The short answer Hawaii licenses non-medical home care agencies under HAR Chapter 11-700 (adopted 2018), which requires service-related training and annual training but sets no minimum hour counts. Home health agencies are regulated under HAR Chapter 11-97 and the federal 75-hour HHA baseline applies to certified agencies.
What Hawaii requires
Hawaii
Home care agency training. HAR 11-700 requires home care agencies licensed by the Office of Health Care Assurance to train caregivers on topics tied to the services in the client's service plan and to provide ongoing annual training, but the rules do not prescribe a minimum number of hours — content and duration are agency-determined.
Source ↗
Home health agencies. Home health agencies operate under HAR Chapter 11-97; Medicare-certified agencies must meet the federal 42 CFR 484.80 aide standard (75 hours including 16 practical, plus 12 hours annual in-service), and HHAs commonly qualify as certified nurse aides.
Source ↗
Dual licensure. An organization providing both non-medical home care and skilled home health must hold separate licenses for each line of service under the OHCA licensing scheme.
Source ↗
No aide registry. Hawaii maintains no home care aide registry or state caregiver certification for non-medical workers; only nurse aides (CNAs) are certified through the state nurse aide registry system.
Source ↗
☆ Rules change. We watch them for you.
Get one short email when Hawaii's home care requirements change. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Reviewed quarterly by Vitable Health.
The federal baseline (applies in every state)
Federal
75-hour HHA training standard. Under 42 CFR 484.80(b), home health aides at Medicare-certified home health agencies must complete a training program of at least 75 hours, including at least 16 hours of classroom training completed before beginning at least 16 hours of supervised practical (hands-on) training.
Source ↗
Competency evaluation / CNA pathway. 42 CFR 484.80(a) allows aides to qualify by completing the 75-hour training and competency evaluation program, by passing a competency evaluation alone, or by completing a state nurse aide training and competency evaluation program (CNA) and being in good standing on the state nurse aide registry.
Source ↗
12-hour annual in-service. 42 CFR 484.80(d) requires home health aides to receive at least 12 hours of in-service training during each 12-month period, which may occur while the aide is furnishing care and must be supervised by a registered nurse.
Source ↗
RN trainer requirements. Under 42 CFR 484.80(b)(3) and (c)(2), classroom and supervised practical training must be performed by or under the general supervision of a registered nurse with at least 2 years of nursing experience, at least 1 year of which must be in home health care; competency evaluations must likewise be performed by an RN in consultation with other professionals.
Source ↗
Primary sources for this page