The Association of Premier Nanny Agencies - News and Articles Blog

By SUE SHELLENBARGER - Wall Street Journal

   A funny thing happened on the way to the Internet age: A lot of parents stopped paying the nanny tax.  Household-employment tax filings for nannies and other domestic workers fell 10% in the five years ended in 2006, based on the latest Internal Revenue Service data — a period when the number of domestic employees actually rose, according to Labor Department data. Since 1996, filings are down 26%, to 225,441. Growth in online hiring, and the casual, cost-averse attitudes of parents who find their nannies on the Web, are among the causes, parents and industry sources say.
   It’s never wise to evade taxes, but the trend poses particular risks now. The slumping economy means more nannies are likely to be laid off and then file for unemployment benefits, drawing the scrutiny of tax regulators, attorneys say. Also, avoiding the taxes leaves nannies devoid of a safety net, including Medicare and Social Security benefits, in an era when they may need it more than ever.
   Of course, paying nanny taxes is about as much fun as having a root canal. People who pay household workers more than $1,600 a year are required to file onerous paperwork to cover Social Security and Medicare taxes of 7.65% of gross pay; federal unemployment insurance of 0.8%; state unemployment insurance, usually of 2% to 4%, and other state and local taxes. The employee’s share is another 7.65% for Social Security and Medicare, plus any state and local taxes. Many parents spend $30 to $70 a month to have a payroll service handle all the red tape.
   In the past, parents more often hired full-time nannies through brick-and-mortar agencies, which often exerted arm-twisting to persuade both parents and nannies to pay taxes. Also, periodic derailings of presidential cabinet appointees over nanny-tax violations, including most recently failed Bush nominee Bernard Kerik in 2004, highlighted the hazards for scofflaws.
   Of late, however, online hiring and a related trend toward more fluid, short-term and part-time nanny employment have damaged compliance, say Web-site operators, payroll managers, attorneys and nanny-agency owners. An estimated 30% to 50% of nanny hires are now done online, up from about 10% five years ago. In general, that may lead to “doing things a little more casually,” says Monta Fleming, president of GoNannies.com, an employment site.
   Care.com, another online nanny-placement service, has seen a 17% increase in part-time postings since a year ago, as parents “try to figure out how to save money,” says founder Sheila Marcelo. Few parents think of providing benefits of any kind to part-timers; one New Hampshire mother says “it doesn’t make sense” to go to all the trouble of withholding taxes for her part-time nanny.
   Many nannies hired online assume they’ll be paid cash. To avoid this, Marijo Montgomery, a Mullica Hill, N.J., parent, has begun specifying “no pay under the table” in nanny ads she posts online, she says.  In other cases, scofflaws employ undocumented immigrants. Still others simply don’t see a payoff in filing taxes. After talking to a friend who does so, says a San Diego mother of two boys, “it sounded like a lot of work, and neither party wins — we pay more and the nanny gets less.”
   In truth, both parties stand to lose from evading taxes. One parent who paid his nanny cash fired her last month, only to be found out by state officials after she filed for unemployment benefits, says Bob King, an attorney and founder of Legally Nanny, an Irvine, Calif., employment-services firm. While nannies in these cases may find themselves on the hook for some back taxes, parents face a much larger hit, including both the nanny’s and the employer’s share of payroll taxes, plus interest and penalties.
   Complying with tax laws, on the other hand, enables parents to set aside up to $5,000 in pre-tax income for child-care expenses. It also extends to the nanny Social Security and Medicare benefits. “If parents really care about their nanny and love her, as so many families do,” says Steve Lampert of eNannySource.com, an online search service, “then it’s the right thing to do for her.”
For other parents, it’s even simpler. Although Dina Appleby, Kennett Square, Pa., and her husband don’t enjoy paying nanny taxes, “we’re both strong believers,” she says, “in following the law.”

Tackling Taxes
Resources for those who employ a nanny:

• ‘How to Hire a Nanny,’ by Guy Maddalone Guidebook covers tax issues
• irs.gov Search for Publication 926, Household Employer’s Tax Guide
• Breedlove-online.com/faqs Q&A on tax issues

Write to Sue Shellenbarger at sue.shellenbarger@wsj.com

Houston’s Morningside Nannies

(October 31, 2008) – The Association of Premier Nanny Agencies (APNA) is proud to honor Houston’s Morningside Nannies with APNA’s 2008 Agency of the Year award.  Twenty five years ago, Pat Cascio founded the first agency in Houston to specialize in nanny placement, and she is still on the job.  Like many in the industry, Pat started her business because, “I needed in-home care for my children, and I wasn’t comfortable with the screening provided by what were then known as ‘domestic agencies’.”

