APNA Statement After Learning of Nanny’s Death
Nanny Agencies Protect Children & Nannies
Minnesota Woman’s Death may be Linked to Online Job Ad
(October 2007) – “Parents who use a staffing agency to find a nanny do so as a way to protect their children, but agencies also help ensure the nannies’ safety,” says Annie Davis, president of the Association of Premier Nanny Agencies-A Household Staffing Alliance. The apparent murder of 24-year-old Katherine Anne Olson of Minnesota is prompting this APNA alert. Olson was found dead the day after she responded to an online ad for a nanny job. The 19-year-old man police suspect placed the ad is under arrest in connection with Olson’s death.
“We gather a good deal of information about our clients before we begin working with them to find household employees,” says Denise Collins, an APNA board member and owner of Aunt Anne’s In-House Staffing Agency in San Francisco. “If anyone we send to be interviewed has a bad experience with the potential employer, we will follow up. If we discover that the client is consistently unpleasant, or worse, we will terminate our contract with them. On top of screening families, we know when they are interviewing a job candidate, and all parties know we are waiting to hear how it went.”
“Online ads may seem like the answer in a busy world, but staffing agencies are still the safest, most effective way to make household placements,” says APNA Board Member Guy Maddalone, CEO of GTM Household Employment Experts in Clifton Park, New York and author of How to Hire a Nanny. “Families and job seekers should look for the APNA seal when choosing an agency to help them.”
APNA was founded in 1993 with the intention of raising the bar in the household staffing industry, and many APNA members are pioneers in the field. The APNA seal is like a Good Housekeeping seal of approval for nanny and household staffing agencies. Go to http://www.theapna.org/ to find an APNA agency in your community, as well as valuable information for families and people seeking household jobs.
February 20th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Scary article. I’ve been considering doing a background check on clients, but not sure how to approach the subject with them. Any suggestions?