Background Checks for Babysitters

Why her husband? Is she watching your little on in her home? If not, I don't see the need to do one on her husband. Personally, I would kind of see that as a big invasion of privacy. That's just me though. I would call the local police department. Explain that you need to do a background check on a potential sitter. They should be able to help you out. If it's a small department, they may even be able to do it for you.

You can do background checks, but you must know where they were. For instance, if she and her husband are in IN and were is CA, NV, and TX, your background check would be for all areas inclusive, or you could miss something. Not all police systems are linked nationally. Intellius and US Search are at times helpful, but you may want to consult a professional place and write off the cost later when you do taxes.

In addition, you may want to put a camera in areas of your house so you can view from anywhere you are, or just provided recording until you feel comfortable. Good luck.

HI H.--kind of following up on what Beth B has said to you: Maybe getting in touch with a few teachers and see what their daycare situation is/whom they've used. I dont' know if you're set on in-home, or if you'd be willing to let your daycare provider bring another child, or have your child brought elsewhere... but I think that teachers may be a helpful resource for whatever reason... can't hurt to contact a few if you have a local school nearby. Talk with the principal/administration in their office; These people are often in the know of people and kids and good suggestions.

You should be able to get information or assistance from either your local police department or local library. Before you will be able to do a thorough criminal background check, you will need written permission from all persons that you will be requesting information on, as well as their identifying information, i.e. social security number, birthdate and driver's license number. Be sure to get a list of previous addresses, names, and previous employers. Remember that a background check is not foolproof, and should only be used as one tool to gauge a person's character or truthfullness. In addition to, and more important than a criminal background check, you should also ask for a list of previous clients, being sure to get contact information for them. It is good to talk to other mothers who currently use this sitter, but also to talk to mothers who have stopped using her as well, ask them specific questions about your particular areas of concern.
And don't feel bad if you are unable to use a provider that you KNOW. Most women don't know a whole lot of full time babysitters prior to having children, a fact that stay at home mom's are sometimes insensitive to. As long as you do your homework talking to others who have had time to get to know them, and you follow your instincts, there are great home daycare providers out there. What I always asked myself was this: Would I feel comfortable hanging out here with this person if I didn't have to go to work? The one's I couldn't carry on a conversation with were the ones I didn't use for very long.

You can never be too careful especially with in-home daycare. It seems like there's a bunch of websites that you can do that on - I don't know if any of them are any more/less reliable than another.

BUT one thing you might do is call a nearby school corporation and ask what service they use or how they go about doing background checks on their teachers. Let them know up front that you're asking because you want to do so for a potential daycare provider and they should be more willing to discuss it (since they know you're not trying to go after one of their teachers or something). Or you could ask the local police department maybe.

Just a few thoughts...for what it's worth...and good luck!