Job aids

Required staff training and records: the steps to remember

The short step lists from each lesson of Staff training an RCFE must give and keep on file, on one page. Print it for the station or the break room. Each list points back to its lesson, where the sources are linked.

Open the course Print a poster with a QR code

Decision guide

What training does this new direct-care hire need before working alone?

Is the criminal record clearance, exemption or transfer step done for this new hire?

Yes
Is the new hire a certified nurse assistant (CNA), licensed vocational nurse (LVN) or registered nurse (RN)?
- Yes
  Give eight hours on resident characteristics, resident records, and facility practices and procedures before direct care. A CNA also does the twelve dementia hours (six before working independently) and the annual training. For any other hours, or medication help by a CNA, ask the Department.
- No
  Are twenty hours done, including six dementia hours and four hours on postural supports, restricted conditions and hospice care?
  - Yes
    Will she assist residents with self-administration of medications?
    Yes
    Is the hands-on shadowing done: sixteen hours if licensed for sixteen or more, six if licensed for fifteen or fewer?
    Yes
    She may assist with medications. Finish the other medication training and pass the exam; plan every hour inside the first two weeks. Then eight in-service hours every twelve months.
    No
    She may work alone on other tasks, but she does not assist with medications until the shadowing hours for the home's licensed size are done.
    No
    She may work independently. Finish the other twenty hours, with six more dementia hours, within the first four weeks, and record trainer, subjects, dates and hours.
  - No
    Not alone yet. Finish the first twenty hours, with the six dementia hours and the four special-conditions hours inside them, and record each one.
No
Do not let her start. The clearance, exemption or transfer step comes before employment or first presence in the facility. If you are unsure which step applies, ask the Department.

This guide follows the statutes and Title 22 as read on 2026-10-22. It does not decide a case: when a rule is unclear for one staff member, ask the Department (Community Care Licensing).

Step through it one question at a time: alwbeta.com/training/courses/staff-training-compliance#decision-guide

Lesson 1

The forty starting hours and the twenty yearly hours

A new caregiver starts Monday. Before she works alone with residents, you need to know which hours are done and which can wait. Section 1569.625 of the Health and Safety Code sets the frame every other training rule fits into. This lesson prepares you to plan a new hire's first four weeks and her first year.

Forty hours for staff who help with daily living
Twenty before working alone, with six dementia and four special-conditions hours inside
Twenty more, with six dementia hours, within four weeks
Sixteen hours hands-on
Then twenty a year: eight dementia, four special conditions

Lesson: alwbeta.com/training/courses/staff-training-compliance#lesson-stc-forty-and-twenty

Lesson 2

Dementia hours and special-conditions hours

Two short statutes add detail to the forty hours: one for dementia care, one for postural supports, restricted conditions and hospice care. Both apply in every RCFE, to all direct-care staff. This lesson prepares you to schedule these hours, count them correctly and choose training that counts.

Twelve dementia hours for all direct-care staff: six before working alone, six by week four
Eight dementia in-service hours a year
Four special-conditions hours before direct care, then four a year
Count these inside the forty and the twenty
Preceptorship and mentoring count; paperwork does not

Lesson: alwbeta.com/training/courses/staff-training-compliance#lesson-stc-dementia-and-special-hours

Lesson 3

Medication-helper training: hours, exam and who teaches

Before any staff member helps a resident take her own medication, section 1569.69 must be met. The hours depend on the home's licensed size. The law also says who may teach and what the home keeps on file about them. This lesson prepares you to plan the training and check your trainer file.

Licensed for 16 or more: 24 hours, 16 of them shadowing
Licensed for 15 or fewer: 10 hours, 6 of them shadowing
Shadowing before assisting any resident; plan every hour inside two weeks
Exam, then 8 medication in-service hours every 12 months
Repeat after a break over 180 days, or at another licensee
Trainer: education plus experience or a license; keep trainer and consultant files

Lesson: alwbeta.com/training/courses/staff-training-compliance#lesson-stc-medication-helper-hours

Lesson 4

Who may teach, what counts, and licensed staff

A training hour counts only if the right person teaches it with the right material. Title 22 sets who may teach the general training, what material counts and who teaches first aid. The statute sets what licensed health professionals still owe. This lesson prepares you to accept or refuse a training source.

Trainer: degree plus two years, a California health care license, or two years as an RCFE administrator in the last eight
The trainer knows the subject
Books and videos count after a qualified trainer approves them
First aid from a person qualified by an agency such as the Red Cross
CNA, LVN or RN: eight hours on residents, records and practices before direct care
CNA: also the twelve dementia hours and the annual training

Lesson: alwbeta.com/training/courses/staff-training-compliance#lesson-stc-who-teaches-what-counts

Lesson 5

Personnel and training records: what to keep and for how long

At a licensing visit, every training hour comes down to one question: can you show it? Title 22 lists what each personnel record holds, how training is proven, where records live and how long they stay. This lesson prepares you to keep a file that answers that question on the day of the visit.

Personnel record for the licensee, the administrator, each employee and each volunteer
Clearance step before day one; health screening six months before to seven days after
Each training: trainer's full name, subjects, dates, hours per subject
On-the-job: trainer's content statement and trainer test
Records at the facility or readily available there; hours actually worked
Keep three years after employment ends; hospice training three years

Lesson: alwbeta.com/training/courses/staff-training-compliance#lesson-stc-personnel-and-training-records