Chapter 139 of the Acts of 2017 requires the Executive Office of Elder Affairs (EOEA) to create and implement a Home Care Worker Registry (Registry). The purpose of the registry is to make certain Home Care Worker information available to the public and employee organizations as specified by law. The regulations (651 CMR 16.00) establishing the Registry describe its administration and create an exemption process to protect the personal information of Home Care Workers covered by the regulations.
See the final regulation
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is the Home Care Worker Registry?
The Massachusetts Home Care Worker Registry was created by a state law passed in 2017. The purpose of the Registry is to provide the public with information about Home Care Workers who provide services to the State Home Care Program. The Executive Office of Elder Affairs (EOEA) manages the registry.
If I am a Home Care Worker do I need to provide information to the Registry?
If you are a Home Care Worker for a Home Care Worker Agency that provides services to the Massachusetts State Home Care Program, your employer is required to provide certain information to the Registry about you, unless you qualify for an exemption. If you are unsure if the Registry law applies to you, ask your employer.
If my information is required to be sent to the Registry, what information is provided and who provides it to the Registry?
Your employer will likely already have all of the information required for the Registry. The law requires Home Care Worker Agencies to provide to EOEA the following information about their employees covered by the law:
- Full name of the Home Care Worker
- Gender
- Home address
- Mailing address
- The full legal name of the Home Care Worker Agency that employs the Home Care Worker
- Job title and a list of any home care trainings or certification completed by the Home Care Worker
What happens to the information after it is provided to the Registry, and who has access to it?
EOEA will assign a unique identification number (ID) for each person included in the Registry. Only a Home Care Worker’s full name, ID, name of the Home Care Agency that employs the Home Care Worker, and a list of reported home care trainings or certifications will be available to the public.
The Home Care Worker’s gender, home address, mailing address, and job title will be made available only by request by certain parties legally allowed to request to request the information. The parties able to request such information are Home Care Worker Agencies, organizations that contract with Home Care Worker Agencies known as Aging Services Access Points (ASAPs), and Employee Organizations (as defined by the regulations). Such information, when it is released, will be maintained and secured in keeping with the regulations and will not be released to any other third parties.
Home Care Worker Registry data will be updated on a quarterly basis (every 3 months) and only data available from the most recent quarter will be made available.
Are there any exemptions allowed in providing the information?
Yes. Home Care Workers may qualify for an exemption from participating in the Registry if they meet any of the following:
- The Home Care Worker is a victim of domestic violence, rape, sexual assault, and/or stalking;
- The Home Care Worker is protected by a Protective Order, A Harassment Prevention Order, or a General Protection Order;
- The Home Care Worker asserts that extraordinary personal circumstances require an exemption be granted to protect their health, safety, or welfare
Home Care Worker Agencies are required to provide Home Care Workers employed by them with an exemption form. Filling out and signing the form is all that is required to request an exemption.
When will the Registry information be available for release?
EOEA is in the process of collecting the required information from Home Care Worker agencies. The first release of information is expected in January 2020.
Where can I get further information?
If you have any additional questions regarding the Registry, please contact the Executive Office of Elder Affairs at hcwregistry@massmail.state.ma.us.