California recently passed the Home Care Services Consumer Protection Act of 2013, which requires agencies to conduct background checks on workers and list aides in an online registry, according to the New York Times.
 
The consumer protection act also requires agencies to provide five hours of training and obtain a license certifying their compliance with basic standards. The legislation will be put in place in January 2016.
 
According to a study in the Journal of Applied Gerontology, 29 states mandate agencies be licensed; only 15 states require training for home care workers or on-site supervision of their activities, the New York Times reports.