Premium Background Check

Overview

The Premium Background Check is the most comprehensive background check available through Care.com. It’s performed by PFC Information Services, an Imperative Company, (PFC), by highly trained researchers, including licensed private investigators. It encompasses PFC’s benchmark criminal record investigation, a search of driving record history (from the state where your caregiver is licensed) and additional searches to identify indicators of “red flag” behaviors. There is no single source for all criminal records in the United States, so in performing these searches, PFC’s researchers utilize information from county courts, state law enforcement agencies, state bureaus of prisons, statewide administrative offices of the courts, federal courts and other sources. In all cases, criminal research is conducted manually, often in person, by hands-on searches of actual records in courthouses.

When to use it

Run a Premium Background Check on your top candidate before you hire, when you want the most comprehensive check we offer.

What’s included

The Premium Background Check comprises the following:

• Advanced Identity Research—PFC reviews information available in various consumer records databases to corroborate the identity information provided by your caregiver and to determine any known former names, aliases and the individual’s residential address history for the past 10 years. This research does not verify the individual’s identity, but it does guide PFC’s researchers on where to look for possible criminal history information and what name or names to research. If PFC cannot corroborate the information provided by your caregiver, they place the investigation on hold and contact the caregiver to confirm the information. If the information still cannot be corroborated, PFC will ask the caregiver to complete a Form SSA-89, which gives signed consent for PFC to verify the name, date of birth and Social Security number provided against the Social Security Administration’s records.
• Multi-Jurisdictional Database Search—The Premium Background Check includes a similar Multi-Jurisdictional Database Search as the Enhanced Background Check offered through Care.com. As noted above, these checks are national in scope, but the depth of coverage in any particular state or county can vary significantly. Some jurisdictions provide limited or no information for inclusion in the database.
• Sex Offender Search—This is a search of the Federal Department of Justice National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW). Reports from this check include sex offender registry data covering 49 states excluding Nevada and including 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.
• Federal Courthouse Records Search—This is the same Federal Courthouse Search as the Enhanced Background Check available through Care.com. If PFC is unable to determine whether a criminal record belongs to a particular individual due to the information available in the Federal Public Access to Court Electronic Records system (PACER), PFC will conduct additional research to determine if the federal criminal record information does, in fact, belong to the individual. Where this is needed, it may delay completion of the report.
• County Criminal Records Search—This is a search for felony and misdemeanor court records in each county where the caregiver is believed to have lived over the past 10 years, using the information learned through the Advanced Identity Search. Where court records are decentralized, these searches are conducted by hand and may not include lower-level court records. When a state maintains a single computer network that permits PFC to search all county-level courts at once, this investigation will look for criminal record history in all counties, in addition to those in which the individual is believed to have lived.
• State-Level Criminal Records Search—This is a search of available state databases that may contain criminal records repositories, warrant information, prison records, and sex offender registries for all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. Not all information is available in all states, and in some states, the available state databases contain very limited additional data. PFC uses the sources it believes to be most thorough. The states in which PFC conducts statewide criminal records checks include Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
• Motor Vehicle Records Check—This is a check of the candidate’s driving record for the state where the license being checked was issued. While this check typically does not include criminal records, it can provide additional information about a candidate’s history of behavior and judgment. The check will typically report the following information for the state where the license being checked was issued: status of the operator’s driving privileges, restrictions, expiration date, license type and class, endorsements, suspensions, revocations, violations, accidents, and DUIs. Typically, violations remain on the MVR report for three years, although convictions for serious offenses may be reported for 5 years or more, depending on the state. If a candidate has had an incident while being licensed by another state, it will not appear in the report unless the state where the license was issued has a reciprocity agreement with the other state for that type of motor vehicle citation. Pennsylvania and Washington require additional paperwork. In these states, PFC will coordinate to obtain the necessary paperwork to complete it, which may delay completion of the report.
• National Bankruptcy Records Search—This is a search to uncover if the candidate has filed for bankruptcy and, if so, whether the bankruptcy was classified as a Chapter 7 or 13. PFC searches the US federal court bankruptcy filings for the past 10 years.
• National Wants & Warrants Search—PFC searches the federal database of extraditable arrest warrants reported by local, state, and federal authorities. Many warrants are not reported. This is a nationwide search based upon name, date of birth, and Social Security number. This search may reveal the existence of open warrants in locations where the subject has never lived.
• Civil Restraining Orders Search—This is a search for civil restraining orders (also called “protective orders” or “stay-away” orders) filed by or against the caregiver in each county where the individual has lived in the past 2 years. Restraining orders are frequently filed in the context of domestic disputes. Civil restraining orders will be searched for the current address and permanent address of the candidate, as identified through the Advanced Identity Research. However, restraining orders may be filed against the subject by other parties, such as former employers. This search may not reveal the entirety of an individual’s restraining order history due to various limitations, including inability to accurately determine the individual on the restraining order is the caregiver, limitations on what restraining order information is made publicly available, or the lack of centralized reporting by lower-level courts of restraining orders to county-level indices.

Special limitations for Massachusetts and New Hampshire

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.