New Rules for Fingerprint Clearances in Arizona

On May 27, 2022, Arizona Governor Ducey signed into law House Bill 2049, amending A.R.S. § 36-411 regarding fingerprint clearance card requirements.

One immediate impact pertains to those purchasing an existing living home business using what’s referred to as a change of ownership (“CHOW”) procedure with the AZ Department of Health Services. Previously, Subsection (H) of the statute allowed new owners to simply assume the personnel records of staff who was transferred over from the Seller to the Buyer. This included copies of fingerprint clearance cards for any employees hired by the purchaser. Because Subsection H was deleted in its entirety, a reasonable interpretation is that the new owner can still accept the fingerprint card issued to the employees, but must verify the current status of that person’s fingerprint clearance card in accordance with Subsection (C)(2) of the statute when the purchaser takes over ownership and hires staff under its business entity.

There are two ways to verify the status of a fingerprint clearance card:

1.     Click the “status checks” hyperlink on Arizona Department of Public Safety, and print the page with the date header/footer, or initial and handwrite the date on the printout to confirm that the verification was performed. That paperwork should be retained along with the employee’s personnel file.

2.     Call the applicant Clearance Card Team at: 602-223-2279, and write down the name and badge number of the representative you spoke to alongside the date and time of the verification.

In a CHOW situation, the new employer technically has twenty days to perform this verification in accordance with subsection (D) of the statute, but it is recommended to do so promptly upon hire, when onboarding that person to the purchaser’s payroll systems and other personnel paperwork.

For ongoing operations, it is important to note that an assisted living homeowner does NOT have to maintain nor verify fingerprint clearance card information for third-party home health care workers that provide services in the assisted living setting. Similarly, volunteers that are contracted directly by a resident’s family do not have to have a fingerprint clearance card per Subsection (H)(1)(b).

Questions have arisen regarding other contracted services, such as landscapers, handymen, etc. These amendments attempt to clarify that by including a definition of “direct supportive services.”  Thus, if the contractor is in a common area performing work such as pest control, or painting touchups, the statute does not seem to impose fingerprint clearance card requirements on them. If they have to enter a resident’s room, however, Subsection (H)(1)(a)(iii) and a fair reading of the status would indicate that the contractor should be under the direct visual supervision of an owner or employee who has a valid fingerprint clearance card, although the wording of the amendment could have been enhanced to clarify that interpretation.

The amendment does, however, specifically include transportation services. This provision was likely included in response to the death of a resident of an assisted living center who was accidentally left in a transport van following an outing and passed away while locked inside of the vehicle. Most assisted living homes, however, do not have their own transport vans, and rely on outside non-emergency transportation providers get residents to specialist appointments or other outings.

A.C.C. R9-10-809 states that “(A) …a manager shall ensure that: (1) A caregiver or employee coordinates the transport and the services provided to the resident;…”  Subsection (B) of the regulation exempts transportation provided or arranged for by the resident’s representative, or to a licensed health care institution in the case of an emergency, or transportation to a location other than a licensed health care institution. Thus, it is recommended that assisted living facilities that rely on third party transportation services for their residents have the resident’s representative arrange for that service directly. This should avoid any requirement for the facility to obtain fingerprint clearance card documentation of the driver for the third-party transport service.

For a full reading of the amended statute, click here. For additional assistance with Arizona assisted living compliance matters, contact Pinkowski Law & Policy Group to schedule a consultation.

Look for more weekly blog posts on topics of interest to Assisted Living and Behavioral Health operators. The information herein is intended to be educational and an introduction to the subject matter presented. It is NOT specific legal advice to be relied upon for specific individual circumstances. Contact your own legal professional or reach out to our firm if you would like specific advice on this topic. We welcome topic suggestions!  Write to info@pinkowskilaw.com to recommend a particular subject for us to explore.