08/08/2026
Service Employees International Union SEIU Local 105 – Home Care Worker Discussion Recap
Conversation with Lisa and Christine
I had a valuable conversation with Lisa and Christine from the SEIU Local 105 about challenges facing home care workers and the families who depend on them in Colorado. Our discussion highlighted three areas that deserve closer attention: navigating ’s home care system and caregiver screening requirements, worker misclassification, and barriers facing family caregivers.
Home Care Worker Screening and Consumer Protection
We discussed how complicated it can be for families to identify and properly vet qualified home care workers.
Colorado regulates home care primarily through licensed home care agencies and home care placement agencies. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment licenses Class A home care agencies, which can provide skilled health services and personal care, and Class B agencies, which provide personal care services. Colorado also regulates home care placement agencies that refer caregivers to consumers.
However, families do not have a single, comprehensive public state database of all individual home care workers that serves as a one-stop resource for reviewing a worker’s qualifications, background, and employment history.
Colorado does maintain the Colorado Adult Protective Services (CAPS) system, which can identify substantiated findings of mistreatment of at-risk adults. CAPS information is not an open public database, and access to the information is governed by state law. Certain employers that hire workers who provide direct care to at-risk adults must conduct CAPS checks, and Colorado law also provides a mechanism for individuals hiring caregivers through CDASS to request such checks.
This raises an important policy question: How can Colorado make it easier for families to identify and verify qualified caregivers while protecting vulnerable adults as well as workers’ privacy and due-process rights?
Worker Misclassification
Lisa shared that she had experienced what she described as being misclassified as an independent contractor rather than being treated as an employee.
Colorado law generally presumes a worker is an employee unless the requirements for independent-contractor status are satisfied. Among other considerations, an independent contractor must be free from direction and control over the performance of the work and customarily engaged in an independent business related to the work being performed. Simply paying a worker through a 1099 does not by itself establish independent-contractor status.
Misclassification can have serious consequences. Workers improperly classified as independent contractors can lose access to important protections associated with employee status, including minimum-wage and overtime protections, paid sick leave, unemployment insurance, and employer-provided workers’ compensation coverage.
Colorado has strengthened enforcement against employee misclassification, including through HB25-1001, which established escalating penalties for employers found to have misclassified employees.
Lisa’s experience reinforced the importance of making sure workers understand their rights and that Colorado’s worker-classification laws are effectively enforced.
Family Members Serving as Paid Caregivers
Lisa also raised challenges that families can encounter when a relative provides care for a family member.
Colorado recognizes family members as potential paid caregivers through programs including Consumer-Directed Attendant Support Services (CDASS) and In-Home Support Services (IHSS), subject to program requirements and restrictions.
Under CDASS, eligible Health First Colorado members can hire, train, supervise, and schedule their own attendants and may select family members, friends, or others as paid caregivers, subject to applicable restrictions.
Under IHSS, eligible members can also select and supervise attendants, including family members, while an approved home health agency provides additional administrative and professional support.
Since July 1, 2025, newly enrolled members access CDASS and IHSS through Colorado’s Community First Choice program.
Even when family caregivers are eligible to be paid, families still must navigate Medicaid eligibility, service assessments, enrollment requirements, authorized services and hours, payroll or agency procedures, and other program requirements. For families already dealing with aging, disability, or significant care needs, navigating these systems can be challenging.
Key Takeaway
My conversation with Lisa and Christine from SEIU Local 105 reinforced how closely worker protections, consumer protections, and quality care are connected.
Colorado should continue examining ways to make the home care system easier for families to navigate, protect workers from improper classification and exploitation, appropriately recognize family caregivers, and maintain strong protections for seniors and people with disabilities.
I appreciated Lisa and Christine sharing their experiences. Conversations like this matter because the best solutions come not only from the State Capitol, but from listening to people on Main Street.
