With an aging populous caregivers become critical to daily life in the USA.  This at-risk group is often under the care of in-home caregivers or staff at an assisted living home or nursing home.  Due to the vulnerability of the elderly it is imperative that caregivers given access to them go through a vigorous background screening process before being allowed unsupervised time with them.  This includes a professional criminal background check, reference check, SSN Trace, license verification and in-person interview.

Understanding the details of an individual’s past provides insight into their potential future.  A background check is designed to mitigate risk.  Most companies perform an employment background check on potential hires that make it past the application phase of the hiring process.  However, some States and Jurisdictions in the USA have laws in place that prohibit asking the job applicant whether or not they have a criminal record on the application form.  In these instances an employer can only perform a background check after an initial offer of employment is made.

The issue with hiring caregivers is that in many circumstances it is the family that hires the caregiver for an elderly person in the family.  Due to a lack of knowledge regarding how to hire someone the family may forgo the background check process entirely and hire someone that may have a criminal past and/or may pose a risk to their loved one.  That is why even if the family hires the caregiver they should still use a third party background screening company to help them properly vet the caregiver before giving them access to the home and to the vulnerable.

To read more about this subject read recent press release found here: Caregiver Background Checks