Sheet 03 · The check
Missouri Family Care Safety Registry: how to check a caregiver
You want the Missouri Family Care Safety Registry, how to check a caregiver, in the state’s own words, not in a vendor blog. This sheet is that page: what the registry is, who must register, which records a screening pulls, how an employer requests one, the hours and number DHSS prints, and the limits. A registry check is not a personality test. It is not a license. Family Caregiver Alliance still says always check references. Always do a background check. This is the Missouri half of that sentence.
What the registry is
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services says the Family Care Safety Registry promotes safety. People who will care for children, seniors, or disabled persons must register with the FCSR. An employer who will hire one of these care workers can request a background check through the FCSR. The employer uses the background results to choose who to hire. The FCSR began in 2001, after House Bill 490 became law. The law requires every child care, elder care, personal care and mental health worker to register. Employers may contact the FCSR for a background check on a registered care worker.
A worker registers first. DHSS tells citizens they may need to register to be screened before they can care for children, seniors, or disabled persons, or because state law requires it. There are two ways to register: online, which DHSS prices at $15.00 plus a $0.55 processing fee, or a mailed Worker Registration form with a copy of the Social Security card and a check or money order for $15.00. Those figures are the state’s fees for the worker’s registration, not a care rate, and not a family hiring cost this desk is quoting as a price of care.
What records a screening pulls
DHSS says the FCSR checks seven sources of Missouri information:
- State criminal background records maintained by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. DHSS says the inquiry includes Missouri data only and does not include closed records. The FCSR reports criminal history based on a search using name, Social Security number, and date of birth.
- Sex Offender Registry information maintained by the Highway Patrol.
- Child abuse and neglect records maintained by the Department of Social Services Children’s Division.
- The Employee Disqualification List maintained by DHSS. Individuals are placed on the EDL after an investigation establishes that they have abused, neglected or exploited someone under their care. DHSS says a potential applicant listed on the EDL may not be hired by a licensed long-term care or residential care facility or a home health or hospice agency, and should be screened prior to being hired by an individual for private care.
- The Employee Disqualification Registry maintained by the Missouri Department of Mental Health.
- Child-care facility licensing records maintained by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
- Foster parent licensing records maintained by the Department of Social Services.
Read that list twice. It is Missouri data. It is not every state. It is not a federal rap sheet. It is not a credit report. It is not a driving record. It does not tell you whether the person will show up on Tuesday. That is why references still get called.
How an employer requests a check
DHSS says eligible providers of care services can receive background information on workers or applicants who provide care to vulnerable individuals. The worker must be registered before background information can be provided. There are three ways to request it:
- By calling 866-422-6872 weekdays between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. (except state holidays).
- By sending a completed Employer Background Screening Request form. The form will be worked in the order received.
- Through online access, after submitting needed forms from the organization and each employee who will access the FCSR online system. DHSS says it may take a few weeks to set up online access.
- Write the FCSR employer number on the fridge: 866-422-6872, weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
- Ask the person you want to hire whether they are already registered. If they do not know, that is the first task tomorrow.
- If you are using a company, ask on the scorecard how they screen and whether they use FCSR. Write the answer. Do not take “we handle that” without a method.
- Call one reference, even if the registry is still in process.
- FCA says to lock up or take out heirloom jewelry, and keep track of cash, checks, and credit cards while you are still learning the person. That is prudence, not an accusation.
If you are hiring on your own, you are the employer in that sentence. Call the number. Ask whether a family hiring a private caregiver can request a screening, and which form they want. Write down what they say. This desk does not invent a family portal that the page does not print. If the person is not registered, they cannot be screened through FCSR until they are. That delay is information. It is not a reason to skip the check.
A registrant who believes the transfer of information was inaccurate has 30 days to appeal in writing, with the date of the screening, name, date of birth, Social Security number, mailing address, phone number, and a description of the information believed to be incorrectly transferred, to Family Care Safety Registry, PO Box 570, Jefferson City, MO 65102, or fcsr@health.mo.gov. DHSS says the appeal process does not change the substance of the background results. Questions about the underlying records go to the agency that maintains them.
Does Missouri license non-medical home care agencies?
A registry check is not a license. Missouri DHSS describes three types of care in the home. Home health requires a state home health license. Private duty and private pay, the type that puts a companion or personal-care aide in the house in shifts, is the type DHSS says has no license issued in Missouri and no government oversight of that type of company. Abuse and neglect still go to 800-392-0210. That is why a family hiring in the private-pay lane still uses FCSR, still calls references, and still writes an agreement. Red flags when hiring a home caregiver include a person who will not register, a company that will not say whether it uses the registry, and a check that someone “heard was fine” with no paper in the folder.
Family Caregiver Alliance’s hiring sheet is the other half: always check references, always do a background check. The registry is the background check Missouri built. References are still your job. Ask about care competency, compassion, and reliability, in FCA’s words. Call two work-related references if you can get them.
What to do tonight
When to ask the care team or the doctor
A registry result is not a medical opinion. It does not tell you whether a parent is safe to be at home, whether a dementia diagnosis belongs in the plan, or whether a fall last week means overnight coverage. Those questions go to the physician. If a screening turns up something you do not understand, do not ask this desk to interpret it. Ask the state agency that holds the record, and if the person is already your parent’s caregiver, ask the care team whether anything in the house needs to change while you sort it out.
New Plan Care is named on the home page as a paid placement, not as a screening method. Ask any company, including that one, whether it uses this registry. This sheet does not print the answer.
Next sheets
Sources opened 10 September 2026. Full list on the sources page.