     Now Pat and other staffing agencies have access to an arsenal of professional background checkers and computerized court files to assist them in screening household staff.  However, she says she still scrutinizes all applicants with the time-tested question, “Would I hire this nanny to care for my own children?”

     Seasoned household staffing agencies know how important it is to meet each job candidate in person.  “Nanny services that operate only online are becoming more popular,” says Ginger Swift, the APNA board member who oversaw the selection of the 2008 Agency of the Year.  “But the people who run most online-only job services never meet the applicants, and they do not conduct the type of background check an agency like Morningside Nannies would require before sending someone to your home.”

     Says Pat of her award, “I had considered vying for APNA’s Agency of the Year award in the past, but I wasn’t sure my agency would be special enough to gain this national honor.  But this year, I celebrated 25 years in the industry, and I retired from my eight-year post as the International Nanny Association President.  When I reflected on the contribution I have made to our industry, I felt more confident.”

    “Because household staffing laws vary from state to state, agency owners such as Pat help us set industry standards, so we can provide a nationwide network of reliable agencies,” says APNA President Annie Davis.  “To be an APNA member, agencies must put their contracts, applications and business practices up for scrutiny by their peers.  Parents who want to make sure they are dealing with a quality nanny service should look for the APNA seal.  I am extremely proud of all our members, but Pat deserves to be recognized for the years she has dedicated to this industry.  She has more than earned the respect of her colleagues and associates.  Pat, as all members, has always put the welfare of children first.” 

Contacts:
* Pat Cascio, Morningside Nannies, Houston, Texas (713)526-3989 pcascio@morningsidenannies.com, www.morningsidenannies.com/index.html

* Annie Davis, APNA President, (206) 227-1690, annied@drizzle.com www.anihouseholdstaffing.com 

* Go to www.theAPNA.org to find an APNA agency in your community and valuable information for families and people seeking household jobs

BACKGROUND CHECKS
The most important step a staffing agency can take to insure the integrity of a background check is to verify the candidate’s name(s), date of birth, Social Security number, and driver’s license number.  This verification should be conducted by examining the candidate’s documents, e.g., the Social Security card, driver’s license, green card, etc.  It is not enough to take for granted that the candidate has correctly listed this information on the application and/or release forms.  If incorrect identifying data is input, the background check will be worthless.
 

Most background checks include the following elements:   Social Security Number verifications; seven year state and/or county criminal checks conducted in all locations identified where the candidate has lived during the past seven years; national criminal file checks, including sex offender data; and DMV records. 
SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER VERIFICATION 
The Social Security Number Verification is a key component in the background screening process.  It provides information vital to the verification of the information provided on the application; it is effective in identifying holes in a candidate’s history; and is a tool that helps determine where criminal records checks should be conducted and what names need to be searched. 
The Social Security Number Verification includes information from credit bureaus and public records databases regarding the name or names, addresses, and phone numbers that are linked to the usage of a particular Social Security number. This is not a check of the Social Security Administration’s database. However, the SSN Verification does validate whether the SSN was actually issued by the Social Security Administration, and when and where it was issued.
DMV RECORDS
DMV reports can be obtained from every state, with the exception of Alaska, Georgia, and New Hampshire.  Generally, violations remain on the DMV report for three years, although convictions for serious offenses are reported for 5 years or more, depending on the state.  DMV reports are of critical importance, as they can point to substance abuse problems.  DMV checks are important in verifying the candidate’s identity, via the name and date of birth on the driving record.  Note:  when an individual is arrested, the name as it is listed on the driver’s license will probably be the name recorded on the arrest record.
CRIMINAL RECORDS
Types of Crimes
Crimes are categorized as felonies, misdemeanors, or infractions.

Felonies
Felonies are serious crimes such as rape, arson, or murder. Felony convictions result in imprisonment for a year or more.

Misdemeanors
Misdemeanors can be less serious crimes, such as petty theft. However, misdemeanors can also be more serious. A charge like assault, for example, can be either a felony or a misdemeanor. Often a serious misdemeanor starts out as a felony and is reduced to a misdemeanor through plea bargaining. When an individual is convicted of a misdemeanor and is sentenced to jail time, the period of incarceration will be a year or less.

