Revisions to Wisconsin Statutes, Chapter 50 and ch. HFS
12.
PDF Version
of DQA 08-029 (PDF, 36 KB)
| Date: |
December 4, 2008 -- DQA Memo 08-029 |
| To: |
Home Health Agencies HHA 11
Hospices HSPC 14 |
| From: |
Otis Woods, Administrator
Division of Quality Assurance |
Revisions to Wisconsin Statutes, Chapter 50 and ch. HFS
12. Effective November 1, 2008 - New Disclosure Requirements
As many of you are aware, Governor Jim Doyle signed 2007 Wisconsin Act
172 into law on March 26, 2008. The new law created section 50.065 (2m) of
the Statutes which, effective November 1, 2008, requires entities to
disclose to a client, or to the client's guardian certain information
regarding a caregiver who is assigned to provide personal care services in a
client's residence. A complete text of the new law can be found at the
following link: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2007/data/acts/07Act172.pdf.
Chapter 50.065 (1) (cr), Stats., defines personal care services to mean
assistance with activities of daily living, including eating, bathing,
grooming, dressing, transferring and toileting. Personal care services are
also defined to include assistance with meal preparation, food purchasing,
changing or laundering of a client's linens or clothing, routine care of
vision or hearing aids or light cleaning of areas of the residence that are
used during the provision of services.
For purposes of this requirement, a client's residence does not include a
nursing home [s. 50.01 (3)]; community based residential facility [s. 50.01
(1g)], adult family home [s. 50.01 (1)] or a residential care apartment
complex [s. 50.01 (1d)].
The new law also requires the Department of Health Services to specify by
rule crimes for which an entity must disclose a conviction of its caregivers
who are assigned to provide personal care services. These crimes are
contained in ch. HFS 12.115, effective November 1, 2008. A copy of ch. HFS
12.115 is attached to this memo.
Disclosure Requirements
Effective November 1, 2008, home health agencies and hospices are
required to disclose, in writing, to a client or to the client's guardian,
the following information regarding a caregiver who is assigned to provide
personal care services before the caregiver provides services:
- Any conviction of a crime listed in HFS 12.115.
- Whether the caregiver has received rehabilitation approval through the
Department's rehabilitation review process.
- That if the entity assigns a substitute caregiver, the agency is not
required to disclose the information obtained through the caregiver
background check or a conviction of a crime, if any.
The agency must also notify the client or the client's guardian that, for
a fee, the Department of Justice will perform a criminal history record
search on an individual.
The disclosure requirements apply to any agency who will assign a
caregiver to provide personal care services to a client. For example, if an
aide is assigned by the agency to provide personal care services, the
disclosure requirements would apply. However, if a nurse or a therapist is
assigned to provide skilled nursing or therapy services, the disclosure
requirements would not apply regardless of any incidental personal care
services that may also be provided.
The law requires that each time the agency completes the caregiver
background check, the agency must disclose to the client or to the client's
guardian, in writing, any conviction of a crime listed in HFS 12.115 and
whether the caregiver has been rehabilitated under the Department's
rehabilitation review process.
Substitute Caregivers
Chapter 50.065 (2m) (b), Stats., exempts entities from having to make the
referenced disclosures for "substitute caregivers" as defined by
rule. Effective November 1, 2008, ch. HFS 12.03 (20m) defines a substitute
caregiver as an individual who provides personal care services to the client
for 7 or fewer days in a 90 day period.
Questions
Please see http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/caregiver/index.htm
for information on the Caregiver Law and http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/caregiver/EmplContrs.htm
for caregiver background check process information, including a webcast.
If you have any questions about this information, please contact Shari
Busse, Director of the Office of Caregiver Quality, at Shari.Busse@dhs.wisconsin.gov
or (608) 264-9876.
Attachment: HFS
12.115 Personal care services, disclosure of convictions
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