Qualifications of personal support workers
 52. (1) Every licensee of a long-term care home shall ensure that every person hired by the licensee as a personal support worker or to provide personal support services, regardless of title, (a)  has successfully completed a personal support worker program that meets the requirements in subsection (2); and (b)  has provided the licensee with proof of graduation issued by the education provider. O. Reg. 246/22, s. 52 (1). (2) The personal support worker program, (a)  must meet the program requirements set by the Ministry of Colleges and Universities for an Ontario post-secondary institution or district school board to issue a personal support worker certificate; and (b)  must be a minimum of 600 hours in duration, counting both class time and practical experience time. O. Reg. 246/22, s. 52 (2); O. Reg. 66/23, s. 9. (3) Despite subsection (1), a licensee may hire as a personal support worker or to provide personal support services, (a)  a registered nurse or registered practical nurse, (i)  who, in the opinion of the Director of Nursing and Personal Care, has adequate skills and knowledge to perform the duties of a personal support worker, and (ii)  who has the appropriate current certificate of registration with the College of Nurses of Ontario or, in the case of an out of province nurse, a current certificate of registration with the governing body of their health profession; (b)  a person who was working or employed at a long-term care home as a personal support worker at any time in the 12-month period preceding July 1, 2011, if, (i)  the person was working as a personal support worker on a full-time basis for at least three years during the five years immediately before being hired, or (ii)  the person was working as a personal support worker on a part-time basis for the equivalent of at least three full-time years during the seven years immediately before being hired; (c)  a person who is enrolled in an educational program for registered nurses or registered practical nurses and who, in the opinion of the Director of Nursing and Personal Care, has adequate skills and knowledge to perform the duties of a personal support worker; (d)  a person who is enrolled in a program described in subsection (2) and who is completing the practical experience requirements of the program, but such a person must work under the supervision of a member of the registered nursing staff and an instructor from the program; (e)  a person, (i)  who has a diploma or certificate granted in another jurisdiction resulting from a program that was a minimum of 600 hours in duration, counting both class time and practical experience time, (ii)  who has a set of skills that, in the reasonable opinion of the licensee, is equivalent to those that the licensee would expect of a person who has completed a program referred to in clause (2) (a), and (iii)  who has provided the licensee with proof of graduation issued by the education provider; (f)  a person who is enrolled in a program that is a minimum of 600 hours in duration, counting both class time and practical experience time, and meets, (i)  the vocational standards established by the Ministry of Colleges and Universities, (ii)  the standards established by the National Association of Career Colleges, or (iii)  the standards established by the Ontario Community Support Association, but such a person must work under the supervision of a member of the registered nursing staff and an instructor from the program; or (g)  a person who, by July 1, 2018, has successfully completed a personal support worker program that meets the requirements set out in clause (f), other than the requirement to work under supervision, and has provided the licensee with proof of graduation issued by the education provider. O. Reg. 246/22, s. 52 (3); O. Reg. 202/23, s. 5. (4) The licensee shall cease to employ as a personal support worker, or as someone who provides personal support services, regardless of title, (a)  a person who was required to be enrolled in a program described in clause (3) (c) or (d) if the person ceases to be enrolled in the program or fails to successfully complete the program within five years of being hired; (b)  a person who was required to be enrolled in a program described in clause (3) (f) if the person ceases to be enrolled in the program or fails to successfully complete the program by July 1, 2018; and (c)  a person who was required to be enrolled in a program described in clause (3) (c), (d) or (f) if the person fails to provide the licensee with proof of graduation from the program within 90 days of the graduation. O. Reg. 246/22, s. 52 (4). (5) A licensee of a long-term care home is not required to comply with the requirements set out in this section until July 1, 2024, as long as the person hired as a personal support worker or to provide personal support services, in the reasonable opinion of the licensee, has the adequate skills, training and knowledge to perform the duties required of that position. O. Reg. 314/23, s. 1. (6) A licensee shall cease to employ a person to whom subsection (5) applies if the person does not meet the applicable requirements under the Act and this Regulation on or before August 1, 2024. O. Reg. 314/23, s. 1. (7) A licensee shall keep records of all persons to whom subsection (5) applies and provide statistical information respecting the situation to the Director monthly or upon request. O. Reg. 314/23, s. 1. (8) The records required by subsection (7) must include at a minimum the number of persons working in the home to whom subsection (5) applies and their position. O. Reg. 314/23, s. 1. Required Programs