Infractions
Infractions are minor crimes and are treated essentially like a traffic ticket. There is no jail time involved if the individual is convicted. Infractions can include charges such as public drunkenness, loitering, and most traffic offenses.  Misdemeanors can be reduced to infractions.

Types of Criminal Records
 

In the background screening industry different kinds of records are all collectively referred to as “criminal records.”  These records are not the same thing, and do not contain the same information.  The following describes the various types of records that are all called criminal records:
Arrest Records
The starting point for a criminal record is when an individual is arrested for a crime.  Arrest records are created when an individual is taken to the police station, sheriff’s department, or other law enforcement agency following an arrest.  This is where the individual is “booked” for an arrest. Fingerprints and mug shots are taken, and the arresting officers prepare a written arrest report.  Arrest reports are public records in some counties within some states.  However, they are not open to the public in many locations.
Arrest records are sometimes sent to the state criminal repository and some states send the information to the FBI.  However, if the crime is a misdemeanor the information may not be sent to the state repository, and it probably will not be sent to the FBI.
County Criminal Court Record Checks
A criminal court file is created when a defendant is charged with a crime. County criminal checks are the criminal court records on file at the county.  County criminal court records are the primary source of criminal information. Generally, criminal court records are public record. The files include meaty documents such as the criminal complaint, the disposition (verdict), and sentencing information. They might also include information about post-conviction probation violations and arrest warrants.  County criminal checks usually involve sending a court records researcher to the courthouse to manually search the records.
Where the case is filed is usually determined by seriousness of a crime.  The county courts are called by different names in different states.  They may be called Superior Courts, Supreme Courts, District Courts, Common Pleas Courts, Justice Courts, Municipal Courts, etc.  The bottom line is that felonies are usually sent to the county’s highest criminal court, while misdemeanors are usually sent to lower courts. 
It is important to understand that for employment background checks, you must cover both levels of courts if you are to obtain information on both felonies and misdemeanors.  In many counties there is no consolidated index.  As a result, two different checks must often be conducted to cover both felonies and misdemeanors.  Another very important consideration when conducting background checks is whether the lower courts in a county are consolidated.  Most background screening companies only check the misdemeanor records at the county seat.  This is not adequate, because the criminal records could be at any number of lower courts in the county.  For example, if a candidate lived in East Cleveland, Ohio the court records researcher might go to the Cuyahoga County Courthouse to search felony records at the Common Pleas Court and misdemeanors at the Cleveland Municipal Court, because both courts are housed in the same building.  However, the East Cleveland Municipal Court and eleven other municipal courts would not be included because the lower courts are not consolidated.  Therefore, a misdemeanor committed in East Cleveland would not be found. When you request a background check you need to ask your vendor whether you are really getting the appropriate misdemeanor checks conducted.
Correction Records
Correction records are records of incarceration in federal or state prisons. While correction records from prisons are available online in most states, they typically include information about the most serious criminals. Less serious crimes involve jail time, not prison, and most jail records are not available online.  Note:  most of the records included in the National Criminal File search are correction records.
Statewide Criminal Records
Statewide criminal checks provide some advantages over county criminal checks.  They are broader geographically and the turnaround times are minimal.  However, as discussed in the section on county criminal searches, it is dangerous to assume that a statewide search will include everything.  The problem of missing misdemeanors is of critical importance.  The best policy is to conduct both a statewide check and a county check where the individual has lived.
Statewide criminal records are derived from three sources: state criminal repositories maintained by state law enforcement agencies, statewide criminal court indexes available through the state administrative office of the courts, and via proprietary databases.  The records are checked by name and date of birth. 
Statewide searches can be conducted in a most states. However, data quality and currency, as well as turnaround times vary from state to state.  The checks available from the following states are reasonably comprehensive. Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.  Manual county checks should be conducted in all other states. 
National Criminal File
This check provides information from multiple criminal record sources.  The primary sources included are: multi-state sex and violent offender records; incarceration records, parole, and release records from prisons; some state and local county criminal records; Specially Designated Nationals List (SDN List) from The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC); the FBI Terrorist List; and Federal/State/Local Wanted Fugitive Lists.  The advantage to this search is that the records are available instantly.
The biggest problem with this search is the large number of false positives and false negatives. The primary reasons are:

1. The vast majority of the records do not include identifiers, such as date of birth.  Therefore, if a candidate has a common name it is likely that a huge number of records will be reported for that name that have absolutely nothing to do with the candidate. 
2. The sources that the criminal data come from only include a small percentage of the data available at the county courts and at the state, and much of the data is not up to date.   While online vendors claim that this search includes over 350 million records, the number of individuals in the database is much smaller. 

