Florida’s “Clear to Care” Law — What It Means & How It Affects Healthcare Workers
What Is the Clear to Care Act?
Florida’s Clear to Care Act (SB 7016) was passed to improve safety and transparency in healthcare settings. Part of the law focuses on ensuring that employees, contractors, and certain volunteers working in healthcare environments undergo proper background screening.
This law strengthens oversight for people who work with:
- Hospitals
- Nursing homes
- Assisted-living facilities
- Home-health agencies
- Clinics and medical practices
- Behavioral health and substance-abuse centers
- Any facility under AHCA or DOH requiring Level 2 Background Screening
Why the Law Was Created
The goal is to ensure that every individual in a sensitive healthcare role is “clear to care” — meaning:
- No disqualifying offenses
- Proper fingerprint-based background checks
- Up-to-date screenings reflected in Florida’s Clearinghouse
By improving how screenings are tracked, AHCA ensures that patients, the elderly, and vulnerable populations are cared for by qualified and trustworthy individuals.
How Background Screening Works Under Clear to Care
Under the new requirements, individuals must complete:
- Level 2 Livescan Fingerprinting
- State + National background checks
- Ongoing arrest monitoring (Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse)
Screenings must be:
- Submitted through a Florida-approved Livescan provider
- Assigned to the correct ORI / purpose code for AHCA or DOH
- Updated every 5 years
- Matched to your employer through the Clearinghouse
How Bay Area Livescan Helps
We make the process simple by offering:
- Fast mobile fingerprinting (we come to your office, staff event, or home)
- Accurate digital submissions compatible with AHCA, DOH, Medicaid, and all required ORI codes
- Personal guidance to ensure you’re using the correct ORI
- Lowest rejection rates
If you’re a facility, we also help:
- Fingerprint entire groups on-site
- Guide administrators on ORI codes and Clearinghouse workflows
- Provide next-day availability
Florida healthcare employers now rely on Clear to Care — and we make compliance easy.
