CNA: CA to NJ. Issue with Reciprocity

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Hi all,

I've viewed this website many a times before, but this is the first time I'm posting on this, so please excuse me if its in the wrong category!

Anyways, I am a NJ resident and moved out to CA for 2 years to complete a year of Americorps service. During that time frame, I took a CNA course and was recently certified by the CA Dept of Public Health as of 1/27/17...Course was approved through an accredited community college. I had to move back to NJ for personal reasons and am interested of course, in transferring my certificate.

I have 2 classes left this semester before I can apply to nursing school, so I was quite excited to get a job that would provide me with the most basic nursing skills.

Yet, when I called the NJ State Health Dept and Senior Services, they told me that NJ does not accept CA CNA certificates and that my only option was to re-take the CNA course....

Department of Health | Health Facilities | Apply for a Certification

PSI Exam Online

NJ requirements are at least 90 hours clinical and theory. When I was in CA, I received 90 hours of theory and 104 hours of clinical... I looked up and compared the state requirements and the skills are exactly the same.

I was told to call PSI(testing organization) and ask if there is anyway I can take the examination to show competency and they told me no. I would have to retake the class... They didn't even know what the difference was between the programs when I asked :cautious:

I am rather frustrated to say the least. I am confused, however, as I found this

"Persons who submit evidence of the successful completion of a course in the fundamentals of nursing within the 12 months immediately preceding application to take the written/oral competency examination, including: i. Persons certified as a nurse aide in long term care facilities in another state by a state governmental agency and listed on that state's nurse aide registry, who do not meet the requirements for equivalency specified at N.J.A.C. 8:39-43.3 (a) 1, above;"

Is there anyway I can fall into this category? Or possibly appeal to the State Dept if I am able to show with enough documentation that my education and skill competency is equivalent?

Has anyone experienced this before? Please help, I am very frustrated and it is not easy to navigate NJ's governmental websites.

Also, I am in the process now of trying to apply to jobs at local hospitals or healthcare facilities near me. I have quite a bit of healthcare research and experience from my undergrad degree in Public Health, but many Tech positions or nursing assistant in acute facilities are requiring valid NJ CNA certification... I really don't know what to do and don't want to waste more money taking another CNA course.... :yuck:

8:39-43.2 Requirements for nurse aide certification (a) An applicant for certification as a nurse aide in long-term care facilities shall: 1. Successfully complete a nurse aide in long-term care facilities training program that has beenapproved by the Department; and 2. Provide evidence that he or she is of good moral character, including, but not limited to,compliance with the requirements of the Criminal Background Investigation Program in accordance withN.J.A.C. 8:43I; and 3. Pass both the Department's clinical skills competency exam and written/oral exam. (b) An applicant shall fulfill the requirements in (a) above in order to be listed on the New JerseyNurse Aide Registry.8:39-43.3 Exceptions (a) The following persons may take the Department's written/oral examination without first completinga nurse aide training course and clinical skills evaluation approved in accordance with N.J.A.C. 8:39-43.10: 1. Students, graduate nurses, or foreign licensed nurses, pending licensure, who submit evidenceof successful completion of a course in the fundamentals of nursing; 2. Persons who submit evidence of the successful completion of a course in the fundamentals ofnursing within the 12 months immediately preceding application to take the written/oral competencyexamination, including: i. Persons certified as a nurse aide in long term care facilities in another state by a stategovernmental agency and listed on that state's nurse aide registry, who do not meet the requirements forequivalency specified at N.J.A.C. 8:39-43.3 (a) 1, above; and ii. Persons who have had training and experience as a nurse aide in a military service,equivalent to that of a nurse aide; and 89 3. Persons who are certified as homemaker-home health aides by the New Jersey Board ofNursing, in accordance with N.J.A.C. 13:37-14, as amended and supplemented, and who successfullycomplete the Long-Term Care Module of the Core Curriculum for Unlicensed Assistive Personnelapproved by the Department; and 4. Persons who successfully complete the Core Curriculum for Unlicensed Assistive Personnelapproved by the Department and the New Jersey Board of Nursing, and the Long-Term Care Module ofthe Core Curriculum for Unlicensed Assistive Personnel approved by the Department.

http://www.hpm.umn.edu/nhregsplus/NHRegs_by_State/NEw%20Jersey/new_jersey_nurse_aid_certification_ltc_facilities.pdf

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Specializes in retired LTC.

Just FYI (and you may already know this) - NJ is a VERY REGULATED state and they are VERY PICKY about licenses and certificates. To me, and I am no authority by any means, it sounds like you should be able to challenge, at least. I just question if there might just be a section of NJ cert training that was NOT covered in your CA curriculum. That could be a reason enough for NJ to deny your cert.

I was thinking- might you back-door it to seek cert as a Home Health Aide? And then cross-over. It might be quicker than trying to unravel all the regulation 'spaghetti'. But there are extra educational requirements there to consider. A problem that I always saw was that the NJ BON handled Home Health Certification, while the DOH certified the CNAs. Two different regulating bodies. Then it's further complicated in that NJ BON falls under NJ DCA (Division of Consumer Affairs). And everybody has their own turf rules.

The only other thing I can think of would be to consult an attorney who is SPECIFICALLY familiar with DOH and education of CNAs. But there would likely be expenses there.

PS - as a fellow 'jersey girl', please make sure you've initiated Motor Vehicles licensing and auto insurance and any other official NJ stuff.

And change of address for your tax stuff to follow you.:yes:

Good luck to you. And welcome back!

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Call the number on that NJ site to apply for reciprocity. Or have you done that already? Ask them to send you the form. It can't hurt to try and apply.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Hi all,

I've viewed this website many a times before, but this is the first time I'm posting on this, so please excuse me if its in the wrong category!

Welcome! We moved your thread to our CNA forum for more replies.
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Thank you so much for your advice! Greatly appreciated!

I contacted the State Dept of Health and Senior Services and they were very unhelpful. I was e-mailing with one of the directors and asking for the specific law/clause/reason as to why they don't accept CA or a few other states and she only responded. "We don't. State regulations. Thank you for your inquiry."

Sigh... Anyways, I reached out to several hospital programs within my region and one major healthcare system is willing to hire me on as a hospitality aid and if I pay for the CNA program which is $1,300. They will then reimburse me back and hire me on as CNA, but, I would have to commit to working with them for a year in that position. I'm likely to be starting a nursing program in the next several months, so there's some things I need to consider. A few patient care tech programs are reviewing my resume, so perhaps it may be possible as I have met people who have had no nursing experience and they were trained on the job to work as a PCT/PCA.

So, I'm hopeful! But quite leery now of the NJ process... I will definitely be checking my Ps & Qs for now on!

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Unfortunately this happened to me as well. I originally got my cna in NY. Just a darn minute away. And the state made me retake my cna in Nj again. It was such a terrible experience. Which just reminded me I have to Recertify. They are so complicated.

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