What’s on this page
Overview
The Continuous Background Check provides ongoing searches of certain criminal records databases for newly reportable activity. If you purchased a Premium Membership on or after 6/2/25, you can enroll up to 3 caregivers at a time, subject to the caregivers’ express consent.
When to use it
Use a Continuous Background Check after hiring a caregiver you plan to employ on an ongoing or recurring basis. You must have an ongoing Premium subscription to request and access Continuous Background Checks. If you cancel your Premium Membership, you lose access to this feature, and any caregivers you enrolled in Continuous Background Checks will be unenrolled. Any caregiver you enroll must also maintain an active Care.com account to be eligible for the Continuous Background Check.
What’s included
Continuous Background Check is performed by our third-party background check vendor, Sterling/First Advantage, and includes the following:
- National Sex Offender Public Website Monitoring—This is a monthly search of the National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW) to identify if an individual is registered as a sex offender. Sources include sex offender registry data covering 49 states (excluding Nevada), the District of Columbia and US territories. This search is subject to federal and state limitations, availability and applicable reporting limitations, and may not reflect an individual’s entire sex offender history.
- Multi-Jurisdictional Criminal Database Monitoring—This monitors a database of records gathered from various state and local law enforcement agencies from over 43 states. Sterling/First Advantage verifies potential reportable records with primary sources prior to reporting.
- Locator Select Monitoring—This monitors selected new booking and incarceration records for enrolled individuals based on the legal name and address the individual provided upon enrollment in Care.com. Sterling/First Advantage verifies possible reportable records with primary court records prior to reporting.
Continuous Background Checks do not include federal or county criminal court searches or motor vehicle records, and may not capture as much criminal history information as the Enhanced or Premium Background Checks. For more complete reporting, we recommend you periodically request an Enhanced or Premium Background Check while a caregiver remains in your employ.
SPECIAL NOTICE FOR MASSACHUSETTS AND NEW HAMPSHIRE: The Criminal County Search conducted in Massachusetts and New Hampshire reports felonies and misdemeanors only for the Superior Court and a single District Court in the county seat or its equivalent in the named county, and no other court in such county. Because the vast majority of criminal records are maintained in District Courts, the Criminal County Search may not reveal a caregiver’s entire criminal history in these states.
If you are considering a caregiver who has lived in Massachusetts, we recommend you run a statewide search of the Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) system. The cost to run a caregiver Required 2 CORI search is $25. View a list of criminal offenses that are commonly addressed by the District Courts.
If you are considering a caregiver who has lived in New Hampshire, we recommend you request a search of the New Hampshire State Police Criminal Records. This is an illustrative, non-comprehensive list of certain limitations of this check; additional limitations may apply in certain jurisdictions, including on the federal level.
State Criminal Records Search (New York Only)—Due to New York State’s criminal reporting system, a Criminal Records Check performed on New York residents may consist of a state-wide criminal records search of records at the county level instead of an individual county criminal records search. This search is designed to return felony and misdemeanor convictions at the county level in New York State during the prior 7 years.