Discontinuation of issuing CNA paper certificates
Beginning August 1, 2022, the Nurse Aide Registry no longer issues paper certificates following successful completion of the competency evaluation test to become a certified nurse aide in Massachusetts. Facilities should no longer require certified nurse aides to present a paper certificate. While the Massachusetts Health Professions Licensing System can generate certificates for CNAs, facilities must continue to use the Nurse Aide Registry Inquiry System (NARIS) prior to hiring a nurse aide in order to determine whether the prospective employee has met the federal requirement for competency contained in 42 USC s.1396r and has been certified as a nurse aide for employment in a facility.
Accessing the Nurse Aide Registry
Long-term care facilities, home health agencies, homemaker agencies, and hospice programs must contact the Nurse Aide Registry to check the standings of individuals. Please reference the responsibilities for each provider type listed below.
Learn how to access the Nurse Aide Registry
If you wish to retrieve a portion of the Nurse Aide Registry data, please follow these instructions on how to Retrieve a Nurse Aide List. Information currently available includes name, address, and certification number.
Responsibilities to contact the Registry prior to hiring
- All facilities, except rest homes, shall contact the Registry prior to hiring a nurse aide in order to determine whether the prospective employee has met the federal requirement for competency contained in 42 USC s.1396r and has been certified as a nurse aide for employment in a facility.
- All facilities shall contact the Registry prior to hiring any employee to ascertain if there is any sanction, finding, or adjudicated finding of patient or resident abuse, neglect, mistreatment or misappropriation of patient or resident property against the prospective employee.
- All home health agencies, homemaker agencies, and hospice programs shall contact the Registry prior to hiring an individual who will provide direct care to patients or have access to patients or their property to ascertain if there is any sanction, finding, or adjudicated finding of patient or resident abuse, neglect, mistreatment or misappropriation of patient or resident property against the prospective employee.
Please note that DPH isn’t able to provide details pertaining to the circumstances surrounding a sanction against a CNA are not available. If the CNA’s sanction time period has concluded, or they are on probation, it is at your discretion whether you choose to hire them.
Prohibition on hiring or employing individuals
- Except as provided in 105 CMR 155.014(A)(2), no facility, home health agency, homemaker agency or hospice program shall hire or employ an individual whose name appears in the Registry with a finding or adjudicated finding of patient or resident abuse, neglect, mistreatment or misappropriation of patient or resident property, or, if a sanction was imposed upon that individual, such individual may not be hired or employed until the terms of such sanction have been fulfilled.
- No facility, home health agency, homemaker agency or hospice program shall hire or employ an individual if such individual has been found guilty of, or pleaded guilty or nolo contendere to, or admitted to sufficient facts to support a guilty finding of patient or resident abuse, neglect, mistreatment or misappropriation of patient or resident property in a court of law.
A CNA who is on probation may work for one of the employers listed above in accordance with the terms of their probation.
If an employer hires or continues to employ a CNA with a pending case against them, the facility must abide by the outcome of the pending case. Employers must follow facility policy concerning screening, training, and prevention of abuse.
Employing Nurse Aides with special circumstances
- You can employ a Nurse Aide who has not yet completed training for no more than 90 days. The Nurse Aide must not be used on a temporary, per diem, leased, or any basis other than a permanent employee. You can employ a Nurse Aide who has not yet taken and passed the CNA test for no more than 4 months.
- You may employ the Nurse Aide, who qualifies and has applied for a waiver, for no more than 4 months. Please note that you would be hiring under risk, as we cannot guarantee the approval of waiver within the 4 month period.
- You should verify the CNA with both the Massachusetts Registry and the state registry through which the CNA is currently certified. You may also want to confirm when the reciprocity application was submitted, as the applications typically take 15 days to process. The regulations allow the aide to work for a facility for no more than 4 months if the aide qualifies to apply for reciprocity; however, please note that you would be hiring under risk, as we cannot guarantee the approval of reciprocity within the 4 month period.