Served & Found
Before a caregiver gets a key to a Sun City parent's house
It usually starts with a hospital discharge. Your mother comes home from a stay at Banner Boswell, the doctor says she should not be alone for a while, and you live in another state. Within a week you need someone in her Sun City house most days, with a key, access to her medications and probably her purse.
Some families go through an agency. Many find someone privately: a neighbour's recommendation, a name from church, a post in a community group, a person who already helps two other households on the street. Private hiring can be cheaper and more personal. It also means nobody has checked anything unless you do.
This is a guide to doing that checking well. It is general information, and if you are setting up a formal employment arrangement, a lawyer or accountant can help with the parts that are not about trust.
Agency or private: what you are actually buying
An agency should handle screening, training, scheduling, payroll and replacement when a caregiver is sick. Ask any agency what screening it does, specifically, and get the answer in writing. "All our caregivers are background checked" can mean many things.
A private hire puts all of that on you. That includes the uncomfortable part, which is finding out whether the person is who they say they are.
Checks you can do yourself
Identity
Look at a government photo ID and make sure the name matches everything else: the references, the phone number in their contact card, the name they give your parent. A caregiver who goes by a different first name is common and usually innocent. One who goes by a different last name deserves a question.
References, properly
Call references yourself, and ask specific questions. How long did they work for you? What were their duties? Did they handle money or medications? Would you hire them again? A reference who was a client's adult child is worth more than one who is described only as a "friend."
If the caregiver says they currently work for another Sun City household, that is easy to confirm. Ask for the family's contact details and call.
Court records
Search the person's full name on the Arizona courts' Public Access Case Lookup. You are looking for things directly relevant to the job: theft, fraud, abuse, orders of protection, repeated unpaid judgments. Be careful with common names, and confirm with a date of birth before you draw any conclusion.
If you use a background check company
Many families pay an online company for a background report. If you use that report to decide whether to hire someone, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act may apply to you as an employer. The Federal Trade Commission's guidance for employers says, in short:
- Give the applicant a separate written notice that you may use a consumer report, and get their written permission first.
- Before deciding not to hire based on the report, give them a copy of it and a summary of their rights, so they can point out errors.
- If you then decide not to hire, notify them, including the reporting company's contact details and their right to dispute.
Whether all of this applies to a family hiring a household caregiver is a question for a lawyer. Following it anyway costs little and is fair to the applicant.
What a private investigator adds
Some families want more than an online report, especially when the caregiver will have access to finances or when something already feels off. A licensed private investigator can, with the applicant's consent and within the law:
- Verify identity and work history more thoroughly than a database check
- Check court records in other states where the person has lived
- Interview former employers and clients
- Look into the person's use of other names or addresses
A private investigator should talk you through the consent and reporting rules above before starting, because a background report used for a hiring decision may fall under them no matter who prepares it. If one does not raise the subject, raise it yourself.
After they start
Screening is not the end. A few ordinary habits protect your parent:
- Keep cash, cheque books and jewellery out of easy reach, for everyone's sake
- Ask the bank about alerts on large withdrawals
- Visit, or have a local friend visit, at times that are not scheduled
- Keep your parent involved in decisions, as much as they are able
Arizona law, A.R.S. 46-456, says someone in a position of trust and confidence to a vulnerable adult must use that adult's assets only for the adult's benefit. If you ever suspect that has been broken, read our article on elder financial exploitation in Sun City and act quickly.
You can compare private investigators who cover the area on the Sun City private investigators page and the broader West Valley private investigators list. Every private investigator we list in Arizona is a member of the Arizona Association of Licensed Private Investigators, and our guide on verifying an Arizona private investigator license shows how to check. More local guides are on the Sun City town page.
Before the caregiver's first day, decide who keeps the spare key list, and write down every person who has one.
See the board: everyone in Sun City · private investigators only.