Background Checks come in many different flavors, which leads to confusion for both the person agreeing to a Background Check and those conducting them. As the owner of a Senior happinesslifetime.com Home Care Agency, with hundreds of senior caregivers hired, I had the opportunity to learn about the pros and cons of background checks for employees.
First, if you see an offer for a "free" background check, run fast. A good background check requires a few different levels of research and just like any quality product, there is a fee associated with obtaining the information. The free background check services I have seen are associated with websites offering hire-direct nannies or caregivers, and are really just a name and address match.
A quality background check will match the person's name to the Social Security number they provided for all past addresses and include a multi-state criminal history check in the counties of each address where they have lived. Quality background check services can immediately process the information through computer databases but will flag counties that require a personal check because the county is not computer automated. Usually 7 to 10 day turnaround is required to check the information in non-automated counties. States such as West Virginia, for example, are not automated to provide an immediate response for county court records. There are many other counties like this throughout the country.
All background checks must follow the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which only allows information to be reviewed for the past 7 years. However, each state enforces the FCRA and has the right to pass their own consumer reporting laws which may require more disclosure of information or more rights to consumers. Some states do allow the checks to go past 7 years, for example, if the person is being considered for a position which requires interaction with children or seniors. It is important to check the background check laws in your state so you can know what information you can check on a potential employee.
A background check should only be one criteria for hiring. This is because even with a good background check, there can be valuable information which legally cannot be included. For example, if an individual has misdemeanor charges for theft, and agrees to community service as their punishment, very often the charge is deleted from their record. Anyone who has been ticketed for a traffic violation, gone to court and had the Judge strike the ticket from their record can understand immediately how our court system works. It is very common for someone who has been arrested for shoplifting or drug use to have an arrangement worked out where the charge will not stay on their record.
This is why it is important to have proper hiring systems in place which ask the right questions to find out if someone is honestly communicating their information. I always included a question on the job application which asked if there was anything else the applicant would like us to know about them which might impact their ability to care for seniors. I learned that most people who had anything at all on their record, even if it was just a speeding ticket, would share this information in answering this question. It was a nice way to find out about someone's honesty.
Questions to ask about Background Checks:
1) Does the caregiverlist.com/BackgroundCheck.aspx background check include checking criminal court records in multiple states in each county where the individual has lived?
2) Does the background check include a sex offender check?
3) Did the individual provide all of their former addresses on their application and do these addresses match those on their background check?
4) Does the background check include a Department of Motor Vehicles driver's license and driving record check? This is not typically included in a standard background check and is usually an add-on service for an additional fee.
5) Did the application for employment ask if the individual has ever been convicted of a felony?
In order for background check reports to becaregiverlist.com/BackgroundCheck.aspx FCRA compliant, the information must be current and updated daily and will take up to a week for counties that are not automated. Read all the information about the details of the background check services offered before purchasing a background check.
Julie A. Northcutt, President of Caregiverlist.com, works to connect seniors and their loved ones with quality senior care options and caregivers with employment opportunities. Caregiverlist.com provides information on elderly care and assists in finding premier senior home care agencies by qualifying your care needs and required services.
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