevin Mullis, a placement specialist with Mullis Senior Placement.
Mullis finds senior living services for those who need it, and he recognizes the importance of a new law requiring employers to make sure they do not hire people on the registry since abusing, neglecting, or exploiting vulnerable adults is what got them there.
“I generally am in favor of fewer laws rather than more laws, less bureaucracy, but, some laws are necessary,” Mullis said. “I started in group homes and so, even though I do private in-home care it has always been part of my workflow, just kind of, when I was a hiring manager, just used to doing it and it’s such an easy check,” said Craig Peterson, owner of All For One Home Care.
Peterson said that he considers checking the online registry to be easy and could also streamline some hiring by giving a preliminary piece of mind while waiting for a full background check on a prospective hire.
“We’re going to check, they have a clear record in Arizona, they’re not in the Adult Protective Services database so we can at least hire them and start that investment in their training,” Peterson said.
“This seems like a very necessary law to make sure there are people who don’t have a record or a history of abusing or neglecting the elderly, the vulnerable adults. And I don’t see a downside to a law like this,” Mullis said. Starting in March, senior care employers must also check to make sure current employees aren’t in that registry and terminate them if so.
The Arizona Department of Health Services will also be tasked with regulating memory care, which is caring for those with dementia, starting later this year.
The department sent this statement:
ADHS is currently establishing standards for memory care services under HB 2764. Until this year, Arizona has not had a definition or set of standards for “memory care”. Laws 2024, Chapter 100 (HB 2764), which was signed into law earlier this year, changed that.
The Department looks forward to working with stakeholders over the next few months to establish standards for memory care services offered by assisted living facilities in Arizona, and will set minimum training standards for staff and contractors who work in assisted living facilities that provide memory care services.
These will include a minimum of eight hours of initial training and four hours of annual continuing education. They will also incorporate standards around specialized environmental features, care planning, directed care services, medication administration, and specialized accommodations.
We know this will be a big step forward for the health of Arizonans and will help ensure safety and quality of care for individuals with Alzheimer’s, dementia, and other progressive and neurodegenerative brain disorders. While these provisions won’t go into effect until June 30, 2025, implementing HB 2764 is a top priority of the Department and the administration.
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