Families treat a clean background check as proof of safety. It isn't. It's proof of no criminal record, which is a much narrower thing.
Most concerning caregiver behavior never generates a criminal record. Neglectful supervision, harsh discipline, dishonesty, chronic lateness, poor judgment under stress, and boundary problems with families — none of it shows up in a database search.
A background check tells you someone hasn't been convicted of a crime. It tells you nothing about whether they'll be good with your child, which is the actual question.
Tammy Gold, LCSW, spent years matching families with nannies before writing Secrets of the Nanny Whisperer (Penguin). Today she works beside families, and their agencies, as a neutral expert: defining the job, interviewing candidates, checking references and setting up the first 30 days.
The screening call, the Gold Targeted Reference Check™, the three-part clinical interview, and a trial-day checklist — what to ask, and what to listen for.
Seven pages · from Tammy Gold, LCSW, author of Secrets of the Nanny Whisperer
PDF · 7 pages · no sign-up needed
Screening filters out the disqualified. References tell you who someone actually is. The difference is in what you ask — “Was she good?” gets you nothing useful. These do:
Get written consent before running anything — required by federal law for employment screening, and an applicant's reaction to being asked is itself information. Use a reputable screening service rather than a $20 instant-search site; those pull stale, incomplete data.
And rerun periodically. Families screen once at hire and never again, though the relationship may last years.
Every child's behavior has a reason, and the reason is different for every child. A Care Map call maps your child across all four domains — biological, emotional, social, environmental — so you stop guessing which advice applies to yours.
$189
$150 / month
Questions first? Text (818) 308-1358 or email info@caremapmethod.com