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Substitute House Bill No. 5143
Public Act No. 26-50
AN ACT REQUIRING TRAINING FOR HOMEMAKER -COMPANION
AGENCY EMPLOYEES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) ( Effective from passage) (a) (1) On and after January
1, 2027, each homemaker -companion agency, as defined in section 20 -
670 of the general statutes, shall provide not less than eight paid hours
of:
(A) Initial training to each new employee not later than ninety days
after a new employee's start of employment, which shall include, but
need not be limited to, programs relating to the topics described in
subdivisions (2), (3) and (4) of subsection (b) o f this section and, if the
new employee will provide services to persons with Alzheimer's disease
or dementia, subdivision (6) of subsection (b) of this section; and
(B) Annual continuing education to each employee, which shall be
comprised of programs on the list of approved homemaker-companion
agency employee training programs developed pursuant to subsection
(b) of this section.
(2) If an employee of a homemaker -companion agency has received
initial training in accordance with the provisions of subparagraph (A)
of subdivision (1) of this subsection while employed by a different
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homemaker-companion agency within the three years preceding the
employee's date of hire, such training shall satisfy the initial training
requirements of said subparagraph, provided the employee furnishes
proof of such initial training by providing the for m described in
subsection (c) of this section. A homemaker -companion agency shall
retain a copy of such form in the employee's personnel file as proof of
compliance with the initial training requirements.
(3) The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to (A) a nurse's
aide, registered pursuant to chapter 378a of the general statutes, (B) a
home health aide, (C) a personal care attendant, as defined in section
17b-706 of the general statutes, or (D) a ny employee of a homemaker -
companion agency who does not provide homemaker services or
companion services, as such terms are defined in section 20 -670 of the
general statutes. For the purposes of this subdivision, "home health
aide" means a person who prov ides home health aide services, as
defined in section 19a -490 of the general statutes, as an employee of a
home health aide agency, as defined in said section.
(b) Not later than October 1, 2026, the Commissioner of Consumer
Protection, in consultation with the Commissioners of Public Health,
Social Services, Developmental Services and Mental Health and
Addiction Services, shall develop a list of approved homemak er-
companion agency employee training programs appropriate for use by
homemaker-companion agencies when providing mandatory employee
training pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) of this section. The
list of approved homemaker -companion agency empl oyee training
programs shall be limited to programs concerning (1) communication,
(2) maintenance of a clean and safe environment, including, but not
limited to, best practices relating to dressing, bathing and toileting
assistance, (3) identification and reporting of abuse and neglect, (4)
identification and reporting of changes in a homemaker -companion
agency client's condition and service needs, (5) differentiation between
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medical and nonmedical care, (6) providing nonmedical services to a
person with Alzheimer's disease or dementia, and (7) any other topic
deemed appropriate by the Commissioner of Consumer Protection, in
consultation with the Commissioners of Public Health, Social Services,
Developmental Services and Mental Health and Addiction Services. The
Commissioner of Consumer Protection shall publish the list of
approved homemaker-companion agency employee training programs
on the Department of Consumer Protection's I nternet web site. Each
homemaker-companion agency shall ensure that each employee
completes every program on such list at least once every two calendar
years.
(c) Upon completion of any employee training conducted pursuant
to subsection (a) of this section, each homemaker -companion agency
and employee shall complete a form, in a form and manner prescribed
by the Commissioner of Consumer Protection, attesting tha t the
employee completed such training. Such form shall include (1) the
names of the homemaker -companion agency and employee, (2) the
training programs completed by the employee and the date or dates of
their completion, and (3) the signatures of a represe ntative of the
homemaker-companion agency and the employee.
(d) Each registry, as defined in section 20-670 of the general statutes,
shall ensure that each individual such registry supplies or refers to or
places with a consumer for the purpose of enabling such individual to
provide to the consumer companion services or homemaker services, as
such terms are defined in section 20-670 of the general statutes, complies
with the training requirements set forth in subsection (b) of this section
before supplying or referring such individual to or placing such
individual with a consumer.
(e) Not later than January 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, each
homemaker-companion agency shall submit to the Department of
Consumer Protection, in a form and manner prescribed by the
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commissioner, an attestation in which such homemaker -companion
agency agrees to adhere to the training requirements described in this
section. Each homemaker -companion agency shall maintain a list of
training programs used by such homemaker -companion agenc y,
including content summaries of such programs, and a paper or
electronic copy of all forms relating to current employees submitted
pursuant to subsection (c) of this section.
Sec. 2. Subsection (g) of section 20 -677 of the general statutes is
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January
1, 2027):
(g) (1) A homemaker-companion agency may include in its business
name and advertising the term "care" if such term is used in reference to
such agency's provision of homemaker services, provided, on and after
October 1, 2023, any such advertising [(1)] (A) shall prominently and
clearly display in plain font with distinctly contrasting colors at the top
of such advertising, including, but not limited to, each page of the
agency's Internet web site, social media posts, print media and audio -
visual advertisements, the clear and conspicuous words: "(Insert name
of homemaker-companion agency) solely provides nonmedical care.",
or, if such advertising is an audio advertisement, such words shall be
audibly conveyed at the same speed and manner as the rest of such
audio advertisement, and [(2)] (B) shall not include any words that
indicate or suggest that such agency provides any services beyond the
scope of services authorized under this chapter, including, but not
limited to, words relating to medical or health care licensure or services.
(2) A homemaker-companion agency may include in its advertising
(A) words that accurately describe, as determined by the commissioner,
that such agency has employees who are trained to provide homemaker
services to individuals experiencing memory difficulties, provided the
agency details the type of training and number of hours each employee
was trained to provide such services, or (B) a statement that such agency
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complies with all state training requirements relating to homemaker -
companion agencies, which may include references to specific
homemaker-companion agency employee training program topics as
described in subsection (b) of section 1 of this act . A violation of the
provisions of this subsection shall constitute untruthful or misleading
advertising for the purposes of subsection (a) of section 20-675.