Hiring a bodyguard is a big decision. The thought of leaving your precious child in the hands of someone else tin exist daunting. Every bit our lives become unavoidably busier, however, it'southward a conclusion you lot may accept to brand sooner or afterwards. After interviewing prospects, conducting background checks for babysitters tin can help to ensure they're responsible and trustworthy enough to await later your child. A background bank check is essentially a thorough search of a person's public record, including whatever criminal history or history of other legal charges against them, that may indicate that they are not well suited to intendance for children.

For many parents, information technology can be awkward to ask your prospective bodyguard for permission to consent to a groundwork bank check, but it shouldn't be. A trustworthy babysitter would understand your concerns and be willing to provide data that helps you lot behave out a deep background bank check.

In this article, we'll walk you through the all-time background checks for babysitters. We'll also help you understand what to look for when running a groundwork check.

How to Run Background Checks for Babysitters

It is important to mention that checking a babysitter on social media does non count as a background check. For the sake of your kid'southward rubber and your peace of mind, please don't simply rely on this. Likewise, running a prospect's proper noun or phone number through a commercial source is not a existent check. Running incomplete groundwork checks for babysitters is nearly as bad as not running one at all because all you accomplish is giving yourself a false sense of condolement.

To do a thorough groundwork check on a nanny or babysitter, yous'll demand their permission, their full, legal proper name, their social security number, and some form of identity verification -- whether information technology's a drivers' license or a passport, or passing a test of questions that only they would know the answer to.

Many legitimate babysitting agencies claim that they deport background checks on all of their sitters and caregivers earlier allowing them to piece of work for them. Once you've found a prospective babysitter yous like, information technology can be tempting to believe this claim and skip a thorough groundwork check. But don't get besides carried away.

Most agencies only really run the high-level national criminal check, which is not exhaustive. To assist you empathise what to look for in a background checking solution or sitter platform that says they run checks, let's bank check out the types of background checks there are.

Types of Background Checks

Not all background checks are equal. Here is a listing of some of the checks y'all might want to consider.

1. National Criminal Database Check

A national criminal database bank check collects information from all jurisdictions that digitize their records and report those digitized records to centralized sources. It's important to know that although this type of check may audio very complete and comprehensive, it is in fact the most express version of a background bank check you tin can run (and oftentimes the cheapest). Because many jurisdictions do not digitize their records or report them to these national criminal databases, this type of cheque will not return all the possible results that would be bachelor in a county-level bank check (discussed below). So, while a national criminal database bank check should be part of any thorough background bank check, it should never be relied on equally the ONLY check.

2. County-Level Criminal Check

To run a canton-level criminal check,  a court researcher must become to a courthouse (or other location where criminal records are stored) and retrieves all criminal history records on the individual being screened.

A canton-level check does not yield instant results- you normally accept to wait a few days for the researcher to pool his or her findings. And because they are more labor-intensive, background checks that include a county-level criminal search are usually  more expensive than a national criminal database cheque alone.

When hiring a babysitter or nanny, a canton-level check is the gilt standard. It is exhaustive plenty to clear your doubts about a prospect's background and identity. You tin can remainder easy knowing that they are not wanted lawbreakers from another county hiding out in yours.

Checking a candidate's social security number is important for a few reasons. It'southward a necessary part of the identity verification step -- making sure they are who they say they are -- and it confirms that the candidate is authorized to work in the U.S. -- which is of import fifty-fifty for hourly contract workers like babysitters. But it as well returns a list of every county where the candidate has resided, which lets the background checking company know which counties to search in their canton-level cheque.

Note: It's a safe bet that any background checking product or service that does not require the candidate's social security number will not include a comprehensive county-level check. And again, without a canton-level check, a groundwork bank check is incomplete and unreliable.

iv. Sex activity Offender Registry

The Sex Offender Registry was established to provide the general public with information about sexual predators in their community. This is an important resource that all parents should consult when checking babysitters or nannies.

You tin search by first and last proper name, county, town, or Goose egg code on the National Sex Offender Search page. You can likewise search a radius around your house for sex offenders you should exist aware of, and it would be wise to share this information with your called babysitter.

iv. Global Watch List

You may call back that there's but a slim take a chance that your prospective babysitter is an internationally-wanted criminal, simply remember, nosotros're taking no chances.  A Global Watch Listing screening lets you know if a prospect is wanted beyond domestic and international regime, law enforcement, and regulatory sanction databases. This is particularly important for babysitters, nannies or au pairs who accept spent substantial time exterior the U.S.

Global Picket Lists commonly contain terrorists, drug traffickers, and those convicted of fraud. Those who are wanted for sanctions, exclusions, and other shady activities are all on global watch lists.

Because global watch listing records are constantly updated, it's important to rely on trustworthy sources of high-quality information that track these updates in existent-time.

Review the Results

Later on the background check for babysitters is consummate, your side by side pace depends on what you find. If all is articulate, your task is done. Just what if you find proof of a negative past? Well, any negative information discovered should exist discussed as soon as possible.