Automatic monthly updates to this database are available from some online vendors.  However, given the holes in this database, monthly updates provide little protection.  The National Criminal File search should only be used as a pre-screening tool. This search, including monthly updates, is available free of charge at http://criminalsearches.com.
 
Sex Offender
This search provides information regarding individuals who have been convicted of sexually-violent offenses against adults and children and certain sexual contact and other crimes against victims who are minors.  This search is available free of charge at http://www.nsopr.gov/.

 A medical emergency endured by one of our board members is inspiring the Association of Premier Nanny Agencies – A Household Staffing Alliance (APNA) to establish its first ongoing, annual donation.  “From here on out, five percent of each APNA member’s yearly dues payment will be donated to the Children’s Miracle Network national office,” says Lexy Capp, APNA board member and philanthropic committee co-chair.  It was her son’s brain surgery in their hometown of Las Vegas that prompted APNA to begin the donations.
   
     “When my son was in the pediatric intensive care unit, the baby across the hall died,” says Lexy.  “That only added to my anxiety, and the moral support given to my family by Children’s Miracle Network was such a gift.  Along with helping ensure quality medical care, the people from Children’s Miracle Network work to lift your spirits.”  She smiles when she recounts how they arranged for Miss America to visit Joshua in the hospital.  “I felt like Bert Parks when she walked in the room, and I introduced them.  He’s a teenaged boy, you can imagine what a thrill it was for him to have Miss America come looking for him.  It also gave him something exciting to tell his friends when they came to visit.” 

     Once Joshua recovered, Lexy realized how grateful she was to Children’s Miracle Network of Las Vegas, and she began donating a portion of every placement made through her agency, Nannies & Housekeepers USA, to that chapter.

     When Lexy told her colleagues on the APNA board of directors her son’s story, they  saw the parallel between what Children’s Miracle Network does, and what they do.  Says Lexy’s APNA Philanthropic Committee Co-chair Claudia Kahn of The Help Company, “APNA agencies assist people all over the United States, and we are very proud to be helping Children’s Miracle Network because it shares our goal of making a difference in families’ lives.”

By Bob King, Legally Nanny®

In a case involving Internet matching service Roommates.com, the Ninth Circuit ruled that online applications and other documents that ask questions about legally protected characteristics could subject the company to liability.  The court’s ruling makes clear that asking questions about legally protected characteristics can solicit discriminatory answers, and matching people - or refusing to place people - based on those answers can violate anti-discrimination laws.

The bottom line here is that agencies should scrutinize all their web pages, as well as job seeker and family applications, to ensure they do not solicit information about legally protected characteristics such as age, citizenship, gender, religion, family status (including pregnancy) or medical information. Even if questions are labeled “optional” or only asked verbally, they can be dangerous.

While the Ninth Circuit decision applies only in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, all agencies should be aware of this precedent and act now. Establishing written guidelines about questions and training staff are also important components to ensure that your agency complies with the law.

Copyright © Legally Nanny® 2008. This article is for informational purposes only; it is not legal advice

Are you an agency in business for less than 3 years and interested in becoming an APNA member? Now you can!
 
APNA is proud to launch its Affiliate Member Program. Agencies in business for less than three years are eligible to join as Affiliate Members by demonstrating adherence to the same code of ethics and standards of business practice as full members.

While Affiliate Members are not permitted to use APNA’s logo on their marketing materials or websites, they are guaranteed all other member benefits, including representation on the APNA web site in a distinct Affiliate Member listing.
Review our membership process & application here!

Questions? Contact APNA Board Member Daryl Camarillo at daryl@spnannies.com or (650) 462-4580

By Tom Breedlove – Breedlove & Associates

Many families ask for their agency’s “Tax ID” (they may refer to it as an “Employer Identification Number” or “EIN”). Until this year, the answer was always a simple “no” because families were not allowed to apply agency fees toward their childcare tax breaks.
Now the answer is not quite so simple. New tax laws allow families to count placement agency fees as a childcare expense. Despite this new law, the vast majority of families should use their own EIN on their taxes.
WHY IS AN EIN REQUIRED WHEN TAKING A TAX BREAK?

