> Safety

We respect your privacy and security and take appropriate, industry-standard measures to ensure that we provide a safe and secure community. For example, we use Verisign SSL to ensure that any sensitive information you enter on our website is transmitted to us securely over the internet. We've put safeguards in place to ensure that our servers are secure and we continuously monitor our servers for intrusion attempts. In addition, we employ encryption technology to protect your personal information. Read our Privacy Policy for more information.

There are also steps that you can take to keep the Care.com community, as well your own information, secure. Read more about what you can do on our Safety Tips page.

Whether you're looking for or providing care and services, it's necessary for us to make a certain amount of information available to other Care.com members so that an appropriate match can be made. For example, if you're a provider, we will allow people seeking your services to view your first name, first initial of your last name, city, state, and the availability information that you have entered in your profile. We will never display your home address or your email address. To make it easier for those seeking care to contact you, your phone number will display to registered Care.com members on your profile. However, if you prefer not to display your phone number, you can select to hide your phone number by changing your preferences under the Profile section in My Account.

If a job offer seems "too good to be true", then it probably is. You should be extra cautious if you receive a message offering employment and advance payment by check without an interview with the family or even a phone call. Refer to our Safety Tips for more information on avoiding internet job scams.

Care.com offers 2 types of background checks: Standard and Enhanced. Premium members can request Standard background checks free. There is a $99 charge for each Enhanced background check. The table below summarizes the differences between Standard and Enhanced checks:

A Standard background check includes the following:

1. Social Security Number Verification – The user's Social Security Number will be verified to ensure that it is a valid Social Security Number and that it is associated with the user.
2. National Criminal Databases Search – A database search of nearly 200 million national criminal records will be conducted to see if there are any known cases on file for the user. This type of search can find criminal offenses which were committed outside of jurisdictions where a user has known address history. Records in this database include:
   1. State and county criminal record repositories;
   2. State sex offender registries;
   3. Prison, parole and release files from state Department of Corrections, Administrative Office of Courts, and other state agencies;

   The specific records which are searched vary by state and county. Please refer to this document to understand exactly what records are searched and how frequently the records are updated.

An Enhanced background check includes a Standard background check, plus:

1. County Courthouse Records Search – This is an in-person search of the records on file in each county where the user is known to have lived in the past 7 years. This type of search can find criminal records in jurisdictions that do not provide information to the national criminal records database.
2. Federal Courthouse Records Search – This is an in-person search of the records on file in each federal jurisdiction where the user is known to have lived in the past 7 years. This type of search can find criminal records for federal offenses in jurisdictions that do not provide information to the national criminal records database.

Enhanced background checks involve sending a researcher to the applicable county and federal courthouses. There is an extra charge for an Enhanced background checks to cover the additional expense of someone going to these courthouses in-person to check records.

As a care provider, you can request a background check on yourself. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your account
2. Click on the "My Background Check" link in the left navigation
3. Follow the instructions on the page that displays

At present, we do not offer the ability to run a background check on a care seeker.

You always have control over who can view the results of your background check. The list of users you have allowed to view your background check is listed right under your background check report in the "My Background Check" section of "MyCare.com." You can decide to remove a user's access to your report at any time.

If you would like to run a Standard background check on yourself, please go to the "My Background Check" section of "MyCare.com" for additional information and fees.

Although every effort is made to ensure that the background check results are correct, it is possible that the records used to compile the background check are not 100% accurate or complete. If you believe that your background check results are not accurate, please contact Acxiom at: Acxiom Information Security Services, 6111 Oak Tree Blvd, Independence, OH 44131 or by telephone at (800) 853-3228.

Additionally, if the National Criminal Databases search results in a criminal case being found, you will receive a letter in the mail from Acxiom informing you of the steps you can take to resolve any incorrect information.

When hiring a caregiver we suggest that you directly check the national sex offender registry. A number of free public registry sites are available including Family Watchdog and the United State Department of Justice website.