Go on in mind that fifty-fifty negative data is not conclusive until some other investigation is complete. Negative information about someone with a similar name and birth date may stop upward in your hands by mistake. Although it is unusual, an individual's identity may accept been stolen. All this is to say, don't jump to conclusions until the data is proven.

If you take the time, there is goose egg incorrect with giving a prospect the benefit of the incertitude and allowing them the chance to clear their name. Still, if data pertaining to child abuse or sex activity crimes is discovered, information technology may be best to wait until the investigation process is completed before you make a determination.

If y'all type "bodyguard background checks" into Google, you volition get thousands of results. It can be hard to empathise what the differences are. We'll attempt to help.

one. National Criminal Database Simply Checks

Most of the search results you'll run across hope instant results and the ability to search anyone's background without them even knowing. Though this might audio highly-seasoned, letting you skip over the clumsiness of asking your sitter'southward permission to run her or his background check, it'due south of import to understand that any check that offers bearding checking by definition cannot be thorough enough to exist reliable. Yes, it's possible that through these types of checks you may observe out something useful about your candidate. But if y'all DON'T find annihilation in these checks, that doesn't mean there's zilch to exist found.

It's also important to think that there is no single "national criminal database." These types of searches are actually comprised of searches of several unlike databases, and many of the online services only check one or two, further reducing the completeness of the check.

On the plus side, these services are cheap. On average, they merely cost $20 - xxx per month, which includes an unlimited number of checks.

Examples of this blazon of service include BeenVerified, TruthFinder, InstantCheckmate, Intelius, and PeopleFinders. You lot can unremarkably tell that a site is in this category considering they start by offering a free cheque, which then seems to take a very long time to search through all the records before presenting yous with the opportunity to pay for the results. (In reality, these checks happen instantaneously -- they just add the wait time for effect.)

Ultimately, these checks should exist used for entertainment purposes only. If you're using a babysitting app or service that relies solely on national criminal database checks, that essentially means no serious background bank check has been run. You should either run a full background cheque yourself, or choose a different babysitting app.

2. General Employment-Focused Background Checking Sites

In that location are many groundwork-checking services that specialize in vetting candidates for employment. These services offer a variety of checks, at different pricing levels, just the one affair they all take in common is that they must comply with federal laws regarding the apply of background checks for employment purposes, including the Fair Credit Reporting Human action (FCRA) and state laws known as "ban the box" laws that prohibit employers from asking applicants about criminal history on an initial job awarding. This usually means the furthest dorsum they can look into a candidate'due south history is 7 years in most cases. That ways about crimes that are more vii years in the by will not exist reported.

These checks tin can cost anywhere from $thirty to $100 per check, depending on the depth of the check you choose.

If you cull to utilize 1 of these services, make certain yous opt for the plan that includes, at minimum, a social security number check and the total county check in all counties where the candidate has lived. (Many of them just offer to check 3 counties, so make sure you're looking at whether there are other counties where the candidate has lived that are Non existence checked.)

Examples of this type of bank check are GoodHire, HireRight, and ClearChecks.

3. Groundwork Checking Services Specific to Nannies and Babysitters

There are several services that specialize in background checks for nannies and babysitters, that include comprehensive criminal background checks and sometimes additional checks like personality assessments, reference checks, etc. These tend to be the virtually comprehensive checks -- and too the near expensive, with the most comprehensive checks starting at $99. The well-nigh important thing to recollect when using this sort of service is to confirm that they are truly running all the checks discussed above -- the SSN trace to notice out where they've lived, full county checks in each of those counties, and then the national criminal database search, sexual practice offender registry search, global watchlist search, etc.

At the cease of the day, the most important thing to recall is this: But because a production calls itself a comprehensive groundwork checking service (which they ALL do) doesn't hateful they are truly checking everything they demand to check to find out a person'due south consummate criminal history.

Every bit we've discussed, background checks for nannies and babysitters accept to exist exhaustive, or else it defeats the point of running one in the get-go place. Instead of running the check yourself, another pick is to apply a trusted babysitter app that specializes in vetting sitters and nannies, and can present you with candidates who have already been groundwork checked and screened beforehand. At Nanno, we take background checking very seriously. Running a comprehensive county-level background bank check is merely the first step of our extensive babysitter vetting process. We as well acquit a behavioral profiling test, a skills exam, and a thorough review of the candidate's other qualifications. (To find out more about how Nanno checks babysitter and nanny candidates, run into our article, How Nanno'south Bodyguard Vetting Procedure Works.

Determination

Overwhelmed? Don't be.

While conducting your ain background check can exist a lot of work, hiring a professional person through a babysitting platform with a thorough vetting process volition give you confidence and trust in your new babysitter -- without having to turn over every stone yourself.  Attain out to us at Nanno today and rest assured that you have made the safest possible decision for your child and yourself.