Almost every California DSD knows the number 24. Rather fewer can say which regulation it comes from, and that matters, because the section it is most often attributed to does not contain it.
It is not § 72517. That section, in the skilled nursing facility licensing chapter, is titled Staff Development and requires an ongoing educational program for all facility personnel. It is a real duty and it lands on your desk — but it states no annual hour figure at all. If someone hands you a citation to § 72517 for the 24 hours, it is wrong.
Read the verb: "make available"
The regulation places the duty on the facility to make the training available. That framing has consequences that a target of "24 hours completed per CNA" does not capture:
- Your evidence is a schedule demonstrating how the hours will be made available, not merely a tally after the fact.
- Section 71847(e)(1) adds that sessions shall be made available to all employed certified nurse assistants, who shall receive at least their normal hourly wage for attending. In-service is paid time. A programme built around unpaid attendance is not compliant, however many hours it delivers.
- An aide who declines to attend does not by itself put the facility in breach of (e) — but see the federal rule below, which is written the other way round.
The federal floor is 12, and it is a different duty
So California is the stricter standard on volume: 24 against 12. That is the easy part. The harder part is that the two rules are not the same shape.
| California — 22 CCR § 71847 | Federal — 42 CFR § 483.95(g) | |
|---|---|---|
| Hours | 24 per year | No less than 12 per year |
| Duty | Facility must make available | Aide must have the hours |
| Counted from | Annually, per the facility's schedule | The aide's employment date rather than the calendar year (Appendix PP, F730) |
| Required content | Multiple subjects; content driven by (f) | Must include dementia management and resident abuse prevention (g)(2) |
| Wage | At least normal hourly wage (e)(1) | Not addressed |
What the content has to be about
This is the part most in-service calendars get wrong, and it is where a deficiency usually starts. Content is not free choice. Section 71847(f) requires that it address:
- weaknesses identified in nurse assistants' performance reviews;
- patients' special needs, including cognitive needs; and
- areas in which the facility received patient-care deficiencies at the last licensing survey.
Subsection (f) then lists 21 subject areas, introduced with the words "Subjects may include, but are not limited to". That is an illustrative list, not a mandatory 21-topic curriculum. You are not required to teach all of them, and you are not confined to them.
Federal law makes the same linkage from the other direction. 42 CFR § 483.35(d)(7) requires a performance review of every nurse aide at least once every twelve months, with in-service education based on the outcome of those reviews. It is surveyed at F730, and what surveyors cite there is the broken linkage — training that cannot be traced back to the review that called for it.
What that means in practice
If your last survey cited pressure-injury prevention, that topic belongs in this year's in-service, and the lesson plan should be able to say so. If a performance review flagged an aide's transfer technique, the training that follows should be identifiable as the response. A calendar of plausible topics chosen in January, with no documented connection to either source, satisfies the hours and misses the requirement.
The lesson plan, and how long you keep it
Two more subsections of § 71847 are worth knowing precisely, because they are what a surveyor actually asks to see:
- (d)(2) sets out what a lesson plan must contain — student performance standards, the topics in sufficient detail, the method of teaching, and the method of evaluating results. Note the pinpoint: subsection (d) lists what an application to approve or renew the programme must contain; the lesson-plan requirements are at (d)(2) specifically. Citing the parent overstates the rule.
- (i) requires records to be retained for four years.
- (h) requires the in-service programme to be renewed with the Department every two years. Approval lapses quietly, so a two-year renewal reminder keeps the programme current.
Doing both at once
You do not run two programmes. You run one and make sure it answers both rules:
- Schedule 24 hours of varied in-service across the year, on paid time, offered to every employed CNA. That is California.
- Track each aide's hours from their own employment date, and make sure no one falls below 12. That is federal.
- Include dementia management and resident abuse prevention. Federal, and non-negotiable.
- Drive the topics from performance reviews, residents' needs and your last survey — and write the connection down. Both.
- Keep the lesson plans and the attendance records for four years.
One more thing worth saying plainly: attendance is not competence. Hours delivered and signatures collected prove that a session happened. Neither establishes that a particular aide can perform a particular skill — which is what a surveyor will ask you to evidence, and a different kind of record entirely.
Frequently asked questions
Which regulation actually contains California's 24-hour in-service requirement?
The 24 hours is set by 22 CCR § 71847(e), which requires each nursing facility to include a schedule demonstrating how it will make available 24 hours of varied in-service training annually. The regulation also states that the training shall include multiple subjects.
Isn't the 24 hours found in § 72517?
No. Section 72517, titled Staff Development, requires an ongoing educational program for all facility personnel but states no annual hour figure at all. If someone hands you a citation to § 72517 for the 24 hours, it is wrong.
Does the California rule require each CNA to complete 24 hours, or the facility to offer them?
The duty in § 71847(e) is on the facility to make the training available, and your evidence is a schedule rather than an after-the-fact tally. An aide who declines to attend does not by itself put the facility in breach of (e) — though the federal rule is written the other way round.
Does California in-service training have to be paid?
Yes. Section 71847(e)(1) requires sessions to be made available to all employed certified nurse assistants, who shall receive at least their normal hourly wage for attending. A programme built around unpaid attendance is not compliant, however many hours it delivers.
What is the federal in-service requirement, and how does it differ from California's?
42 CFR § 483.95(g)(1) requires in-service training sufficient to ensure continuing competence, but no less than 12 hours per year, and it is surveyed at F947. California is the stricter standard on volume — 24 against 12 — but the two rules are not the same shape.
Why can an aide look compliant in California but still be short federally?
Federal in-service is counted from each aide's employment date, while the California obligation runs on the facility's annual schedule. An aide hired in September can look fully compliant on a calendar-year dashboard and still be short federally, so a single spreadsheet keyed to the calendar answers neither question properly.
Do I have to teach all 21 subjects listed in § 71847(f)?
No. Subsection (f) introduces its 21 subject areas with the words "Subjects may include, but are not limited to," making it an illustrative list rather than a mandatory 21-topic curriculum. You are not required to teach all of them, and you are not confined to them.
What must the in-service content be based on?
Section 71847(f) requires content that addresses weaknesses identified in nurse assistants' performance reviews, patients' special needs including cognitive needs, and areas where the facility received patient-care deficiencies at its last licensing survey. Federally, 42 CFR § 483.95(g)(2) additionally requires dementia management and resident abuse prevention.
How long must records be kept, and how often is the programme renewed?
Section 71847(i) requires records to be retained for four years, and § 71847(h) requires the in-service programme to be renewed with the Department every two years. Approval lapses quietly, so a two-year renewal reminder keeps the programme current.
Does collecting attendance signatures prove compliance?
No. Hours delivered and signatures collected prove that a session happened, but neither establishes that a particular aide can perform a particular skill. That is a different kind of record entirely, and what a surveyor will ask you to evidence.
