IDoA Homecare Aide Training Requirements: A Provider Guide

IDoA Homecare Aide Training Requirements at a Glance

Sagar Kumar, COO and Co-Founder, Verveware

Here are the IDoA homecare aide training requirements for agencies that provide In-Home Service under the Illinois Department on Aging (IDoA) Community Care Program (CCP). They come from 89 Ill. Adm. Code 240.1535, which covers homecare aides and homecare supervisors:

• 24 hours of pre-service training before an aide works alone with a CCP participant

• 12 hours of in-service training every calendar year, including 2 hours of dementia training

• Department-sponsored training within 90 days for new homecare supervisors, then 26 hours a year

• Training records kept in IDoA's Training Tracking Program (TTP)

This guide covers IDoA CCP. The DHS-DRS Home Services Program has its own rules.

Pre-Service Training: 24 Hours Before Working Alone

A new homecare aide needs 24 hours of initial pre-service training before serving a CCP participant without a supervisor or trainer present. Up to two of those hours can be agency orientation, and no more than six months can pass between training and first assignment.

Your agency runs a competency evaluation on the training. Topics include every in-home service the aide will perform, plus job limits, communicating with participants who have dementia or hearing loss, documentation, infection control, emergencies, confidentiality, and abuse and neglect reporting.

A new hire can skip pre-service training, but never the dementia training, if they:

• Completed documented, supervised training equal to the 24 hours within the past two years, as determined and documented by your agency

• Hold a valid RN, LPN, MD or physician assistant license, or are a CNA, and worked in the field within the past two years

• Worked as a CCP homecare aide within the past year

Annual In-Service Training: 12 Hours Every Calendar Year

Every homecare aide needs at least 12 hours of interactive in-service training each calendar year. Face-to-face sessions, audiovisual presentations and computer-based instruction all count, as long as your agency approves the training.

• Dementia: 2 of the 12 hours must cover Alzheimer's dementia and related disorders, safety risks, and communication and behavior.

• Topic list: at least 9 hours must come from the topics in the rule, such as participant rights, abuse and neglect, infection control, fire and life safety, body mechanics, meal preparation, and assisting with self-administered medications.

• New hires: pre-service training counts toward the first 3 in-service hours, except for aides who were exempted from pre-service.

• Credential progress: progress toward a credential in a related field, such as CNA, can count for up to 3 hours a year.

The count runs by calendar year, not hire date, so plan remaining hours before December 31. The rule also requires every provider employee who hasn't received a Department training certificate to complete 2 hours of dementia training within 30 days of starting and every calendar year after.

Homecare Supervisor Training Requirements

Within 90 calendar days of starting as a homecare supervisor, each supervisor must complete Department-sponsored CCP training on policy and procedures, billing, evaluations, and aide and participant files. IDoA calls this Homecare Supervisor Training (HOST), and supervisors register for it in TTP.

After that, supervisors need 26 hours of documented in-service training every calendar year, including 2 hours of dementia training. At least 16 of the remaining hours must come from the topics listed in the rule.

How IDoA Training Compares With IDPH Licensing

Agencies that serve only CCP participants are exempt from Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) home services licensing, according to IDoA's provider FAQ. If your agency also serves non-CCP home care clients, it needs an IDPH license too, and that license brings its own training rule, 77 Ill. Adm. Code 245.71:

• 10 hours of initial training: 5 before the first assignment and 5 within the first 30 days, each followed by a competency evaluation

• 10 hours every year, on a calendar-year or anniversary basis; the initial 10 hours cover the first year

IDoA's hour counts are higher, but the two rules list different required topics, so map your curriculum to both. IDPH also spells out how training must be documented: the date, time spent on each topic, the instructor and their qualifications, a short description of the content, and the worker's signature or a dated electronic completion record. For the licensing steps themselves, see our guide to starting a Medicaid home care agency in Illinois.

Keeping Training Records in TTP

TTP is IDoA's online system for provider staff records. Under the TTP policy that took effect May 1, 2022, in-home providers enter each employee and upload their documentation, including pre-service training and criminal background checks. Records can be entered one at a time or uploaded as a spreadsheet. Questions go to Aging.Training@illinois.gov.

Verveware's audit-ready TTP reporting builds that spreadsheet for you. The TTP Initial Hire report pulls new hires by hire date, with contract numbers, job titles, training-exempt status and background checks, in the format the TTP portal imports. Document storage keeps training certificates on each caregiver's record. These tools support your records. They don't replace documentation required by IDoA or IDPH.

Training is one part of your CCP obligations. See our Illinois Community Care Program guide and IDoA EVV requirements for the rest.

FAQ

How Many Training Hours Does an IDoA Homecare Aide Need?

A new homecare aide needs 24 hours of pre-service training before working alone with a CCP participant. After that, every aide needs at least 12 hours of in-service training each calendar year, including 2 hours of dementia training.

Can a New Homecare Aide Skip IDoA Pre-Service Training?

Yes, in three cases: equivalent documented, supervised training within the past two years; a valid nursing, medical or CNA credential with work in the field within the past two years; or work as a CCP homecare aide within the past year. Dementia training is still required.

Does Online Training Count Toward IDoA In-Service Hours?

Yes, if it is interactive and approved by your agency. The rule names face-to-face training, audiovisual presentations and computer-based instruction as examples.

What Is the IDoA Training Tracking Program (TTP)?

TTP, also called the Training Tracking Portal, is IDoA's online system for CCP provider staff records. In-home providers enter each employee and upload documentation such as pre-service training and criminal background checks. Homecare supervisors register for HOST training there.

What Dementia Training Does IDoA Require?

Homecare aides and supervisors need 2 hours of dementia training every calendar year, covering Alzheimer's dementia and related disorders, safety risks, and communication and behavior. Every provider employee without a Department training certificate needs the same 2 hours within 30 days of hire and every year after.

See Audit-Ready TTP Reporting in Verveware

Request a Verveware demo to see TTP reporting, document storage and EVV working together for your Illinois agency. Book a demo.