Thank you for your interest in our DIY guide!  We know that hiring a childcare worker is a time sensitive and complex process, which can become frustrating.  Besides the advertising, interviewing and compiling hiring forms, employers report being very uneasy with the thought of leaving children alone with anyone, for any amount of time.  Much of this stress generally centers on the unknown.  The more information that is discovered about your applicants’ background, training, education, personality, etc., the greater the comfort level.  Even though there is no known formula to predict future behavior, past performance may be the best available indicator we have. While this guide was originally intended to assist new agencies with setting up their own in-house screening programs, many families have also referenced it to educate themselves with the screening process.

In the past ten years we have seen some of the most egregious attempts to deceive childcare employers. With this start-up guide we will supply you with our insider tips from our 10 + years of serving the childcare background screening demographic.

Hiring a childcare worker requires recruiting, interviewing, screening, hiring, and on-going record submission.  Some of the typical steps include:

Step #1 - Decide on your specific needs (live-in, live-out, education, experience)

Step #2 - Use numerous sources to advertise (word of mouth, print / electronic classifieds,    friends)

Step #3 - Review the applications and decide on interview pool

Step #4 - Conduct the interviews / background checks

Step #5 - Review the background reports

Step #6 - Make employment decision / conditional offer

Step #7 - Agree on a written employment contract

Step #8 - Submit forms/notification: Immigration, State New Hire, Tax Withholding, W-4, Workers Compensation, Insurance, Benefits, etc.

Step #9 - Accurately calculate and withhold employee federal and state taxes

Step #10 - Government Reporting- Prepare and file federal and state annual tax returns.  File tax returns timely to avoid penalties. Stay current with household employment tax laws.

Step #11 -  On-going training and feedback. Remember to document all activities, both positive and negative.

To make it easier for you to navigate our guide, here is a quick index:

  • Childcare Employment Application
  • Documentation of Training Form
  • Interviewing Tips
  • Childcare Employment Contract
  • Questions To Ask the Applicants
  • Questions Not To Ask the Applicants
  • How to Ask Certain Questions
  • Situational Hypothetical Questions
  • Childcare Medical Authorization Form
  • Applicant Medical Information
  • Consent for Drug Test
  • Confidentiality Form
  • Daily Instruction/Information Sheet
  • Employee Time Sheets
  • Official Disciplinary Notice
  • Orientation Sheet
  • Important Contacts
  • Monthly Petty Cash
  • Performance Review
  • Random Unannounced Video/Audio Recording
  • Change in Insurance/Driving Status
  • Employee Emergency Contact Information
  • How to Keep a Good Employee
  • Interview Performance Scoring Sheet
  • Criminal Record Caveats and Limitations
  • Do it Yourself Applicant Reference Verification
  • Pre-adverse Action forms/Adverse Action Forms
  • Application Background Release Sample
  • Overcoming Obstacle in Reference Checking
  • Reference Check Form
  • Checklist on Sources of Background Information
  • How to Obtain Criminal Checks
  • How to Obtain State Child Abuse Registry Information
  • How to Access Nanny Clearinghouse, Sex Offender, and Prison Records
  • How to Access Driving, Education/Reference and Military Information
  • How to Spot a Fake Diploma
  • Media Searches
  • Social Security Numbers
  • Government Patriot Act and e-Verify and form I-9/Polygraph/Drug Testing
  • Social Media
  • Pre-Screening Laws/Federal/State/Recent and Lawsuit Trends
  • Links & News Sources
  • FCRA Sections for Screening
  • Pre-employement Screening Glossary of Terms
  • Sample Pre-screening Report Format

Some of these sections will contain just sample forms and others will be very descriptive in helping you understand the proper way to conduct your own nanny background checks.

You can view the completed DIY Nanny Background Check Guide here.