Information on Background Checks

While a background check is one of the first things I would recommend, be aware that many young people today think it is either "funny", our use/misuse our police & justice system to take revenge on someone they have unresolved anger issues with. Be open to gaining additional evidence, not just a verbal explanation, but hard evidence to back up the story of the accused, when there has been interaction with law enforcement & in particular if their case has been dismissed by the courts. Innocent people are being snagged up by the system & those who would abuse the courts for their own agenda.

why does it cost now for a background check it WAS free

I signed up partially because I thought thorough background checks were INCLUDED. The ones it turns up are the same as what can be found on free research sites. It seems mis-leading how it's advertised.

It is indeed misleading. I have to agree with you on that!

Hi everyone,
I'm Stephanie and I work at Care.com. I wanted to make sure I responded to these comments (and thanks for taking time to comment--we love feedback) to clear up some of this confusion. Anytime you need clarification--we are happy to help!

If you are a provider (someone who provides care i.e. a babysitter) you can be proactive and run a standard background check on yourself. The cost is $8.00. Just so you know--if you ever sign up to be a Premium Provider, the cost of a standard background check is including in your Premium Membership.

If you are a seeker (someone who is seeking care i.e. a family looking to hire help), the cost for to run standard background checks on potential providers is FREE with your membership. You have unlimited access to as many as you would like to run. If you ever wanted to run an enhanced background check (there's more detail in it), it would be $59.00 per background check.

So, is a background check free--yes, it is for families who have joined. If you are a babysitter, nanny, etc and are a Basic member and have not opted to become a Premium Provider, you would have to pay $8.00. I agree--very confusing, but hopefully this helps.

Typically, babysitters and nannies will wait for families to run a background check on them (the babysitter doesn't have to pay for the standard background check and neither does the family as it's included in their membership if a family requests one) but there are some proactive babysitters who will run one on themselves so they can complete their profile. I doubt any of you have skeletons in your closet, and families appreciate seeing it already completed. You can wait until you are asked too--it's free for you then.

I hope this clears things up. Always, if you ever have questions or need clarification, feel free to ask! We are here to help. You can always call our awesome Member Care Team (who can recite this in their sleep--they are THAT GOOD!) at 1-877-227-3115. The lines are open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. -6:00 p.m. EST. If you call during off-hours, leave a message and someone will get back to you. :o)

Deborah, Khristina, Shannon, and Ashley--thanks for your feedback. This helps us do our jobs better. On behalf of everyone here at Care.com, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season with your families!

Be Merry,
Stephanie

Can you please let me know how a background check that I just ran on a babysitter came up clean but when I did my own google search I just found out that the girl was arrested for stealing pills from a hospital. Please let me know how this is possible!

Laura S., Thank you for sharing your concerns. As the Manager for the Care.com Member Care Team, I can tell you that Background Checks are helpful tools that allow people to make more informed hiring decisions. But, like all tools, they have their limitations.

The Standard Background Check should be used as a preliminary screening tool to narrow your list of candidates. It includes a social security number verification, Sex Offender Registry Search, and a search of the National Criminal Database. Each state/county determines what they report to the National Database, and it varies by state. To see exactly what is covered in your state we provide this document to all of our members. {http://www.care.com/Whats-covered-by-a-background-check-p1363.html}. In addition to results varying by jurisdiction, another limitation is that these types of background checks only uncover convictions, not arrests.

Another huge part of the process, which you did, is performing your own independent search on your candidates to narrow your search. Google their name to see if there is any news articles about them. Check your state/county public court records for any previous court cases. You should also try to locate them on Social Media networks, including Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Once you have narrowed your list and have interviewed candidates, we encourage you to always request an Enhanced Background Check on your top candidate before hiring. Enhanced Background Checks include everything the Standard covers plus in-person or online searches of county and Federal records, which provide the most accurate and up to date information and can uncover arrests that didn t result in a conviction. It also covers a caregiver's last 7 years of address history.

We wish you the best of luck with your caregiver search. If you want to talk to someone in Member Care, don t hesitate to ask us more questions at: 877-227-3115, Monday-Friday 10AM-6PM EST.