Do Your Background Research

When you interview caregiving candidates, you´re looking for someone who you can trust with your most precious responsibility - the care of your child, parent or dependent family member.
You need someone who will be responsible for your loved ones in an unsupervised setting, in the privacy of your home, and when your watchful eyes are absent.
A check of references and even a formal background check offer a sense of trust and provide a safety appeal. Even if the person you are considering to hire comes recommended by a friend or family member, it is recommended that you check things out yourself.

Start with an application. You can download a Caregiving Application Information Form from the Sunshine Help Resource Center.
Require original documents that can confirm identity, social security number, etc. These can include a driver´s license, college ID card, passport, or any other document that contains a photograph.
During the interview process, it is perfectly acceptable to deviate from the questions on the application form. Improvise. While you´re looking for candidates who fit your needs, your budget, and a certain level of experience required, plus that all-important personality fit, most importantly, you are looking for a match between the caregiver and the person or persons being cared for.

Take time at the beginning of the interview to establish a rapport. Chat about every-day topics before starting the interview questions. During the interview, you might want to ask about the most challenging and rewarding parts about being a sitter or care provider.
Perhaps you´d like to know what was the scariest or most difficult moment in a sitter´s experience and how was the situation handled. In interviewing teenage sitters, interview questions might focus on the candidate´s grades, what he or she enjoys doing outside the classroom, or whether the parents are supportive of them having sitting jobs.

The interview process is also a good time to get an idea of the candidate´s philosophy and care style and whether or not their views will mesh or clash with yours.
Ask probing questions about discipline and time management, what the candidate considers important qualities in a caregiver, how they would handle an emergency, and whether they have special skills they can apply to their caregiving duties.

Once you have selected a candidate, post-interview activities include following-up with references and doing a background check. Download an application from our Sunshine Help Resource Center if you want help with ordering a background check on any of your candidates.
A good indication that the candidate is a good prospect is if they have already done a background check on themselves and are prepared to discuss issues that surface.

In checking references, you might ask about the candidate´s creativity, dependability, communication abilities, strengths and weakness, and the reason why he or she left their last job.
Establish a chronology of work and education history and look for unexplained gaps, which may not only indicate a prior poor employment experience, but can also raise red flags about other problems that might impact the candidate´s ability to provide excellent care.

Personally contact all references either with a phone call or via email, or you might try to meet the referral in person. Oftentimes, people will not submit concerns in writing but may share experiences informally. Good references include former and current teachers, members of the candidate´s church or temple, sports coaches, or officers of clubs in which the candidate is a member.

We hope this information was helpful. For more tips and other information, visit the Sunshine Help Resource Center