Table 1.

Minimum Direct Care Staffing Laws—1998–2004

				HPRD of MDCS Requirement
States	Any MDCS Requirement	Changed MDCS Requirement	Years Changes Are Effective	1998	2004
Alabama	No	No
Arkansas	Yes	Yes	2001; 2003	3.20	3.50
Arizona	No	No
California	Yes	Yes	1999	2.80	3.50
Colorado	Yes	No		2.00	2.00
Connecticut	Yes	Yes	2001	1.90	2.60
Delaware	Yes	Yes	2001; 2002	2.50	3.28
Florida	Yes	Yes	2002; 2003	2.30	3.60
Georgia	Yes	No		2.00	2.00
Iowa	Yes	No		2.00	2.00
Idaho	Yes	No		2.40	2.40
Illinois	Yes	No		2.50	2.50
Indiana	No	No
Kansas	Yes	No		2.00	2.00
Kentucky	No	No
Louisiana	Yes	No		2.60	2.60
Massachusetts	Yes	No		2.00	2.00
Maryland	Yes	No		2.00	2.00
Maine	Yes	Yes	2000	2.60	3.70
Michigan	Yes	No		2.25	2.25
Minnesota	Yes	No		2.00	2.00
Missouri	No	No
Mississippi	Yes	Yes	2000	2.33	2.80
Montana	Yes	No		1.78	1.78
North Carolina	Yes	No		2.10	2.10
North Dakota	No	No
Nebraska	No	No
New Hampshire	No	No
New Jersey	Yes	No		2.50	2.50
New Mexico	Yes	Yes	2000		2.50
Nevada	No	No
New York	No	No
Ohio	Yes	Yes	2001	2.50	2.75
Oklahoma	Yes	Yes	2000; 2001; 2003	2.20	3.60
Oregon	Yes	No		2.10	2.10
Pennsylvania	Yes	Yes	1999	2.50	2.70
Rhode Island	No	No
South Carolina	Yes	Yes	1999	2.48	2.78
South Dakota	No	No
Tennessee	Yes	No		2.00	2.00
Texas	No	No
Utah	No	No
Virginia	No	No
Vermont	Yes	Yes	2001		3.00
Washington	No	No
Wisconsin	Yes	Yes	1998	2.25	2.50
West Virginia	Yes	No		2.00	2.00
Wyoming	Yes	No		2.25	2.25

Notes. The table reports which states have MDCS requirements and whether they changed from 1998 to 2004. The MDCS requirements in the last two columns are reported in terms of hours per resident day (HPRD), assuming there are 100 residents in the facility.

MDCS, minimum direct care staffing.