1.) Families are allowed to take the childcare tax credit on their federal tax returns, or to utilize dependent care accounts (also known as a “flexible spending account”) administered by their companies. The employer’s EIN must be provided for those breaks. In permanent and temporary placements, the caregiver does not work for the agency that placed her - she works for the family that employs her. Therefore, all wages should be applied to the family’s - not the agency’s - EIN.
2.) In late 2007 the IRS ruled that agency placement fees are a deductible childcare expense. However, in most cases, itemizing a placement fee is of no benefit because the nanny’s wages already exceed the childcare expense limit.

The exception: temporary placements (and permanent placements made late in the year, i.e. November or December), where wages fall below the expense limit. In those cases, the agency’s placement fee MAY create a tax benefit for the family.
ALLOWABLE CHILDCARE EXPENSES:
* A nanny’s gross salary (not net)
* All employer taxes (over and above the gross salary)
* Fees paid to a daycare, preschool or day camp (overnight camps do not qualify)
* Fees paid to a placement agency
SHOULD PLACEMENT AGENCIES PROVIDE THEIR EIN?
Our advice is NOT to give out your EIN unless you are absolutely sure it is only being used to itemize your placement fee. If your EIN is erroneously applied to a nanny’s wages, your agency will be viewed as the employer and you will have a paperwork mess and considerable liability.
We advise a three-step approach:
1.) Ask the employer if they filed state and federal employment tax returns on the nanny. If they did, they should have their own Household Employer EIN. If they did not file state and federal employment tax returns, they are not in compliance with employment law and cannot itemize employment-related expenses.
2.) For those who have paid legally and still want your EIN, we advise you to try to analyze their employment situation. If they’ve exceeded the expense limit in wages ($3,000 for one child; $6,000 for two or more children) itemizing your placement fee will have no tax benefit. If they had a temp(s) or hired late in the year, they may be below the expense limit and able to deduct your placement fee.
3.) For those who have paid legally AND fall below the expense limit, it’s probably safe to provide your tax ID. However, to avoid misapplication of your EIN, we recommend requesting a copy of your client’s completed Form 2441 (the form upon which your Tax ID will be applied). Make sure only agency fees are tied to your Tax ID. Do not under any circumstances let them tie your EIN to the nanny’s wages!

It takes a little effort to fend off clients - and even CPAs - who are prone to misapply your Tax ID. But it’s worth your trouble. Protecting your EIN will save you lots of time and money down the road. The old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” definitely applies here.

by Lynn Peterson, PFC Information Services, Inc.

Reputable staffing agencies routinely conduct criminal checks, Social Security Number verifications, and driving record checks as standard components of their candidate screening process. There is another type of background check that is not typically included in a standard background check - civil litigation.

CRIMINAL vs. CIVIL
Criminal cases are felonies and misdemeanors filed by the government. The penalties include jail, prison, probation and fines. Most civil litigation consists of torts or contracts cases.
Contract cases normally involve breach of contract or contract enforcement. Torts can encompass intentional actions - such as infliction of emotional distress - or unintentional actions which often arise from situations involving negligence. Tort cases can involve injury to property (trespassing or theft), to a person (assault or wrongful death), or to reputation (slander or liable).
Civil cases are brought by individuals or companies, usually through attorneys. Judgments in civil cases frequently involve money.

WHY CLIENTS REQUEST CIVIL CHECKS
Typically, a client who requests a civil litigation check is concerned about 3 things:
* A large number of lawsuits in which the job candidate was the plaintiff, which would indicate the candidate is litigious
* Lawsuits involving former employers. For example, sexual harassment or wrongful termination suits can be a sign the candidate might sue her next employer
* Restraining orders filed by, or against, the job candidate
RESTRAINING ORDERS ARE OF PARTICULAR CONCERN
A criminal background check will not usually find a restraining order.
EXAMPLE: A nanny agency client of ours placed a caregiver with no irregularities in her standard background check. The family was ecstatically happy with the nanny during the first few months. However, the nanny was increasingly taking on an almost parental role. The situation deteriorated to the point where she was fired.
Once terminated, the parents felt the nanny was stalking their children. The family contacted the agency and asked it to conduct a deeper background check.
My company repeated our original checks, but added a civil litigation check. With that, we found a restraining order against the nanny. A judge ruled she had stalked the children of another family that had fired her; a family not listed in her job history.

