Autumn 2026·7 min read·Abloom Senior Living

Who checks a caregiver before they come into your parent's house

What Minnesota's background study covers, what it leaves out, and what to ask the agency.

Who comes into the house

A home care aide helps your mother out of the shower, goes through her refrigerator, and is alone with her for hours at a time. Most families want to know who the agency is sending before any of that starts.

Minnesota already requires a state background study before that caregiver works, and a state agency runs it. Most families do not know this before they start calling agencies. The requirement is split across three separate statutes, and agencies rarely explain it. In home care, "background check" also means something narrower than it does in an ordinary hiring packet.

This article is general information from a care provider and is not legal, financial, or medical advice. Program rules and statutes change, and your family's situation may differ from the general case.

Who runs the check

The state runs this check itself. Under Minn. Stat. 144.057, subdivision 1, the commissioner of health contracts with the commissioner of human services to conduct background studies on individuals who provide direct contact services in home care agencies licensed under chapter 144A. The Minnesota Department of Human Services runs the study through a system called NETStudy 2.0, and the Minnesota Department of Health's home care background study FAQ says staff who are not licensed by a health-related licensing board are "still required to complete a NETStudy 2.0 background study in order to be employed at a home care agency."

The rule reaches everyone the agency sends, including people who are not on its payroll. Minn. Stat. 144A.476, subdivision 2, applies the requirement to a licensed provider's employees, contractors, and volunteers alike, and chapter 245C is what lets the state bar someone from this work when the study turns something up.

Many families start by asking whether an agency's caregivers are background checked. Every licensed provider in Washington County answers yes, because the state requires the study of all of them. What varies by agency is what the study leaves out, and whether this particular caregiver's study is finished. An agency that presents the study as its own policy is overselling.

What the background study looks at

The state checks criminal records, abuse registries, and in some cases fingerprints. Under Minn. Stat. 245C.08, subdivision 1, the commissioner reviews the following for a home care study:

Criminal history information from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which includes predatory offender registration under section 243.166.
Abuse registries: the names of people found to have mistreated a vulnerable adult, received under section 626.557, subdivision 9c. This is a separate check from criminal history.
The commissioner's records of maltreatment of minors in licensed programs, and maltreatment findings indicated through the social service information system.
Juvenile court information, when there is reasonable cause.
Fingerprint-based national criminal history record check information, when there is reasonable cause or when section 144.057 requires it.

Caregivers who live outside the state get an extra step. Minn. Stat. 144.057, subdivision 1, paragraph (a), clause (2), provides that if the individual under study resides outside Minnesota, the study must include a check for substantiated maltreatment findings in that person's state of residence, where that state makes the information available, along with a check of the National Crime Information Center database. Agencies near the Wisconsin border hire across the line fairly often, so this comes up in the East Metro.

What the study does not cover

A background study is a records check. It leaves out driving records, drug screens, credit checks, reference calls, and any judgment about whether someone is patient with a frightened person at two in the morning. None of those appear in the statute. If you want them, you have to ask the agency whether it runs them on its own.

The national fingerprint check happens only in some cases. Under 245C.08, subdivision 1, it applies when there is reasonable cause or when section 144.057 requires one. Under that same subdivision, the broader out-of-state registry and national database checks apply to certain studies involving child care and the placement of children. An adult home care study does not include the out-of-state registry and national database checks, so a caregiver's record in another state may not surface. You can ask whether the agency ran anything in that state on its own, which some agencies do.

The study covers records as they exist on the day it is run. Minn. Stat. 245C.08, subdivision 1, paragraph (c), allows the commissioner to review Minnesota court information system criminal case data for people already studied who remain affiliated with the agency, so there is some ongoing visibility within Minnesota. How quickly an agency learns about something that happens in another state is a fair question to ask.

Whether a caregiver can start before the results come back

Families ask this when an agency offers to start right away. Often they need someone right away themselves, after a week that has gone badly. Minn. Stat. 245C.13, subdivision 2, prohibits a person whose study is pending from providing direct contact services, or having access to people receiving services, unless that person is under continuous direct supervision. The statute also allows the commissioner to issue a notice that more time is needed to complete the study, and that notice states whether continuous direct supervision is required.

So a caregiver with a pending study can work only under continuous direct supervision. If an agency tells you a new aide can start tomorrow, ask whether that person's study is complete, and if it is not, who is supervising.

Why the nurse may be checked a different way

If an RN comes to the house to set up a medication system or check a feeding tube, that nurse may not have a Department of Human Services study on file, because the statute exempts her. Minn. Stat. 144.057, subdivision 1, paragraph (b), directs that the commissioner of human services shall not conduct a background study on an individual who holds a valid license from a health-related licensing board and has completed the criminal background check that board requires. The Department of Health's FAQ dates this exemption to August 1, 2022, and applies it to people who received full licensure after January 1, 2018. If your mother's nurse was licensed before that, ask the agency which check she went through.

