Nanny background check?

[Juster]

Hi everyone.

So we’re faced with hiring a nanny/au pair/governess/Marypoppingcorn. We’ve done the interview and are calling references, but would like to do a basic background check. Where to begin?

Putting “background check” and the like brings up a slew of hits, but there’s no way to tell the difference or integrity between them. Adding the term “review” to the search also brings up a ton of hits, but most seem like they’re trying to sell a particular service. Anyone have a suggested service?

Also, what to check? We’re a bit beyond the airy-fairy nobody’s business mentality of just trusting our gut instincts during the interview — despite the law of averages being on our side, we still think it’s imperative to do some basic due diligence in addition to calling references. But at the same time, we don’t want to go as far as having the most recent colonoscopy verified by our family doctor. Criminal check in our and surrounding state or all fifty? Ohhh, should we get Interpol involved? What about driving records? Why would someone’s credit history be that big of a deal to nannying? Well, I guess if he/she’s a hundred grand in debt we may want to hide the candlesticks.

Thanks!
Juster

[craftyashley]

I used this place to screen tenants for rental properties. It has a lot of options that you can screen for. http://rhol.com/rental/screening.php?p1=2

It seems like the information you would want when hiring a nanny. Check out some articles on renting out a house for some other good sites where you can get background checks that are reputable.

[equestrianesse]

We hired our nanny through a reputable agency recommended by two coworkers because I wanted to be sure of who I was getting. Now, we did pay a lot of money to the agency for this service ($5,000) but to me, it was worth it because they did all the background checks and they have a private investigator on staff as well. Also, we decided to only hire a nanny that the agency had placed before and knew was really good. I contacted all her references, and we also had all her background info.

That all being said, you can do the checks yourself. I would do a credit check. I also went with the agency we chose purposely because they do both state and federal background checks. A person could commit a crime in another state, and it wouldn't show up in a state background check.

I live in California, and we have Trustline for the federal check, but I can't remember if that is for other states, too. You can go to the FBI website and submit fingerprints directly through that way. I will warn you that it can take 3-6 months for results, though. Our nanny had already been registered with Trustline, but they ran all her info again, and I was just notified, 3 months later, that it was all good.

Also, definitely do a DMV check. Just contact your local DMV office for how to do that.

You are trusting this person, this stranger, with the most important person in the world, to you. IMO, be overly cautious.

[Jayney]

I've never hired a nanny, but I have used the sex offender registry before. It's really simple and you can also check www.whitepages.com just to check out some background, I do believe there is a charge though. Good luck. I couldn't imagine how stressed out I would be over this.

[Newmom!]

I have worked in childcare centers in the past where a background check is required by the city. So, call your city childcare licensing bureau and ask them where to start. Some cities might even require a nanny to have a check - if that is the case, then you don't have any work to do but the paperwork :-)