New Jersey Certified Homemaker-Home Health Aide (CHHA) · Certification Requirements
Competency Evaluation
On this page 6 sections
In 30 seconds
Every CHHA training program includes a competency evaluation examination, so there is no approved program without one. The evaluation is not a memory test alone; it measures whether the student can perform CHHA functions, meaning the real tasks of the job. The Board wants two things from your program: satisfactory completion of the approved training and satisfactory completion of this evaluation. Both together are required for certification. Knowing what the evaluation measures lets you practice the right things instead of guessing.
Why this matters
Finishing the classes is not the finish line, because every CHHA program ends with a competency evaluation that proves you can actually do the work, and certification depends on passing it.
The college version
In normal terms
- The competency evaluation examination is built into every CHHA training program, not offered as an optional extra.
- It tests your ability to perform CHHA functions, so demonstrating tasks matters as much as knowing facts.
- Certification requires satisfactory completion of both the approved training program and the competency evaluation.
Concepts in this outline
- Every CHHA training program includes a competency evaluation examination. — The exam is a built-in part of the program; no approved program leaves it out.
- The evaluation tests the student’s ability to perform CHHA functions. — It measures whether you can actually carry out the tasks of the job, not only recall facts.
- Satisfactory completion of the approved training program and competency evaluation is required for certification. — You must finish the approved program and pass the evaluation; both are needed; neither alone is enough.
Eli explains
The same idea, in plain words
Explain it like I’m 10
Think about earning a bike license at a school safety day. You can read the whole rule booklet and still not be ready. The teacher walks you to the parking lot, hands you the bike, and watches you ride the course. Signal, brake, look both ways. Only after you ride it well do you get the sticker. CHHA training ends the same way, with a ride and not just a booklet.
That ride is called the competency evaluation examination. Competency means being able to do something correctly and safely. An evaluation is a careful check by someone whose job is to watch and judge. So this exam checks whether you can really do the job. Every CHHA training program includes one. It is part of the package, not a separate thing you sign up for later.
The exam measures one main thing. It tests your ability to perform CHHA functions. Functions are the tasks a CHHA does in a client's home each day. That might include helping a client move safely, assisting with personal care, and keeping things clean. Facts still matter, because you need to know why a task is done a certain way. But knowing is not enough by itself. You have to show it with your hands, the way you show riding a bike by riding it.
The key rule has two parts. The Board asks for satisfactory completion of two things. One is the approved training program, meaning you finished the approved classes and the hands-on clinical hours. The other is the competency evaluation itself. Satisfactory means you met the standard, not that you simply showed up. Both pieces together are required for certification. Finishing classes without passing the evaluation leaves you one step short. Passing an evaluation without finishing the program does not work either. The two go hand in hand.
Getting ready is simple. Pay attention during the doing parts of your training, not just the listening parts. Practice each task until it feels natural. Ask your instructor to watch you and point out what to fix. When the evaluation day comes, treat it like the bike course. Go step by step, stay calm, and show what you learned. Your program marks you as complete when both the training and the evaluation are done. That completion record is what you carry forward into the rest of the certification process.
Worked example
Priya reaches the final week of her CHHA training program. Her instructor explains that the competency evaluation examination is part of the program itself, and that Priya must complete it satisfactorily to finish. On evaluation day, Priya demonstrates several CHHA functions in the skills room while an evaluator watches: moving her classmate Jonah, who plays the client, safely from bed to chair, assisting with personal care, and explaining why she does each step in order.
The evaluator notes that Priya performed each function correctly. Her program records satisfactory completion of both the approved training and the competency evaluation. With that record, Priya has met this requirement for certification and can move on to the remaining steps.
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