Social Security number (SSN) trace<\/a> on the applicant by working with the Social Security Administration, credit bureaus, or background check agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe SSN trace will show you the number\u2019s issuance date and state, and more importantly, a historical list of all names and addresses that the number has been linked to. This address history is particularly important for the next part of the background check.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the SSN trace isn\u2019t enough, you might also need to run an address history check, which makes sure you don\u2019t miss any jurisdictions where the nanny has lived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Criminal History Check<\/h3>\n\n\n\n A criminal record search has long been the gold standard for vetting someone. However, since there\u2019s no single, centralized national criminal database, you\u2019ll need to go through a thorough, sometimes tedious search to get all the information you need. A layered approach, where you look at criminal records in different levels of courts, will protect you from any blind spots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A non-negotiable step in the case of hiring a nanny is to check the National Sex Offender Registry. The applicant\u2019s name will be screened against all 50 states to see if any matches come up. Next, you\u2019ll do a multistate database search to check for crimes in a state you wouldn\u2019t otherwise expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The most important part of the criminal history check, however, is going through county-level criminal court records. This is where you\u2019ll get the most accurate and up-to-date information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most criminal records are filed and maintained at the local county courthouse, so you need to physically or digitally search every county that the nanny has lived in for at least the past seven years. You\u2019ll know which counties to search from using the SSN trace (or address history check) from earlier. Lastly, it\u2019s useful to give federal criminal records a look as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though these are less common than state or county offenses, certain crimes like kidnapping, bank fraud, or large-scale drug trafficking are decided in district-level courts, whose records won\u2019t be found at the county level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Motor Vehicle Records (MVR) Check<\/h3>\n\n\n\n If your nanny\u2019s ever going to be responsible for transporting your children (for example, to school or to daycare and back), this is essential. An MVR check will show you the nanny\u2019s driving history from the state that issued their license.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Information you can expect to find includes major violations like DUIs or reckless driving, whether the license is suspended or revoked, if they have a lot of speeding tickets, and past accidents. A clean driving record would show that they\u2019re responsible and have good judgment behind the wheel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nanny Background Check: Beyond the Basics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n The checks we talked about above are important for the baseline factors like safety and identity, but you may need to go a bit further than that to get a fuller profile of your nanny. In the following checks, you\u2019ll get a better idea of what the applicant\u2019s character, professionalism, and truthfulness are like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Employment and Education Verification<\/h3>\n\n\n\n Looking at the nanny\u2019s employment and education history is more about confirming their honesty than about finding any criminal records. It\u2019ll help make sure they actually have the experience they claim, and their references are accurate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To verify this information, get in contact with previous employers and verify job titles, dates of employment, and reasons for separation. Subsequently, do the same with the educational institutes to see if their degrees or certifications are legitimate. If you find any discrepancies like falsified dates or nonexistent degrees, consider these to be major red flags about their integrity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Civil Court Records<\/h3>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re willing to go the extra mile, civil court records are your next step. We covered county court records earlier in the criminal history search, but those won\u2019t show you any records about disputes between private parties, which are resolved in civil courts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Checking these records will show you information about the nanny\u2019s financial reliability and how they\u2019ve behaved in professional settings in the past. Any lawsuits regarding unpaid debts, professional misconduct, restraining orders, or disputes over child custody\/neglect can be seen in these records. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While none of these are criminal offenses, as a parent, you probably still want to know about them before trusting them with your kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Drug Screening<\/h3>\n\n\n\n If your nanny is going to be driving the kids or working unsupervised, a drug screening might be the way to go. This is an optional step, but it is becoming more and more common to use a standard urinalysis to detect the presence of illegal substances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though you\u2019ll need full consent from the nanny to run this test and be compliant with laws (more on that later), it’ll provide you with the peace of mind that the nanny isn\u2019t using anything that could impair their judgment on the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why You Should Avoid Using a Background Lookup Tool<\/h2>\n\n\n\n Running a background check can be intimidating, and if you\u2019re a working parent, you likely don\u2019t have the time to spare for a thorough search of everything outlined above. That\u2019s where background lookup tools can seem like a lifesaver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, it\u2019s important to keep in mind the legal limit of these tools. Background lookup tools simply pull data from aggregated public records, which means they\u2019re not considered official Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs) under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a hiring decision, it\u2019s mandatory to use an FCRA-compliant screening service to make sure the data is verified, accurate, and legally permissible for making employment decisions. Since anything you find on a people search lookup can influence whether or not the nanny is still in the running to work with your family, it\u2019s best to just start with an FCRA-compliant screening service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other Ethics and Laws to Keep in Mind<\/h3>\n\n\n\n First and foremost, before running a background check, you\u2019ll need explicit consent from the nanny to proceed. According to legal requirements, the consent must be clear and separate from the nanny application itself. This protects not just you, but also the candidate by making sure they\u2019re fully aware of what\u2019s being looked up and why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Any information that you do find must be used in accordance with the requirements of the FCRA. If you\u2019re considering not hiring the person based on the report, you\u2019ll need to follow the adverse action process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lastly, to avoid any inadvertent discrimination, it\u2019s a good idea to give the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws a thorough read as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\nLearning About Your Nanny\u2019s Background<\/h2>\n\n\n\n After you\u2019ve reviewed the results, combine what you\u2019ve learned with your own judgment. Ask yourself whether this person truly feels safe and trustworthy to have around your children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Red flags are usually easy to identify, but are there any gray flags that could be an issue but seem fine on the surface? A background check is important, but it shouldn\u2019t replace your judgment. Look carefully at the nanny\u2019s profile, evaluate every detail, and if you\u2019re in doubt, always err on the side of caution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Choosing the right nanny is one of the most important decisions you\u2019ll ever make as a parent. You\u2019re trusting the safety and well-being of your child, along with access to your house and personal life (to some extent), to someone who may be a complete stranger. This makes a nanny background check incredibly important for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":4277,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1637],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[373,364,376,1130,767,543],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/information.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4280"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/information.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/information.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/information.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/information.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4280"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/information.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4280\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4294,"href":"https:\/\/information.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4280\/revisions\/4294"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/information.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/information.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/information.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/information.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4280"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/information.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=4280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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