Personal and Home Care Aide State Training (PHCAST)
Are you looking for a job that is flexible? Become a home care professional!
You can become a Home Care Aide for free through the online Personal and Home Care Aide State Training (PHCAST), provided by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The courses can be completed when you want, where you want.
“This program is put together so nicely and as a new homemaker, I'm happy to say I can't wait to start working!!"
What is a Home Care Aide?
Home Care Aides are a key part of the home care team. Home Care Aides support older adults so they can live comfortably in their homes and communities. There are several different types of Home Care Aides:
- Homemakers help with shopping, cooking, laundry, and tasks around the home like cleaning, doing dishes, and vacuuming.
- Personal Care Homemakers do hands-on work. They help with bathing, dressing, hair care, and getting around.
Home Care Aide Career Opportunities
According to the United States Government, Home Care Aides are one of the fastest growing jobs in the country!
Start with our Homemaker Course. Then, take the additional training to become a Personal Care Homemaker to learn about hands-on care. From there, you can explore these pathways and pursue other jobs in the field or search for current job openings on our new job board!
"I hope to someday go from homemaker to a Licensed Practitioner Nurse."
Sign Up for PHCAST
Are you ready for a new job? Choose one of the following courses. Pick the course that best matches your skills and interests. All courses are free to Massachusetts residents.
Select the language you'd like to learn in. All courses are available in English, Spanish, Haitian-Creole, Brazilian Portuguese, Simplified Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese) and Traditional Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese).
To register, you need:
- Access to a computer, tablet, or smartphone with speakers and internet.
- A valid email address
Homemaker Course
This course teaches you how to communicate, work with consumers, and safely prepare meals. You will receive a Certificate of Completion for finishing the course!
Select the course from the list below that best matches your professional experience. Please read the descriptions carefully and enroll in only one course. Note: Each course has the same content.
For New Professionals
This course is for anyone who is new to the field and interested in pursuing a career as a Homemaker.
EnrollFor Experienced Professionals
This course is for professionals who have prior experience as a Homemaker and would like to refresh or build their skills and knowledge.
EnrollFor Informal Caregivers
This course is for anyone who is interested in supporting a family or friend as their homemaker.
EnrollPersonal Care Homemaker Course
This course builds on the skills and knowledge of the Homemaker training and prepares you to support individuals with hands-on care, such as dressing, bathing, hair care, and mobility. You will receive a Certificate of Completion for finishing the course!
Select the course from the list below that best matches your professional experience. Please read the descriptions carefully and enroll in only one course. Note: Each course has the same content.
Please Note: You must take the Homemaker training before taking this course. You can take the Homemaker training in-person or online.
For New Professionals
This course is for anyone who is new to the field of home health care and interested in pursuing a career as a Personal Care Homemaker.
EnrollFor Experienced Professionals
This course is for professionals who have prior experience as a Personal Care Homemaker and would like to refresh or build their skills and knowledge.
EnrollFor Informal Caregivers
This course is for anyone who is interested in supporting a family or friend as their personal care homemaker.
EnrollFor Employers: Is PHCAST right for my staff?
Whether your staff are new to the field or just need a refresher, PHCAST can meet your needs. PHCAST has all the information your staff need to feel confident, knowledgeable, and ready to work safely as a Home Care Aide.
Our PHCAST curriculum helps your staff learn about the roles and responsibilities of a Home Care Aide, including skills like active listening, nutrition planning, housekeeping, working with consumers, recognizing abuse and neglect, handling emergency situations, and more.
For the New Homemaker Course, your staff can complete the 11 online modules at their own pace, outside of work.
If they want to expand their skillset from the Homemaker Course, the next step is the Personal Care Homemaker Course, which builds on the knowledge gained in the Homemaker course. The Personal Care Homemaker Course is a 7-module online course. As part of the Personal Care Homemaker Course, your staff must also complete a 10-hour hands-on training with a Registered Nurse who does Personal Care Homemaker training.
