Florida’s Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Forms of Dementia Education and Training Act has introduced strict requirements for caregiver training. Under the law, all employees providing personal care or having regular contact with clients in covered provider settings must complete Department of Elder Affairs (DOEA)-approved Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia (ADRD) training.
For many providers, the key question is: When will the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) begin enforcing these rules?
The answer may surprise you—enforcement has already started.
The Official Statutory Deadline
The law gives a grace period for employees hired before July 1, 2023. These staff members have until July 1, 2026 to complete all required ADRD training.
However, that date is not the start of enforcement—it is the final cutoff for compliance. Waiting until 2026 to act is a serious risk.
Enforcement Has Already Begun
Although the statute sets 2026 as the deadline for pre-2023 hires, AHCA has already been issuing Tag CZ875 citations to providers who fail to meet Alzheimer’s training requirements.
Providers are being cited for:
Missing proof of the required written information given at hire
Missing proof of 1-hour ADRD training within 30 days
Missing proof of 2-hour or 3-hour training within the required months
Lack of proper documentation showing trainer qualifications and curriculum used
This proves that AHCA is actively enforcing compliance now, not waiting until the last day of the grace period.
Why This Matters for Providers
If you assume that enforcement “starts” in 2026, you could be exposing your business to:
Fines and penalties
Corrective action plans that demand immediate retraining of staff
Damage to your inspection record that may affect public listings and referrals
Enforcement is rolling—meaning AHCA is reviewing ADRD training compliance at every survey, whether you’re in the “grace period” or not.
Best Practice: Treat the Deadline as Now
Given AHCA’s current enforcement pattern:
Employees hired before July 1, 2023
Don’t wait for 2026. Train them now and document it.Employees hired on or after July 1, 2023
These staff must meet the tight statutory timelines from the start—1 hour within 30 days, plus additional hours within 7 months (or sooner, depending on setting).Documentation is everything
AHCA will want to see:Employee name
Date training completed
Curriculum used
Trainer qualifications
How to Stay Ahead of Enforcement
The simplest way to remove the guesswork is to use DOEA-approved training that is fully aligned with the law and produces the documentation AHCA inspectors want to see.
C-E-U.com’s Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia (ADRD) training is:
DOEA-approved
Online and on-demand for maximum flexibility
Affordable for teams of any size
Automatically generates downloadable certificates with all required details
The Bottom Line
The July 1, 2026 date is the final deadline, not the starting line.
AHCA enforcement is already happening today—and citations are being issued now.
Don’t wait for a deficiency notice to find out you’re out of compliance.
Start (or update) your ADRD training now and be inspection-ready at all times.
👉 Enroll your team in C-E-U.com’s DOEA-approved ADRD training here.
A certificate and an official state record are issued upon successful completion.