Staffing Agencies Help Prevent Real Life Nanny-Diaries Style Disasters and Worse
(July 2007) – Producers of The Nanny Diaries movie describe the heroine’s plight thusly: “A 21-year-old New York University student becomes a nanny to a family on the Upper East Side who turns out to be the family from #!%*.”
“The nanny in the movie ends up working for a family for which she is ill suited, but it can also turn out the other way around,” says Annie Davis, president of the Association of Premier Nanny Agencies-A Household Staffing Alliance (APNA). APNA agencies are experts at screening employers and potential employees, so job seekers have a better chance of finding what they are looking for, and your odds of hiring someone to work in your home that can meet your needs are greatly increased.“But more important than compatibility, is safety.” Davis continues, “APNA agencies are required to conduct background checks on anyone they represent as a potential nanny or other household staff member. It’s much trickier than you might think to check someone’s criminal background, so it’s not something most people can do on their own.”
“We find criminal records on approximately 7% of the applicants we check,” says APNA Sponsor Member Lynn Peterson. Her company, PFC Information Systems conducts background checks. Many APNA members rely on her service or others like it, to screen potential job candidates. Peterson explains why, “In our experience, the vast majority of nanny candidates with criminal records have committed misdemeanors, not felonies. Most of them did not even go to jail, let alone a state prison. So, the nationwide records check many vendors offer, and that sounds so good, would never find their criminal records.”Criminal record tracking laws and practices vary from state to state and from county to county. “Sadly, many local records that are supposed to be forwarded to state or national databases don’t get sent, get lost or end up misfiled.” Peterson continues, “There simply is no substitute for a tightly focused county, criminal-court search and a statewide check in every location where an individual has lived. It takes time and knowledge to do it right. And most importantly, it should be a human being conducting that search, not a computer.”
“Searching for the right nanny, elder-care assistant or cook is a daunting task,” says Lexy Capp, an APNA board member and owner of Nannies & Housekeepers U.S.A. in Las Vegas. “There are hundreds of household staffing agencies across the country, and one way families can ensure they are getting trustworthy home help, that has been thoroughly screened, is to find an agency that displays the APNA seal.” Established in 1993, APNA holds its member agencies to high standards of business practice and ethics. Families and job seekers are guaranteed customized service and full confidentiality. “Since there are no federal guidelines for household staffing agencies, families should look for an APNA member when choosing an agency to help them hire someone to work in their home,” says Capp. Go to http://www.theapna.org/ to find an APNA agency in your community. The web site has other valuable information for families, nannies and staffing agencies. Other Contacts: Annie Davis, annied@drizzle.com, (206) 227-1690 lpeterson@pfcinformation.com, (510) 653-5061
release is August 24th. The film’s web page is: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0489237/
