What is the Connecticut Background Search Program?
Connecticut's criminal history and patient abuse background search program checks state and national criminal records along with the nurse's aide registry before you can work at a long-term care facility. The program covers home health care agencies, home health aide agencies, and hospice agencies, among other types of long-term care facilities named in state law.
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What gets checked
Under Connecticut General Statutes 19a-491c, a background search includes a review of the state's nurse's aide registry, state and national criminal history checks, and a review of any other registry the Department of Public Health decides is necessary.
A long-term care facility, which under this statute includes a home health care agency, hospice agency, or home health aide agency, has to require this search before extending a job offer or a services contract to someone.
Who decides the result
It is DPH's own program staff, not the hiring facility, who make the call on whether an applicant has a disqualifying offense under the program.
The facility itself still has to require the search, including fingerprinting at a designated State Police location, before it can finalize a job offer or a services contract with the applicant.
When a prior search can be reused
A facility does not have to run a brand new background search if an applicant can show they already completed one through the program within the prior three years with no disqualifying offense found, which can speed up hiring for someone moving between jobs in long-term care.
More questions
Who decides whether an applicant has a disqualifying offense?
DPH's background search program staff make that determination, not the long-term care facility doing the hiring.
Does the background search look at more than criminal records?
Yes, it also includes a review of the nurse's aide registry and any other registry DPH specifies as necessary.
Do I need a new background search for every new long-term care job?
Not always; a facility can accept a search completed within the prior three years with no disqualifying offense found.
Sources
- Public Act No. 25-16 (Substitute House Bill No. 6771), Connecticut General Assembly
- Connecticut Long-Term Care Criminal History and Patient Abuse Background Search Program — Frequently Asked Questions (ABCMS FAQs), Connecticut Department of Public Health
Checked against these sources on November 6, 2026. Rules change, so confirm with the source before you rely on a detail. This page is general information, not legal advice.