Georgia Private Home Care Provider Policy Manual
For Georgia agencies licensed by the Department of Community Health's Healthcare Facility Regulation Division as a private home care provider, in any of the license's three service categories: nursing, personal care, or companion or sitter services. The manual has 49 policies and 47 forms, including client forms in English and Spanish, written to Georgia's private home care rules (Rules 111-8-65) as amended effective July 29, 2026. Each policy opens with a plain-English summary and names the rule it follows, and every one is filled in with your agency's details. You get Word and PDF files to keep, and your staff sign off on their phones.
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Georgia · Home care
49 policies written to the Georgia rules, with 47 forms. Every one is filled in with your agency's details.
- A plain-English summary first
- The rule each policy follows
- Word and PDF downloads, yours to keep
- Policies
- 49
- Forms
- 47
- Categories
- 13
- Policy Pack · required
- $700one-timeIncludes 90 days in the portal with Premium. To keep it open after that, Premium is $79 a month or $790 a year.
Read before you buy
3 free sample policies, shown in full for a sample agency.
GA-HC-ADM-02Free sample
Client rights
Service Agreements
Requires every service the Agency provides to be based on a written service agreement with the client or responsible party that contains the ten items listed in Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.09(2)(a), completed for a new client not later than the second visit on a different day or seven calendar days after services begin, whichever is earlier; and sets out how good cause for delay, refusal to sign, revisions and cancellation are handled and recorded.
Read the full policy GA-HC-ANE-01Free sample SafeguardingReporting Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation
Tells every staff member how to recognize and report suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation of a client, using the right Georgia route: Adult Protective Services and law enforcement for an elder or disabled adult living at home; the Department of Community Health and law enforcement for a client living in a personal care home or assisted living community; and the Division of Family and Children Services for a child. Reports are made at once, without needing a manager's permission, and the client is protected while the matter is looked into.
Read the full policy GA-HC-IC-01Free sample Infection controlInfection Control in the Home
Sets out the infection control practices every staff member follows in clients' homes, based on CDC standard precautions: hand hygiene, gloves and other protective equipment, respiratory hygiene, cleaning and laundry, safe food handling, sharps found in the home, care of clients with known infections, and keeping staff who are ill or exposed to tuberculosis or hepatitis away from clients.
Read the full policy
Georgia rules
What Georgia's private home care rules ask your policies to cover
- Service agreements. A written agreement with the items the rule lists, completed by the second visit if it falls on a different day, or within seven calendar days after services begin, whichever is earlier. Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.09(2)(a)
- Client rights. A written notice of the rights and responsibilities the rule lists, given when the service agreement is completed, with the names and telephone numbers the rule requires. Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.12(2)
- Service plans. Completed by the supervisor within seven working days after services start. Nursing plans are reviewed at least every 62 days, and other plans at each supervisory visit. Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.11(2)
- Supervisory visits. At least every 92 days for personal care and every 122 days for companion or sitter tasks, counted from the first day of service. Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.10(2)
- Background checks. A satisfactory fingerprint records check determination before anyone serves as a direct access employee. Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.09(5)(a)1
- Personal care assistant training. One of the four qualifying routes the rule lists. In a 40-hour training program, 20 hours come before serving clients and 20 more within six months of starting. Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.09(5)(c)
Questions a surveyor may ask
Every policy lists questions a surveyor may ask about it, so your staff can practice the answers. A few from this manual:
Show me this client's service agreement. When were services first provided, and when was the agreement completed?GA-HC-ADM-02Service Agreements
Show me the supervisory visits for this personal care client since services started. Were any more than 92 days apart?GA-HC-SUP-01Supervision of Services and Supervisory Home Visits
Show me the registry check, licensing board query and satisfactory fingerprint determination for your three most recent hires, with the date each started direct access.GA-HC-HR-02Criminal Background and Registry Checks
Ask a caregiver: you see bruises on a client's arms and the client says her son grabbed her. What do you do, and who do you call?GA-HC-ANE-01Reporting Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation
What can your personal care assistants do with a client's medications? What can they not do?GA-HC-SVC-05Medication Reminders and Assistance with Self-Administration
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Browse all 49 policies
Search by title, policy number or rule. Open any policy to see its summary, the rules it follows and what is inside.
