Personal Care Attendant Background Checks (Article 12, FY 2023 Budget)

Though current state policies allow for discretion in the hiring of personal care attendants who may have a criminal history, provisions in Article 12 of the FY 2023 budget broadly disqualifies justice-involved individuals seeking to become Medicaid personal care attendants or high-risk providers. Of particular concern to us was the way that this provision will impact Medicaid patients whose care providers are immediate family members. We noted in our testimony that a child who is caring for their elderly or disabled parent, and who has a twenty-year-old felony drug conviction, could be barred from serving as a personal care attendant under this language. We urged rejection of the sections of this bill putting in place these criminal records checks, but unfortunately it passed in the final version of the budget.