Caregivers for the Elderly: A Difficult Challenge…Don’t Forget the Background Check
Caregiving is a difficult challenge.
For the caregiver it is about long hours, limited pay and complicating work environment which ultimately may provide boundless reward. And for those who hire a caregiver for a parent or grandparent it can be enormously complicated and difficult.
In the end it is about risk mitigation and protecting at-risk populations.
In New Jersey a home care staffing shortage is having a significant impact.
From www.NorthJersey.com (Nov. 02, 14):
Home health aides work with the elderly and the disabled, assisting them with basic tasks like bathing and dressing and performing limited clinical duties, including checking vital signs. In New Jersey and across the country, an aging population means that home health aides are in greater demand than ever. (1)
As the global population continues to age the need for caregivers will continue to grow.
Certainly, the ultimate goal in elder care is protection. Just as children are at-risk populations so too are the elderly, but their needs are unique to their age, status, and standing. And the level of care can vary significantly. Some individuals require more care than others, but one fact remains: the elderly may be open to abuse. While a caregiver is hired to protect their elder clients’, abuse of the elderly often may come from individuals hired to protect and provide care.
From The Times News (Oct. 23, 14):
Felons often pose as home caregivers, as tradesmen or contractors, or have networks of other thieves helping them perpetrate their fraud by phone or over the Internet, Greenwood said. He described a number of cases — including murders — committed against unsuspecting customers and seniors. (2)
Advice commonly provided to the elderly is to be less trusting of those around them, working with and for them. One method of enhancing trust is conducting a thorough caregiver background check, one that includes a wide variety of public information review and reference verification.
Unfortunately, elder abuse continues.
KIMT News3 (Oct. 31, 14) reports on Minnesota:
According to the Minnesota Department of Health, in 2012 nursing homes reported more than 13,000 maltreatment complaints. That’s over 10,000 more cases than 2010. Officials attribute the shocking increase to a better understanding of reporting requirements. (3)
However, there is hope.
Adam Almeida, President and CEO of CriminalBackgroundRecords.com States: “An exhaustive background check could provide the defensive measures one requires when hiring a caregiver. Individuals with thoughts of ill intent often hesitate if they know there are significant roadblocks in front of them.”
There are a wide variety of caregiver options, from in-home to professional and everything in-between, but each caregiver must be fully vetted.
Almeida states: “There are a number of public records that can be reviewed as part of the vetting process, including criminal background checks. But other steps, such as references, can prove highly critical and, subsequently, provide a wealth of information.”
Typical reports and pieces of information gathered are:
- Criminal History. Drawn from the county level, a criminal history is often the most current piece of public information available.
- Sexual Predator Registry.
- Consumer Credit Report. A credit report can often reveal any fiscal challenges a potential caregiver might be in.
- Education Verification. Proving a degree valid is invaluable.
- Employment Verification. Understanding an employment history can be the most important data collected.
Almeida states: “Understanding a caregivers’ past is extremely important. Protecting the at-risk population is key and fully vetting those that work with the at-risk may prevent abuse, malfeasance, or worse.”
CriminalBackgroundRecords.com is a third-party background screening company that can provide all the critical data individuals require in making a critical decision about a caregiver. With access to a wide variety of public records and the skill to conduct thorough reference checks, CriminalBackgroundRecords.com is ready to help.
Notes:
This has been a CriminalBackgroundRecords.com News Publication - All rights reserved
CriminalBackgroundRecords.com is “An Information Enterprises Solution”
|
June News