All 49 policies
Client rights5
GA-HC-ADM-02Free sample
Service Agreements
Requires every service the Agency provides to be based on a written service agreement with the client or responsible party that contains the ten items listed in Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.09(2)(a), completed for a new client not later than the second visit on a different day or seven calendar days after services begin, whichever is earlier; and sets out how good cause for delay, refusal to sign, revisions and cancellation are handled and recorded.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.09(2)(a)
GA-HC-CMP-01
Complaints and Grievances
Explains how clients, responsible parties and others can complain, orally or in writing, without fear of discrimination or retaliation; how the Agency logs, acknowledges, investigates and resolves each complaint in a timely manner; and how complainants can contact the Georgia Department of Community Health.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.12(3)
GA-HC-CR-01
Client Rights and Responsibilities
Requires the Agency to give every client, or the client's responsible party, a written notice of the eleven rights and responsibilities listed in Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.12(2) when the service agreement is completed, with the names, addresses and telephone numbers the rule requires; to give every client the Agency's telephone number for questions and complaints; to provide a copy of the most recent licensure inspection report on written request; and to make sure every staff member respects those rights in daily practice.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.12
GA-HC-CR-02
Nondiscrimination, Language Access, and Effective Communication
Commits the Agency to serve clients without discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin (including limited English proficiency and primary language), sex, age or disability; to provide qualified interpreters, translated documents, auxiliary aids and reasonable modifications free of charge; and, where Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act applies because the Agency receives federal financial assistance such as Medicaid payments, to meet the notice, coordinator, grievance, procedure and training duties in 45 CFR Part 92.
45 CFR Part 92
GA-HC-CR-03
Responsible Parties, Consent, and Advance Directives
Sets out who may act for a client as the client's responsible party under Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.03(r), how the Agency checks and records that authority, how consent to services is obtained and respected, and what staff do when a client has an advance directive for health care, a do-not-resuscitate order, or a POLST form under Georgia law. No private home care rule requires the Agency to give advance directive information; the advance directive steps in this policy are the Agency's own standards.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.03(r)
Service delivery13
GA-HC-ADM-01
Referral, Intake, and Acceptance of Clients
Sets out how the Agency receives and records referrals, screens each prospective client against its licensed service categories, its staffing and the client's residence, identifies medically frail or medically compromised clients who need nurse supervision, and decides whether to accept the client, so that it never offers a service it cannot reasonably expect to deliver in accordance with the rules.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.09(2)
GA-HC-DC-01
Service Changes, Interruption, Transfer, and Discharge
Sets out how the Agency changes, interrupts, transfers and ends a client's services: the client's right to cancel at any time and to refuse services; how the Agency advises and refers a client when an unexpected staff shortage prevents delivery; how services are put on hold during a hospital or facility stay; the reasons for which the Agency may end services; the written notice the Agency gives as its own standard (the private home care rules set no advance notice period); and how discharge and transfer are planned and recorded.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.09(5)
GA-HC-HR-06
Contracted Services and Independent Contractors
Requires every arrangement under which an independent contractor, individual or agent provides private home care services on the Agency's behalf to be in writing and to detail the services, and requires the Agency to make sure contracted staff follow the Georgia rules, are qualified and background-checked, and are supervised by the Agency's own supervisors.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.09(7)
GA-HC-SAF-01
Home Safety, Falls Prevention, and Staff Safety
Sets out how the Agency assesses each client's home for hazards at the start of services and at supervisory visits, prevents client falls and responds when they happen, keeps staff safe while working alone in clients' homes, and reports and records client incidents and staff injuries.
