12 Dec
2009
How to Investigate your Nanny or Babysitter using Court Information

Personally, I know four people expecting babies in the next couple of months. As my personal gift to all of them, I am searching through court information for them. Now, some may wonder what babies and court information may have in common, but it all comes down to safety.

Court Records Search for Child Safety

When the baby is born, every mother I know will need to go back to work. This means that they will need someone to watch the baby. We do a variety of checks to make sure the babies are in the best of care while with the babysitter.

How to Investigate a Nanny/ Babysitter

You will need:

  • First, get the full name and any previous names of the babysitter.
  • Ask for a birth date as well.
  • If you feel comfortable, ask for the social security number. (While not required, it does make checking easier.)

Criminal Background Check:

You will want to start with a criminal background check. This way you can find out immediately what kind of past your potential sitter has. Personally, I do not eliminate nanny’s and sitters just because they had something on their record. However, if they have a history of shoplifting, then I am careful not to leave them in my house.

Driving History Check:

If you plan on letting the sitter take your baby anywhere, then you will definitely want to do a driving history check. You want to know if they have speeding tickets or have a large amount of accidents. Again, I don’t disqualify a person based on one accident but I do check.

Employment Check:

Many people skip over this step thinking it is unnecessary. For me, I want to know what kind of work history this person has. Do they tend to flop around jobs at will? I want someone to stick around with the children and not someone that is flaky and can leave at the drop of a hat.

Verifying References with Checks

Since references can easily be faked, I do reverse phone look-ups to see where the number comes from. I want to see if the name matches the one given. Cell phone records may be on a family plan but even this should tell you something. The numbers should be different and not all connected to the same person. I then do a quick search on the person to see if the information matches what the reference says. They couldn’t watch someone’s kids if that person does not have any kids.

You too can search court information and find out everything you need to make sure the Nanny or sitter is safe. The searches are completely confidential and can be done in the privacy of your own home.

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Category Category: Legal Stuff, background check, criminal record, people search
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