Continuing Education
Continuing education helps keep you up to date on the best practices for your work. It helps you continue to build on the skills you develop over time in your career. You will need to take 12 hours of continuing education every 2 years to recertify as a homecare or personal support worker or personal care attendant. There are several courses you can choose from when completing your continuing education.
And with Carewell Kicks, a new benefit from Carewell SEIU 503, you’ll be eligible for a free pair of slip-resistant shoes once you complete continuing education.
Ready to begin continuing education?
Continuing Education
Style
Online
Duration
Varies based on course
When
12 hours every 2 years
What Training Covers
Continuing education includes 4 hours of required training alongside 8 hours of elective training. You can choose from a variety of elective courses to find the training that best fits your needs and interests.
There is 1 hour of required training devoted to:
- Professional boundaries
- Reporting abuse and neglect
- Medicaid and Medicare fraud
There are also 3 hours of required cultural competency training including:
- Cultural awareness (webinar)
- Cultural skills
There are several options for elective courses to complete the remaining 8 hours of continuing education. Here are some of the options that are available:
- Food safety
- Learning about common I/DD diagnosis
- Housekeeping best practices
- Lifting and positioning
- Transfers and assistive devices
- Stress management for care providers
- What is an identity?
- What is intersectionality?
- Putting on and taking off PPE
- Prescription drug misuse
- Medical terminology for care providers
- Body systems 1 and 2
- Working with nonverbal consumers
- Providing strengths-based services
You can also view the course catalog here.
Continuing Education FAQs
When do I need to complete continuing education? How can I find my continuing education due date?
Starting March 31, 2026, continuing education is required for the 2-year renewal of your provider number. Your individual due date may be later than March 31, 2026 depending on when you began work.
The due date to complete continuing education matches the expiration date of your background check. If you have multiple provider numbers, the due date will match the expiration date of the background check for the provider number you’ve had the longest.
- Homecare workers and personal care attendants can see this date on their remittance advices when they get paid. It will also be on the reminder notices they receive from the state 120, 90, and 60 days before their provider number expires.
- Personal support workers can see this date in eXPRS. Personal support workers will receive email notices before their provider number expires.
How do the credits/time work?
Where can I view the class descriptions?
Do I have to take all 29 modules?
Are there exemptions for continuing education?
- Professional Development Certification (PDC)
- Enhanced Homecare or Personal Support Worker
- Exceptional Homecare or Personal Support Worker
- Ventilator Dependent Quadriplegia (VDQ)
- Traditional Health Worker
How long will my continuing education certificate last? If my renewal requirement doesn't come up for some time, what happens when I take CE now?
The continuing education requirement doesn’t go into effect until March 31, 2026. Your continuing education certificate will last until your next renewal requirement after the March 31, 2026 deadline.
Example: You complete CE in October 2025 and your next renewal date is April 2026. You will have met the requirement for your April 2026 renewal. The next time you will need to complete CE training will be for your April 2028 renewal.
Example: You completed CE in December 2024 and your next renewal date is January 2025. You will have met the requirement for your next renewal in January 2027. The next time you will need to complete CE training will be for your January 2029 renewal.
Example: You complete CE in February 2026 and your next renewal date is March 2026. You will have met the requirement for your March 2026 renewal. The next time you will need to complete CE training will be for your March 2028 renewal.
Example: You complete CE in March 2026 and your next renewal date is June 2026. You will have met the requirement for your June 2026 renewal. The next time you will need to complete CE training will be for your June 2028 renewal.
Stipend FAQs
Do I have to pay for training?
No. The training is free to all homecare and personal support workers and personal care attendants.
Will I be provided a stipend for training I take?
Yes. You will be given a stipend in an amount equivalent to your classification’s step 3 rate of pay for 12 hours of coursework, rounded up to the nearest full dollar amount. To see what your classification’s pay rate is, please check the Oregon Homecare Collective Bargaining Agreement.
- For example, if your classification’s step 3 rate of pay is $22, your stipend would be $22 x 12 hours = $264.
The stipend is sent through direct deposit with Routable, a payment service provider.
- If you require a check for your stipend, please reach out by email or phone: studentsupportstipend@RISEpartnership.com or 1-844-503-7348 (Monday-Friday, 8am-6pm PST).
- Include your legal name and mailing address in the email.
Please note that opting for a check will delay the delivery of your stipend by 2-3 weeks.
Please see the stipend policy for more information on stipends.
How do I receive the stipend?
- It will first ask you to fill out tax-related items like your address and Social Security number.
- Click “Save and continue” to move on to the next step.
- Make sure to select “individual” and not “business” when it asks you which one you are.
- It will next ask you to fill out your bank account information to set up direct deposit.
- Logging in through your bank’s online system is the easiest way to set this up.
Once you’ve provided your information to Routable, you should see your stipend within 7-10 business days.
If you require a check for your stipend, please reach out by email or phone: studentsupportstipend@RISEpartnership.com or 1-844-503-7348 (Monday-Friday, 8am-6pm PST.
- Include your legal name and mailing address in the email.
- Please note that opting for a check will delay the delivery of your stipend by 2-3 weeks.
Once you’ve provided your information to Routable, you should see your stipend within 7-10 business days.
Please see the stipend policy for more information on stipends.