29 U.S.C. §654(a)(1)
GA-HC-SAF-02
Medical Emergencies and Death in the Home
Tells staff exactly what to do in a medical emergency in a client's home: call 911, give first aid and CPR within their training, honor a valid order not to resuscitate under Georgia law, call the office, and stay with the client. Also sets out what to do when a client is found dead or dies during a visit, and the reporting and records that follow.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.09(6)(a)3
GA-HC-SP-01
Service Planning and Plan Review
Requires a written service plan for every client, established with the client and responsible party (and with the client's personal physician when nursing services are provided), containing the items in Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.11(1); completed by the appropriate supervisor within seven working days after services are first provided in the residence; reviewed and updated at least every sixty-two days for nursing services and at each supervisory visit for other services; and revised whenever any listed item changes.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.11
GA-HC-SP-02
Coordination of Care and Changes in Client Condition
Requires every staff member to report the client's needs, changes in condition and observed problems, sets out what is reported, to whom and how fast, how the supervisor responds and coordinates with the client's physician, family, responsible party and other providers, and how those communications are recorded in the client file.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.10(1)
GA-HC-SUP-01
Supervision of Services and Supervisory Home Visits
Sets out who may supervise each category of service, how often supervisors visit each client's residence (at least every 92 days for personal care and every 122 days for companion or sitter tasks, counted from the first day of service), what each visit covers, how visits are tracked and documented, and how contracted staff are supervised.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.10(2)
GA-HC-SUP-03
On-Call Coverage and Nurse Consultation
Sets out the Agency's on-call system so that staff and clients can always reach a representative, and so that staff caring for medically frail or medically compromised clients can reach a nurse supervisor for consultation on the client's medical needs; covers the on-call rota, the telephone number, response standards, escalation, and logging of calls.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.10(2)(d)
GA-HC-SVC-01
Scope of Services and Types of Clients Served
Defines the private home care services the Agency offers, the categories it is licensed for, the types of clients it serves and does not serve, where services are delivered, and the services that are outside a private home care provider license, so that no client is offered a service the Agency cannot lawfully and reliably deliver.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.09(1)
GA-HC-SVC-02
Companion and Sitter Services
Sets out what companions and sitters do and do not do, how they follow the service plan, what they observe and report, and how the Agency keeps companion or sitter services within the limits Georgia law sets, so that clients who need hands-on personal care receive it from a qualified personal care assistant.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.10(1)(c)
GA-HC-SVC-03
Personal Care Tasks
Sets out how personal care assistants deliver personal care tasks safely and in line with the service plan, including bathing, toileting, grooming, dressing, eating, ambulation and transfers, home management and vital signs, what they must report, and the tasks they may not perform because they are nursing services.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.10(1)(b)
GA-HC-SVC-07
Transport and Escort Services
Sets out how the Agency provides transport and escort services: the written authorization needed to use a client's vehicle, the signed waiver or insurance verification required when an employee drives a vehicle the client does not own, driver and vehicle standards, safe transport practice, and what to do after an accident.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.03(s)
Clinical tasks3
GA-HC-SVC-04
Nursing Services
If the Agency provides nursing services, sets out who may provide them, the registered nurse supervisor, what nursing services include, how nurses work with the client's physician and the service plan, clinical notes, and the limits that keep the Agency's nursing services within a private home care license.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.10(1)(a)
GA-HC-SVC-05
Medication Reminders and Assistance with Self-Administration
Sets out exactly what staff may and may not do with a client's medications: personal care assistants remind clients and assist with self-administration, licensed nurses administer medications under orders, trained proxy caregivers act only under Policy GA-HC-SVC-06, and companions do not handle medications. Covers documentation, refusals, errors and safe storage.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.03(k)
GA-HC-SVC-06
Proxy Caregivers and Health Maintenance Activities
Records whether the Agency delivers health maintenance activities through proxy caregivers and, if it does, sets out the written informed consent, written plan of care, training, competency checklists, medication administration conditions, prohibited assistance and Medication Assistance Record that Georgia's proxy caregiver rules require.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-100
Safeguarding1
Infection control2
GA-HC-IC-01Free sample
Infection Control in the Home
Sets out the infection control practices every staff member follows in clients' homes, based on CDC standard precautions: hand hygiene, gloves and other protective equipment, respiratory hygiene, cleaning and laundry, safe food handling, sharps found in the home, care of clients with known infections, and keeping staff who are ill or exposed to tuberculosis or hepatitis away from clients.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.10(2)
GA-HC-IC-02
Bloodborne Pathogens Exposure Control Plan
The Agency's written Exposure Control Plan under the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard: which jobs and tasks carry occupational exposure, how exposure is prevented, the hepatitis B vaccination program and declination, what to do after an exposure incident, training, the sharps injury log, and recordkeeping.
