A Must Read for Anyone Hiring Child Care Online

Just how reliable are online background checks? Not Very.

We have told our children time and again, not to talk to strangers on the internet. So why is it that so many parents are meeting strangers on the internet, and leaving their children in the care of these strangers?

In light of recent events, the online background checks run through many online websites, such as sittercity.com, are coming under fire and rightfully so. What are these recent events? A 19-year old man is in police custody on suspicion of sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 10 years. The boy is eight to be exact, and Jordan Liu had been caring for him for the past eight months. Detectives have also been investigating allegations that Liu sexually assaulted the victim’s three year old brother. The parents found Liu on sittercity.com, a site that completes “background checks” on member caregivers. Liu also had a care.com account. And why are online background checks coming under fire? Online background checks are database searches.  They may not show any misdemeanors the candidate has on record. And they offer no further personal screening. Parents who haven’t been trained or experienced in interviewing and reference checking may end up with a false sense of security about the extent of their knowledge about a caregiver found on a website.

Every candidate presented to families by The Philadelphia Nanny Network has gone through in-house screening, in-depth interviewing and extensive reference checking; and no third parties are used. They have also been cleared by a private security firm that conducts a criminal check, a driving check, a credit check and social security number verification. They have been checked against the US Justice Department Sex Offender Registry. And finally, PA residents have passed a PA Child Abuse Clearance.

We do recognize that families use many different resources to find nannies, sitters and other domestic employees, but we cannot express enough how important it is to rigorously check the backgrounds of these individuals. If you are employing on your own, we urge you to use our expertise! Call us for a Candidate Check Package or a Basic Security Check. Please remember you cannot always trust individuals you meet on the internet. For more information on why this is so important, please read the full article here; and please read the developing story of the string of Craig’s List murders spree that has taken place in Ohio here.