For everyone’s safety, it is also important to know about restraining orders filed by a job candidate. If she has filed an order against a boyfriend or abusive spouse, it is possible he might discover where she is working and show up at the home.
 

PROBLEMS WITH CIVIL LITIGATION CHECKS
To find out what really happened in a civil litigation case you must obtain copied, case file documents from the courthouse which can involve a great deal of time and expense.
Civil litigation files often do not include identifying information about the parties involved. Frequently there are no addresses, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, or driver’s license numbers.
If your job candidate has a common name, a large number of cases may be found that actually have nothing to do with that person. It will probably be impossible to determine if the cases involve your job candidate, and pulling each case file to search for identifying information can take weeks. Therefore, avoid civil litigation checks when a person’s name is common.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) limits the time in which civil records can be reported to 7 years, unless the candidate will be earning $75,000 or more. Several states limit the period of time, regardless of the employee’s salary.
 

NOT CONVICTED BUT HELD ACCOUNTABLE
Sometimes a defendant may not be convicted in a criminal case, but may still lose in civil court. Both the O.J. Simpson and Michael Jackson trials provide good examples of defendants who were not criminally convicted, but lost or settled the civil cases filed against them.
 

SHOULD CIVIL LITIGATION CHECKS BE PART OF A STANDARD BACKGROUND CHECK?
Because of the significant problems mentioned above, we do not recommend civil checks as a standard part of the background check. However, civil litigation checks can serve as a valuable tool, particularly when the search is focused on employment-related issues and restraining orders.

THE BOTTOM LINE IS: if your client wants a civil litigation check conducted you should be prepared to do so. However, you should also make the client aware of the problems inherent in these checks.

PFC Information Services, Inc., in Oakland, CA provides public records research and pre-employment background checks.  PFC offers discount rates to APNA members.  

The View
320 West 66th St.
New York, NY 10023

March 10, 2008

Re: The Dangers of Online Only Job Listings to Hire Nannies

To The View,

     Job listing services such as Sittercity should not be confused with nanny agencies.

     We feel it is important to raise a red flag about your segment last week on Sittercity, a service that lists families and nannies online.  Your guest stated that Sittercity allows users to “go through all the same steps that really expensive placement agencies do.”  In our opinion that is not true.  Some of the biggest problems with online job listing services are that they do not provide the personal investigation, matching and tools that a nanny agency uses to assure the confidentiality and security of its clients and its applicants seeking work.

     Additionally, online job listing services can give the client a false sense of security by advertising a background check that offers minimum screening compared to what top notch nanny agencies would consider adequate.  Many online job services, including Sittercity, allow parents to conduct an online LexisNexis background check for $9.99.  Sittercity has a disclaimer that the LexisNexis check covers just 38 states (http://www.sittercity.com/help_detail.html?tag=bgcin).  But some online job listing services call the LexisNexis check “nationwide” which can be misleading.

     Top notch household staffing agencies require a computer background check, and much more, on each job candidate.  Most quality agencies hire a seasoned professional to conduct background checks.  You can read in detail about what a thorough background check entails on our web site at: http://theapna.org/blog.

     Quality nanny agencies also meet each nanny candidate in person and check the candidate’s references and resume.  Online job listing services often do not check qualifications or references.  They simply advise parents to perform those tasks.

     Careful, experienced household staffing agencies are the best way to protect children, but they also help ensure a job seeker’s safety.  Katherine Olson of Minnesota was found dead last October, one day after she responded to an online ad for a nanny job.  The 19-year-old man police suspect placed the ad, where he posed as a parent seeking a nanny, is charged with her murder and awaiting trial.

     A responsible staffing agency knows when one of its job candidates is being interviewed, and the candidate is expected to report in afterward.  The personal contact that a qualified agency provides is an added security measure for both candidates and the hiring families.  That service also increases the chances a family will find a nanny that is right for them and decreases the chances of high turnover of nannies in their employment.

     Additionally, many online job listing services post the nanny candidate’s picture with his or her job profile.  Household employment attorneys do not advise posting candidates’ photos for both safety and legal reasons.  Pictures can be a way for predators to choose victims or for potential employers to discriminate based on legally protected characteristics such as race or age.

     The points listed above are the primary reasons that our organization does not grant membership to job services that operate only online.  Below is a list of some APNA members who would be willing to speak with you if you are interested in more information about the safest ways to find and become household staff.

Sincerely,

Guy Maddalone
on behalf of the APNA Board of Directors