State Licensing Requirements
Licensing and/or certification requirements for jobs in this field are not the same in every state and may include educational, testing, and/or experiential requirements beyond those offered in the Penn Foster Program. Prospective students should contact the state professional licensing board or similar regulatory body in the state(s) where they plan to work to determine their requirements before enrolling in this program. See the State Licensing page for contact information for state licensing/regulatory boards and certain industry licensing information.
The Penn Foster Home Health Aide diploma program aligns to and exceeds the minimum federal standard for home health aide training: 75 hours of classroom instruction, including 16 hours of supervised practicum. The Penn Foster program consists of 200 hours of online and self-study training, 40 hours of a required supervised practicum, and then assessments. In states where additional practicum hours are required, students may be able to arrange for extended externships beyond what Penn Foster requires. State training requirements vary for Home Health Aides, with some states requiring more than the Federal standard and may include requirements beyond those offered in this program. There are also some states that require Home Health Aides to be a Certified Nursing Aide in order to complete the required externship in this program and or for employment in that state. Please see instructions below to refer to State-by-State Training Requirements for the state where you plan to work to learn more before enrolling in this program. Where additional training may be required, the Penn Foster program will help to prepare for employment in Direct Care Worker positions other than Home Health Aide, such as Home Care Aide, Personal Care Aide, Direct Care Worker, or Caregiver. Penn Foster has determined that the curriculum does not meet the educational requirements for licensure or certification in the following states: California, District of Columbia, New Jersey, New York, Mississippi. Click here for instructions to download file.
