Your Rights and Safety with In-Home Caregivers

Graphic with orange and grey text reads: Staying safe with in-home caregivers. What you should know and tips to protect yourself." Illustration of an individual sitting in a wheelchair with an in-home care worker helping them.

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For individuals with disabilities, having a caregiver come into the home can provide important support and independence. However, it is important to take steps to protect your safety, privacy, and belongings. 

The Disability Rights Center of Kansas' Disability & Aging Crime Victims Unit (DACVU) team has received reports from some clients regarding concerns about theft or misuse of funds by in-home caregivers. Most caregivers are dedicated, compassionate professionals. However, as in any field, some individuals do not meet those standards.

This information is meant to help you stay informed and protect yourself.

Your Rights

  • - You have the right to feel safe in your home.
  • - You can choose who provides your care.
  • - You can end services or hire a new support person at any time.

What to Understand about Background Checks

Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) providers are licensed by the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) and must complete background checks. However, these checks are conducted by the HCBS employer and do not include a full national criminal records search. These checks are one part of the hiring process, but they may not capture a person's full history. 

Required checks include: 

  • - KDADS Criminal Record Check
  • - DCF Adult Abuse Registry Check (APS)
  • - DCF Child Abuse Registry Check (CPS)
  • - KDADS Nurse Registry Check (for abuse, neglect, exploitation findings)
  • - Officer of Inspector General Exclusion List Check (OIG)
  • - National Sex Offender Registry
  • - Motor Vehicle Screen (if transporting HCBS participants) 

These checks do not include most criminal convictions outside of Kansas. For example, an HCBS provider applicant could have a conviction for theft or elder abuse in Missouri and still pass the required background checks. 

Kansas law allows fingerprint-based state and national background checks for HCBS provider applicants, but they are not required. Fingerprinting is not routinely required. K.S.A. § 39-2009

KDADS HCBS Background Check Policy FAQs

Only certain felony convictions permanently prevent someone from being hired as a caregiver, whether as an in-home caregiver or a caregiver in an institutional setting. For some offenses, a person may be eligible for employment after 6 years if they have completed their sentence. 

This list of felonies includes: aggravated assault, domestic battery, criminal threat, kidnapping, robbery, blackmail, mistreatment of a dependent adult, felony stalking, criminal sodomy, lewd and lascivious behavior, promoting prostitution, unlawful sexual relations, electronic solicitation, abandonment of a child, aggravated endangering a child, felony theft, distribution of controlled substances causing great bodily harm, forgery, Medicaid fraud, identity theft, cruelty to animals, welfare fraud, and unlawful manufacturing or distribution of controlled substances. K.S.A. § 39-2009

If you "self-direct" on the HCBS waiver, you have more control over who you hire to come into your home, and you may conduct additional background reviews.

Steps You Can Take to Protect Yourself With a New Caregiver

Taking a few steps up front can help you feel more confident and in control. 

  • - Interview the caregiver and ask for their full name. 
  • - Ask to take a photo or make a copy of their ID.
  • - Ask for references from people they have previously served. 
  • - Contact your local Area Agency on Aging (AAA), Center for Independent Living (CIL), Community Developmental Disability Organization (CDDO), or your case manager for feedback about the HCBS provider or caregiver. 
  • - Consider doing your own online research or asking someone you trust to help.  Google the caregiver's full name, look up their profile on Facebook, etc.

Tips to Protect Your Home and Finances

  • - Keep valuables, financial records, and medications secured (for example, in a lock box). 
  • - Do not share bank account information, PINs, or passwords. Don't leave materials with this information out in your home.
  • - Consider using a separate bank account with limited funds if a caregiver assists with errands. 
  • - Ask for receipts for all purchases made on your behalf. 
  • - Monitor your bank account regularly. 
  • - Keep a log of when caregivers are in your home. 
  • - Consider installing cameras in your home.
  • - Ask family, friends, or case workers to check in periodically. 

Signs of Possible Theft or Financial Exploitation

  • - Missing cash, jewelry, or personal items 
  • - Unexplained withdrawals or charges on your bank statement
  • - A caregiver asking to borrow money from you 
  • - Pressure to sign documents or change financial arrangements 
  • - A caregiver discouraging contact with others, like your family or other service providers

What to Do if You Suspect Theft

  • - If you feel unsafe, tell the caregiver to leave. 
  • - Document what is missing with dates, times, and details. 
  • - Call the Disability Rights Center of Kansas (DRC) and ask to speak to a Crime Victims Advocate. Call toll-free at (877) 776-1541.
  • - Call law enforcement and request to file a report. 
  • - Call your insurance company to file a claim, if applicable. 
  • - If the caregiver was hired through an agency, report the theft to the agency immediately and follow up with an email documenting the conversation.
  • - If services are funded through HCBS waiver services, report the incident to your case manager or to your Medicaid provider (Sunflower, UHC, or Healthy Blue). 
  • - You can also report suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation to the Department of Children and Families, Adult Protective Services at (800) 922-5330.

This grant project is supported by subgrant number 26-VOCA-56 awarded through the Federal Office for Victims of Crime as administered by the Kansas Governor’s Grants Program. The opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication, program, or exhibition are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Office of the Kansas Governor or the U.S. Department of Justice.

Your Rights and Safety with In-Home Caregivers