29 CFR §1910.1030
Emergency preparedness1
Records2
GA-HC-RM-01
Client Records, Confidentiality, and Retention
Sets out what goes in every client file, who supervises and has custody of client records, to whom and for what purposes a record may be released, how records are kept secure in the office and in the home, and how long they are kept: at least five years from the date of last service.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.09(4)(a)
GA-HC-RM-02
Daily Documentation of Services Provided
Requires every caregiver and nurse to record, for every visit, the services actually performed for the client that day, with times, tasks done or not done and why, and any change or problem observed, so that the record is complete, true and incorporated into the client file.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.10(3)
Privacy3
GA-HC-PRV-01
HIPAA Privacy
Explains how staff protect clients' health information: who may see it, when it may be shared, and what clients can ask for, applying the HIPAA Privacy Rule together with the Georgia rule that limits disclosure of client records to a short list of people.
45 CFR Part 164 Subpart E
GA-HC-PRV-02
HIPAA Security
Explains how the Agency keeps electronic client records safe: passwords, locked phones and computers, who has access, backups, and what staff do when a device is lost or something looks wrong, applying the HIPAA Security Rule and the Georgia duty to keep client records secure.
45 CFR §§164.302-164.318
GA-HC-PRV-03
HIPAA Breach Notification
Explains what to do if client information is lost, stolen, or sent to the wrong person: tell the office at once, so the Agency can assess the incident and notify every person and authority the law requires within the federal deadlines.
45 CFR §§164.400-164.414
Human resources8
GA-HC-HR-01
Staffing and Staff Qualifications
Requires the Agency to employ enough qualified staff to deliver every service in its service agreements, sets the minimum qualifications for nurses, personal care assistants, companions and sitters, and supervisors in each service category, describes how staff are hired and assigned, and tells the office what to do when an unexpected staff shortage means a visit cannot be covered.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.09(5)
GA-HC-HR-02
Criminal Background and Registry Checks
Requires a registry check, a licensing board check where it applies, and a satisfactory fingerprint records check determination under the Georgia Long-term Care Background Check Program before any owner, administrator or direct access employee works for the Agency, and sets out what the Agency does when a check is unsatisfactory, when an employee is arrested, and how background information is kept confidential.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-12
GA-HC-HR-03
Personnel Records
Lists everything the Georgia rules require in each employee's personnel record, adds the background check evidence the Long-term Care Background Check Program requires, and sets how personnel files are organized, kept confidential, made available to the department and retained.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.09(4)(c)
GA-HC-HR-04
Employee Health Screening and Tuberculosis
Sets up the Agency's health screening program for employees and contractors who interact with clients, requires tuberculosis screening before anyone starts work in line with CDC guidance for health care personnel, and sets out how staff report exposure to tuberculosis or hepatitis and when they are kept away from clients.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.09(4)(c)4
GA-HC-HR-05
Orientation and Annual Training
Requires every employee who provides services to clients to complete orientation on the subjects the Georgia rules list before working with clients, and to receive at least eight clock hours of training or instruction each year after the first year of employment in subjects related to their duties, and sets out how training is planned, delivered and recorded.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.09(6)
GA-HC-SUP-02
Annual Competency Evaluation of Staff
Requires every staff member who provides services to clients to be evaluated in writing by a supervisor at least annually, by direct observation or demonstration of each job task he or she performs, and sets out who evaluates, how, what happens when a staff member is not competent, and how evaluations are recorded.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.10(2)
GA-HC-TRN-01
Personal Care Assistant Training and Competency
Sets out the four ways a personal care assistant may qualify under Georgia rules, the Agency's 40-hour PCA training program (its nine required areas, the 20 hours that must be completed before serving clients and the 20 hours to be completed within six months), the competency determination before any task is assigned, and the records kept.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.09(5)(c)
GA-HC-TRN-02
Companion and Sitter Training and Competency
Sets out the minimum requirements for companions and sitters: the ability to read, write, follow instructions and complete reports, and training or demonstrated competency in the seven areas Georgia rules list, and how the Agency trains, checks and records them before a companion or sitter works with clients.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.09(5)(d)
Governance3
GA-HC-GOV-01
Governing Body and Adoption of Policies
Sets out who the governing body of the Agency is, what it is responsible for under the Georgia private home care rules, how every written policy is adopted, issued, reviewed and withdrawn, and lists each written policy the rules require so that a surveyor can find it.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.04
