Caregiver Background Investigations
Too often, families and agencies discover the value of a thorough background investigations only after something has gone wrong.
A caregiver proves to be unreliable, something of value is missing from a home, or, worse yet, a child or other family member is injured.
PFC’s goal is to ensure that our clients make well-informed and safe hiring decisions. We do this by ensuring that the background investigations we deliver to clients are never compromised by sloppy research methods or shortcuts. We conduct thorough research so that you can sleep well at night.
Our state-of-the-art technology ensures that you can quickly, easily, and securely order background investigations.
But, we also know that when dealing with a topic as sensitive as hiring a caregiver, the human touch is critical. Our team of professional background investigations analysts are always just a phone call away, ready to answer your questions.
Whether hiring a nanny, senior-caregiver, housekeeper, doula, personal assistant, chef, babysitter, house-sitter, tutor, or dog walker, Imperative is your trusted source for thorough and fast background investigations to protect your family and assets.
We offer three levels of criminal background checks.
Critical Criminal Background Investigation – $300
Our best-practice criminal background solution for professional and managerial employees as well as those in high-risk positions with access to the customer homes or workplaces, removable company assets or accounts, customer or consumer information, or vulnerable populations. This is our benchmark criminal background investigation. However, the age of criminal records, local courts’ record retention rules, and errors in the recording and indexing of records by court clerks can make it very likely that some criminal history information may go unreported.
Diligent Criminal Background Investigation – $165
Our solution for moderate-risk positions. This investigation identifies 96% of the criminal records identified in our most thorough standard criminal background investigation, the Critical Criminal Background Investigation. This investigation will miss criminal cases prosecuted in the federal courts (bank robbery, interstate drug crimes, child pornography, human trafficking, insurance fraud, etc.), some sex offender registrations, and some misdemeanors and felonies outside of the research scope.
Basic-Plus Criminal Background Investigation – $90
Our solution for low-risk positions with limited or no access to the public, vulnerable populations, assets, accounts, or valuable information. This package identifies approximately 76% of the criminal records identified in our most thorough standard package, the Critical Criminal Background Investigation. This investigation will miss criminal cases prosecuted in the federal courts (bank robbery, interstate drug crimes, insurance fraud, etc.), some sex offender registrations, and some misdemeanors and felonies outside of the research scope. This investigation is just as likely to miss a serious felony record (e.g., sexual assault, murder) as a minor misdemeanor (e.g., theft by check, open container violations).
We also offer several qualifications investigations that can be added to any of the criminal background investigations.
Premier Caregiver Qualifications Investigation – $375
This very thorough investigation includes:
- Driving history.
- Verifications of education, employment, and licensure claims.
- Searches for potential red-flag issues that may affect your family including restraining/protective orders, civil litigation, and bankruptcies.
Advanced Caregiver Qualifications Investigation – $185
This very thorough investigation includes your candidate’s driving history and verification of her education, employment, and licensure claims. This report also includes a less-thorough search of civil litigation records that includes only protective/restraining orders and bankruptcies. This report excludes searches for civil litigation in which your candidate may have been a plaintiff or defendant.
Basic Caregiver Qualifications Investigation – $95
This is our least-thorough qualifications investigation and includes your candidate’s driving history, a search for protective/restraining orders, and a search for bankruptcies. This investigation will miss many potential red-flag behaviors in your candidate’s background.
Driving History Only – $45
This report will deliver the state’s official record of your applicant’s driving record, typically including accidents and citations in the last three to five years. Different states provide different kinds of information and records for different lengths of time.
How Does the Imperative Process Work?
Once you’ve selected the background investigation components you wish to include in your report and paid for the investigation, we will send your nanny applicant an email requesting that they log into our secure web-based system.
Once they log in, they will receive the necessary legal notifications under federal and, as applicable, state and local law and will give the required consent for you to receive the background investigation.
Then, we’ll gather their name, date of birth, address, social security number, and other information necessary to complete the investigation.
Once the applicant completes this process, we will initiate the background investigation.
Once completed, we will email the report to you in an encrypted format.
How Long Does it Take?
Most reports are completed within five business days, many much more quickly.
Because some courts do not make their records readily available for public review, it can sometimes take longer to complete reports in those areas. Additionally, when a record is found, obtaining all of the relevant information from the court’s files (often located in offsite archives) may take an extra couple of days.
If we anticipate that a report is going to take more than five days, we will let you know and provide you with a preliminary report.
Legal Compliance?
Background investigations are subject to federal, state, and local consumer-protection laws.
The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) will apply to your nanny background check–even if they are “contractors” or you are paying them “off the books.”
Also, ignore the word “credit” in the law’s title– the FCRA applies to all employment background checks.
The FCRA requires you to disclose in writing that you will be running a background check on your nanny. You also have to obtain their written authorization to run the background check.
Then, if information on the report may negatively affect your hiring decision, the FCRA requires that you give your nanny a copy of the report along with a summary of their rights under the law before you make the hiring decision.
Then, after you make the hiring decision, you have to give them notice of the decision and other information.
Some states and even local municipalities have additional disclosure requirements.
The good news is that Imperative provides an automated system to make the necessary disclosures to and receive the necessary authorizations from your applicant. And, if you decide not to hire your applicant because of the background check, we handle those communications, as well, at no additional cost.
Background Check FAQs
Q: What information do I need to order a background investigation?
In order to request a background investigation on your prospective or current employee, you will need the full name, email address, and telephone number of your prospective caregiver. Imperative will contact the caregiver directly to obtain their authorization to conduct the background investigation.
You will also be required to provide your identity and payment information.
Q: Why shouldn’t I just buy an instant “nationwide” or “comprehensive” criminal record search for $30 from another company?
Our experience is that these instant criminal records databases miss about 1/2 of the felonies and misdemeanors that we find utilizing our best-practice research methods. They often also connect criminal records to the wrong people who happen to share the same last name as the defendant.
Q: How long will the background investigation take?
Imperative’s goal is to complete the research as quickly as possible without compromising the accuracy or quality of the research.
Once your caregiver completes the background investigation consent paperwork, the report will typically be ready in three to five business days–often much sooner.
Most of our research involves hands-on research of the records of the local courts–most often by actually sending our researcher into the actual courthouse. However, some jurisdictions don’t provide access for the public to search their records directly. Instead, our researcher must complete a form and the court clerk does the research. Often, they do it the same day but in other jurisdictions, we may have to wait 3-5 business days.
Sometimes we must do additional research to verify that the individual named in a court document is the same individual on whom we are conducting the investigation.
For instance, protective civil protective/restraining orders often only contain the parties’ names. We must do additional research to determine whether the order found is associated with your applicant. We won’t report the information as a name-match-only record. (If we ultimately cannot determine that the record belongs to your applicant, we won’t report it but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t really associated with them.) That process can add a day or two to the research time.
Q: When will my credit card be charged?
Your credit card will be charged today for the full amount of the transaction.
Q: What is your refund policy?
We will offer a full refund at any time before your prospective or current employee consents to the background investigation. Once the individual has completed the background investigation consent paperwork, the report will be initiated and no refunds can be made if you cancel the report.
Please be sure you want the requested background investigation before providing your payment information.
Q: Can I use this process to run a background check on myself or someone I am not considering employing?
This process may only be used for ordering a background investigation on individuals you intend to hire as regular or contract employees.
If you have any questions, please call us at toll free 877-473-2287.
Q: How do I get started?
The first step is to select the background investigation option appropriate for your budget and risk tolerance and then provide the information for the individual on whom you wish to request this report. On the following pages, you’ll provide your contact information, execute our agreement, and make your payment.
