Recruiting
What Should a Caregiver Onboarding Checklist Include?
Three stages: paperwork, screening and training before the first shift, a supported first shift, and check-ins through day 90. Federal deadlines included.
A new hire starts Monday. What has to happen first?
Pick the state, the caregiver type and your payer mix, and get the ordered checklist with your state's background check and training rules written in, plus the federal and practical steps everyone forgets. Print it for the new hire's file or copy it into your own checklist.
Last reviewed November 5, 2026
Texas rules
Background checks. Texas home care agencies must run a criminal history check and search the Nurse Aide Registry and Employee Misconduct Registry before an unlicensed worker’s first contact with a client, then search both registries every 12 months. Anyone with a conviction that bars employment under Health and Safety Code §250.006, or listed as unemployable, can’t be hired.
Training. Texas sets no minimum training hours for personal assistance services attendants. Licensed agencies must orient staff, train them for their specific tasks and confirm competency when education or experience doesn’t show it. Attendants must be 18, or younger with a diploma or vocational enrollment. G-tube feeding requires a set training and competency program.
Sources: Texas HHSC, Home and Community Support Services Agencies FAQs (updated April 2023) · 26 Tex. Admin. Code §558.404, Standards for Personal Assistance Services Agencies (LII).
State pages: background checks, training.
Checklist · new hire · Texas
24 steps before the first shift
Before the offer
Background and registries
Employment paperwork
Training and competency
First shift and first 90 days
Tick boxes as you go; nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
After the paperwork: the first 90 days.
The checklist ends with the first-shift introduction and check-ins on day 7 and day 30. Meeting the client with a supervisor, a full first week of hours and a call from the office give a new caregiver a better start.
Read: The caregiver onboarding checklist, explained · Why caregivers quit · The hiring process .
Federal items on every list
- Form I-9 within three business days of the start date; E-Verify where your state or contract requires it.
- W-4 and state withholding; direct deposit authorization.
- OIG and SAM exclusion checks before the first Medicaid or VA visit, then monthly.
- TB screening per state rule and CDC guidance (risk assessment, symptom screen, test where required).
- HIPAA training and a signed confidentiality agreement before access to any client record.
- Mandated reporter acknowledgment where the state designates caregivers.
State rules are linked in the panel above, with the state's background check and training pages. Put the annual in-service date on the compliance calendar.
How Caregiver Scheduling handles this
In Caregiver Scheduling, new hires upload their documents from the caregiver app and the office verifies them, with expiry reminders before anything lapses. On Growth and up, nobody can be put on a shift until the required ones are in. Document tracking and credential checks.
Sources
Related guides
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New caregivers leave early over hours, drive time, a bad first client, schedule churn, pay errors and silence from the office. Here is how to measure and fix it.
These free tools are made by the team behind Caregiver Scheduling, caregiver scheduling software for home care agencies.
Simple pricing
From $199 /month
Up to 10 caregivers on Starter, 50 on Growth.
More than 50 caregivers? We'll put together a custom Scale plan for your agency.