GA-HC-GOV-02
Administrator Appointment, Qualifications, and Alternate
Requires the governing body to appoint an Administrator with full authority and responsibility for operating the Agency, sets the qualifications the Administrator must meet before appointment, including a satisfactory fingerprint records check determination, and provides for an Alternate Administrator who acts when the Administrator is unavailable.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.09(3)
GA-HC-GOV-03
Licensure, Inspections, and Plans of Correction
Sets out how the Agency keeps its private home care license valid and displayed, which changes it must report to the department and when, how staff cooperate with an inspection, and how the Agency prepares and carries out a written plan of correction within ten days of receiving an inspection report.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.05
Quality2
GA-HC-QA-01
Quality Improvement Program
Sets up the Agency's quality improvement program: what is measured, how complaints, incidents and problems with care are tracked to a resolution, how corrective actions are checked, and how the Administrator reports to the governing body, so that the Agency can show the program is effective.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.10(4)
GA-HC-QA-02
Incidents and Unusual Occurrences
Tells staff what counts as an incident or unusual occurrence, what to do at once to keep the client safe, how to report it to the office and record it, and how the Agency looks into it, takes action, keeps the report for at least five years and uses it to improve care.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.09(4)(d)
Business3
GA-HC-BUS-01
Charges, Billing, and Cancellation
Requires the Agency to state its charges and how it bills and is paid in every service agreement, to agree any change in charges with the client before it takes effect, to bill only for services actually provided and documented, and to honor the client's right to cancel at any time, charging for a late cancellation only the reasonable travel and staff time the rules allow.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.09(2)(a)5
GA-HC-BUS-02
Electronic Visit Verification
If the Agency provides personal care services paid by Georgia Medicaid, requires every visit to be recorded in the electronic visit verification system the Georgia Department of Community Health requires, sets out how caregivers check in and out, how exceptions and manual edits are documented and approved, and how EVV data is protected, reviewed and used for billing.
42 U.S.C. §1396b(l)
GA-HC-BUS-03
Georgia Medicaid Waiver Services
If the Agency serves participants of a Georgia Medicaid home and community-based services waiver, requires it to enroll and stay enrolled correctly, deliver only authorized services, work with each participant's case manager or care coordinator, follow the program manual for that waiver, and keep the records and disclosures the Medicaid program requires.
42 CFR §441.301
Ethics3
GA-HC-ETH-01
Code of Conduct and Professional Boundaries
Sets the standards of conduct every staff member follows in a client's home and at work: treating the client, the client's property and residence with respect, keeping client information confidential, keeping professional boundaries, recording honestly, and reporting concerns, with the consequences of a breach.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.12(2)(h)
GA-HC-ETH-02
Client Funds, Property, and Bonding
Requires written authorization in the service agreement before any staff member handles a client's money for shopping, bill paying or other home management, requires any employee with unlimited access to a client's personal funds to be bonded through the Agency, and sets the controls on receipts, cards, keys, gifts and the client's property that protect clients from financial exploitation.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-65-.03(g)
GA-HC-ETH-03
Compliance Program and Exclusion Screening
Sets up the Agency's compliance program: a person responsible for compliance, written standards, training, a way to raise concerns without retaliation, auditing, and a prompt response to problems. It requires screening of every staff member and contractor against federal and Georgia exclusion lists before hire and monthly, and explains the false claims and anti-kickback rules that apply when the Agency bills Medicaid.
O.C.G.A. §49-4-168 et seq.
Questions
Questions about this manual
Is this the right manual for my license?
It is for private home care providers licensed for nursing, personal care, or companion or sitter services. Agencies licensed as home health agencies or hospices need the Georgia home health or Georgia hospice manual.
Does it follow the July 2026 changes to Georgia's rules?
Yes. Rules 111-8-65-.03, .05 and .09 were amended effective July 29, 2026, and the manual follows the amended text. For example, the former yearly TB test is gone, so TB screening follows CDC guidance for health care staff.
How long must we keep client records?
At least five years from the date of the last service, and incident reports at least five years (Rule 111-8-65-.09(4)(b)1 and (4)(d)). Policy GA-HC-RM-01 also covers who may see a record and how records are kept secure.
What do the 49 policies cover?
Client rights (5), service delivery (13), clinical tasks (3), safeguarding (1), infection control (2), emergency preparedness (1), records (2), privacy (3), human resources (8), governance (3), quality (2), business (3) and ethics (3).
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