The nursing board runs its own criminal background check as a condition of licensure. You can also ask the agency how nursing visits are supervised and documented.

Owners and managers are checked too

The background study requirement also applies to the people who own and run the agency. Minn. Stat. 144A.476, subdivision 1, requires an owner or managerial official of a home care provider to complete a background study under section 144.057 before a temporary license is issued, before a license is issued after a change in ownership, and before a license is renewed. The Department of Health adds that a license will not be issued if a controlling individual has been unsuccessful in having a disqualification set aside.

Whether the company holds a current license is a separate question, and you can check it yourself in a few minutes using our walkthrough on how to check a home care agency's license in Minnesota.

Questions worth asking the agency

You can ask all of these in plain language, without knowing anything about the statutes behind them.

Is this caregiver's background study complete, or still pending? If pending, who supervises, and for how long?
Do you check anything beyond the state study? Driving records, reference calls, drug screening?
Has this caregiver worked outside Minnesota recently, and did you check anything in that state?
Who supervises this person day to day, and who do I call if something feels off?
What would you do if I told you I did not want a particular caregiver back?

A provider that can answer these the same day, without calling someone back, usually keeps this information close at hand. Our questions to ask a home care provider page has a longer list you are welcome to use with anyone, including us.

You do not have to settle all of this on one phone call. It is reasonable to ask a few questions, hang up, and think about it for a week.

What you are entitled to be told

Minnesota gives home care clients a set of rights in Minn. Stat. 144A.44, and several bear on this subject. Under subdivision 1, a client has the right to "be told before receiving services the type and disciplines of staff who will be providing the services," the right to "be served by people who are properly trained and competent to perform their duties," and the right to "know the name and address of the state or county agency to contact for additional information or assistance."

You can use those rights before anything goes wrong, and most families find it easier to ask at the start. If you ever do need to raise a formal concern, start with the complaint process. Your parent's bill of rights paperwork names the state agency that takes the complaint.

Free help from the state

If you would rather talk this through with someone who has no stake in what you decide, you can call Minnesota Aging Pathways at 800-333-2433. The service is free and nobody there sells care. It is the statewide service formerly called the Senior LinkAge Line, run by the Minnesota Board on Aging with the state's area agencies on aging, and the Board on Aging describes it as connecting older Minnesotans and their caregivers with services and support. You do not need to have anything figured out before you call.

Asking for a visit

If you want to talk through care at home for someone in Woodbury or the East Metro, you can request a visit and we will come to the house and tell you plainly what we can and cannot do. Abloom Senior Living provides in-home care in clients' own homes under a comprehensive home care license from the Minnesota Department of Health, and also operates a five-resident home in Woodbury that you are welcome to come see. If your family needs something we are not the right fit for, we will say so and point you toward someone who is. You can read what a visit looks like before deciding whether to ask for one.

Frequently asked questions

Are home care caregivers background checked in Minnesota?

Yes. Under Minn. Stat. 144.057, subdivision 1, the commissioner of health contracts with the commissioner of human services to conduct background studies on individuals who provide direct contact services in home care agencies licensed under chapter 144A. The Department of Human Services runs these studies through NETStudy 2.0, and Minn. Stat. 144A.476, subdivision 2, applies the requirement to a provider's employees, contractors, and volunteers.

Can a caregiver work in my parent's home while the background study is pending?

Only under supervision. Minn. Stat. 245C.13, subdivision 2, prohibits a person with a pending study from providing direct contact services or having access to people receiving services unless that person is under continuous direct supervision. The commissioner may also issue a notice that more time is needed to complete the study, and that notice states whether continuous direct supervision is required.

Does the background study include a national criminal records check?

Sometimes. Under Minn. Stat. 245C.08, subdivision 1, fingerprint-based national criminal history record check information is reviewed when there is reasonable cause or when section 144.057 requires one. Separately, Minn. Stat. 144.057, subdivision 1, paragraph (a), clause (2), requires a National Crime Information Center check when the individual under study resides outside Minnesota.

Why does my parent's nurse not have the same background study?

Under Minn. Stat. 144.057, subdivision 1, paragraph (b), the commissioner of human services does not conduct a study on an individual who holds a valid license from a health-related licensing board and has completed that board's required criminal background check. The Minnesota Department of Health dates this exemption to August 1, 2022 for people who received full licensure after January 1, 2018. The nurse was checked through the licensing board instead.

What does the background study not check?

It is a records check, so it does not include a driving record review, a drug screen, a credit check, or reference calls. None of those appear in Minn. Stat. 245C.08. If you want them, ask the agency whether it runs them on its own.

Sources

All field notes Arrange a visit