Continuing Education
All care providers need to complete 12 hours of continuing education (CE) as part of their provider number renewal.
Continuing education:
- Keeps you up to date on best practices for your work.
- Helps you build on the skills you develop over time in your career.
- Includes 12 hours of training that you must take every 2 years to recertify as a homecare worker, personal support worker, or personal care attendant.
- Once finished, you receive a $279 stipend and become eligible for a free pair of slip-resistant shoes through Carewell Kicks.
Ready to begin continuing education?
Want to learn more about the elective courses you can take for 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 and 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 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. Some of the available options include:
- 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?
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 find this date on their remittance advices when they get paid. It also appears on the reminder notices they receive from the state 120, 90, and 60 days before their provider number expires.
- Personal support workers can find this date in eXPRS. Personal support workers will receive email notices before their provider number expires.
I work as more than 1 provider type. How many hours of continuing education do I have to take? What is my due date?
You must take a total of 12 hours of continuing education every 2 years. You don’t need to take more than 12 hours every 2 years even if you work as more than 1 provider type. Your continuing education due date is based on the provider number you’ve had the longest.
How do the credits/time work?
Each credit is the same as 1 hour of course time. So if a course is listed as 1.5 hours, that means you will receive 1.5 credits. You need to take a total of 12 hours (or credits) of training to fulfill your continuing education requirement.
Where can I view the class descriptions?
You can read more about each course by clicking on it in the learning portal. You can also view the course catalog here.
Are there exemptions for continuing education?
If you have an active certification through the state and plan to keep it active, you are exempt from the continuing education requirement. Examples of exempt certifications include:
- Professional Development Certification (PDC)
- Enhanced Homecare or Personal Support Worker
- Exceptional Homecare or Personal Support Worker
- Ventilator Dependent Quadriplegia (VDQ)
- Traditional Health Worker
You can learn more about OHCC certifications here.
If I complete continuing education before my due date, will it still count for my renewal? When does my CE requirement reset?
Your continuing education requirement follows your provider number renewal cycle. When you complete CE, it is applied the first time you renew on or after March 31, 2026. Then you’ll need to complete CE again for each renewal every 2 years.
Below are some examples of what your CE requirements may look like if you finished CE training before the requirement went into effect on March 31, 2026.
Example: You completed CE in October 2025 and your next renewal date is April 2026. You will have met the requirement for your April 2026 renewal. You’ll need to complete CE training again 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. You’ll need to complete CE training again for your January 2029 renewal.
Example: You completed CE in February 2026 and your next renewal date is March 2026. You will have met the requirement for your March 2026 renewal. You’ll need to complete CE training again for your March 2028 renewal.
Example: You completed CE in March 2026 and your next renewal date is June 2026. You will have met the requirement for your June 2026 renewal. You’ll need to complete CE training again for your June 2028 renewal.
Can I take training offline? What are the options?
Yes. Continuing education is available as an offline version in English, Arabic, Mandarin, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese. To request an offline version of CE, contact Carewell at 1-844-503-7348, Monday – Friday, 8 AM – 6 PM PT, or email CarewellSEIU503Training@RISEpartnership.com.
If you need internet or computer access, we recommend going to a library or WorkSource center to complete the training. If you need help finding a location, you can call us at 1-844-503-7348.
Do I have to take all the modules listed in the learning portal?
No. You need to complete 12 hours of training that includes 4 hours of required training and 8 hours of electives.
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 $23.25, your stipend would be $23.25 x 12 hours = $279.
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, 8 AM – 6 PM PT).
- 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?
When you’ve completed all your continuing education training, you will receive an email from the Carewell Learning Portal introducing you to Routable, a payment service provider. About 2 weeks later, you should receive an email from Routable that will send you a link to fill out some information. If you do not see the email from Routable, please check your spam folder.
- 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, 8 AM – 6 PM PT).
- 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.
I got a notice from Carewell SEIU 503 about unclaimed property. What does that mean?
Our records show that we sent you a stipend payment, but it hasn’t been claimed. When a check hasn’t been cashed after a certain period of time, it becomes an unclaimed, or “stale” check. We are required to report unclaimed checks to the Oregon State Treasury.
What is unclaimed property?
Unclaimed property is any amount of money that has not been paid or returned to an individual.
Typically, unclaimed property happens when:
- A person loses or forgets to cash a check.
- A person’s address changes and mail forwarding ends.
- A bank account holder has no activity or contact with their bank for at least 2 years, especially for direct deposits.
State law requires Carewell SEIU 503 to regularly report to the Oregon State Treasury any unclaimed property, including unpaid checks or direct deposits.
- For steps on how to claim unclaimed property, click here.
- If you have more questions about unclaimed property, click here.
- To check on the status of your claim, click here.
If you haven’t received your payment, you can contact Carewell at 1-844-503-7348, Monday – Friday, 8 AM – 6 PM PT, or email us: CarewellSEIU503Training@RISEpartnership.com. If you have the check, please cash it or deposit it in your bank account.