“Flexibility is the biggest benefit [for my staff]. They can do [the training] on their own time and don't have to take the time out of work. The second biggest benefit is a boost in their self-esteem”
The PHCAST Job Board
The Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs (EOEA) is committed to supporting direct care workers and the providers who employ them. From this commitment EOEA created the PHCAST Job Board which is exclusively available to ASAP contracted agencies providing homemaking and personal care homemaking services. ASAP contracted home care agencies providing homemaking and personal care services are welcome to create free PHCAST Job Board accounts and post jobs as they search for qualified employees.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are courses for both Homemakers and Personal Care Homemakers and for each of these jobs, there are three course options (listed below). Choose the course that best describes your employment goals. The courses are available in English, Spanish, Haitian-Creole, Brazilian Portuguese, Simplified Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese) and Traditional Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese). Please enroll in only one course.
Each of the courses below covers the same content.
- New Professionals: If you are new to the work of Homemaker or Personal Care Homemaker, you can take the course for New Professionals. You must complete all modules and activities in the order they are presented.
- Experienced Professionals: If you have experience but would like to gain new skills or refresh your knowledge, you can take the course for Experienced Professionals. This allows you to skip around and not take the modules sequentially.
- Informal Caregivers: And if you currently work informally caring for family members, friends, or private individuals, you can take the course for Informal Caregivers. This allows you to skip around and not take the modules sequentially.
To register for any of the courses, go to the link below and choose the course that best represents your skills and needs. For your convenience, you can choose courses offered in English, Spanish, Haitian-Creole, Brazilian Portuguese, Simplified Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese) and Traditional Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese). Despite the language, courses cover the same skills and content. https://mahomecaretraining.org/
No! It’s free for learners as well as employers who use the training.
Yes, you can do the PHCAST training on any smartphone that has video capabilities. You will need to register using a computer before you can use the Canvas Student app available in the App Store for both Apple and Android devices.
Apple
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/canvas-student/id480883488
Android
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.instructure.candroid&gl=us
Here is a video that shows how to use the Canvas Student App to link to your PHCAST course online. Disregard the first section and look for the QR code portion of the video that demonstrates how you can link the app to your course.
Upon completion of the course requirements, you will be awarded a Certificate of Completion. The Certificate will be sent to the email address you used to register for the course, and you can also print it from the course dashboard. You can access the dashboard here: https://elderaffairs.pdx.catalog.canvaslms.com/dashboard/completed
If you need help, please contact phcast@umb.edu
No, there is not an end-of-course test. Instead, there is a quiz at the end of each module. You MUST complete and receive at least an 80% to pass a module. All quizzes must receive at least an 80% to receive a certificate.
Yes, the course is available in English, Spanish, Haitian-Creole, Brazilian Portuguese, Simplified Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese) and Traditional Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese).
You can send a message directly through the course platform. Someone will respond within 36 hours. Click on “Help” from the left-hand menu and then click on “Ask Your Instructor a question” to get help.
Homemakers: The PHCAST Certificate for Homemakers qualifies you to work as a Homemaker for a Home Health Care agency or private individuals. However, you will need to check with individual employers about their requirements.
Personal Care Homemakers: In addition to the PHCAST online training, you will need to complete 10 hours of hands-on training with a Homemaker Agency provider nurse. Check with local Home Health Care Agencies for more information.
Other jobs such as Home Health Aides (HHA) and Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) require additional training.
The dashboard is where your course, your transcripts and certificate are available. Go to https://elderaffairs.pdx.catalog.canvaslms.com/ then click on dashboard to see the content.
- How do I register?
To register for PHCAST courses go to https://mahomecaretraining.org/
And select the course that best describes your career goals.
- How do I reset my password?
Go to https://elderaffairs.instructure.com/ Then click on “Forgot Password” to reset your password. You will need to enter the email you used to register for the course to be able to reset your password.
- Where can I see my certificate?
Go to https://elderaffairs.pdx.catalog.canvaslms.com/ to login to the dashboard. You will see the certificate for each course you have completed. For more info about certificate and dashboard go to https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Canvas-Catalog/How-do-I-view-the-certificate-of-completion-for-a-Catalog-course/ta-p/1740
I enrolled in the wrong course, how can I change my enrollment? Please email phcast@umb.edu
Again, if I need help, what should I do? Please email phcast@umb.edu
“I greatly appreciate that not only is the consumer important to the company that I work for, but I'm also important. I'm grateful for this course because it taught me the skills I needed to do my job.”