The Minnesota Department of Health reported that in 2012 nursing homes reported more than 13,000 maltreatment complaints up from less than 3,000 in 2010. Although better reporting requirements are to blame for some of this increase it does not account for all of it. With an aging population the demand for home health care and nursing homes is rising incredibly fast and so too is the opportunity to abuse and neglect the elderly an at-risk population. It is important to properly vet a caregiver prior to sending them into someone’s house unsupervised or having private time with nursing home residents. A thorough caregiver background check should include a criminal background check, sex offender registry check, employment verification and when necessary an education verification. Reference checks from prior employers and even landlords can also assist in painting the picture of a health care aid and whether there is a propensity or history of abuse or malfeasance activity. With an ever increasing demand and lack of uniform employment background screening policy caregiving to the elderly will remain a challenge. Risk mitigation is important and so is protecting at-risk populations like the elderly, and performing thorough background checks in the vetting process is a clear way to help prevent abuse to the elderly. To read more about elder care and how to help protect the elderly and the challenges in dealing with an aging population view recent CriminalBackgroundRecords.com press release: http://www.criminalbackgroundrecords.com/news/2014-12-20-Caregivers-for-the-Elderly-A-Difficult-Challenge.html
Background Screening for Seasonal Hires
The holiday season is rapidly approaching and retailers are gearing up for the holiday rush. The amount of seasonal help hired by retailers in 2008 was 325,000 people and in 2013 that number more than doubled to 786,000. Toys R Us alone announced they will hire 45,000 seasonal employees this year which more than doubles their entire work force. Now is the time for retailers to review their pre-employment screening policies and screen seasonal help the same way they would for full-time employees. Retailers should partner with a third party background screening company to get discounted volume deals and to perform the background checks on their behalf. A third party background screener can also help keep retailers current with the laws governing the use of background checks in the background screening industry particularly the proper use of criminal background checks. Seasonal workers are still representing the company or organization they are employed by and the same risks are present with part-time help as is with full time employees. Proper employment screening even for seasonal workers is a very important piece to risk mitigation and not a good place to cut corners. One bad employee (full time or seasonal) can be very costly while performing background checks is now very affordable and by far the risks of not performing a background check outweighs that of the cost of running one. To read more about seasonal background checks and why background screening of seasonal employees is important view recent CriminalBackgroundRecords.com press release:http://www.criminalbackgroundrecords.com/news/2014-11-14-Seasonal-Hiring-and-Background-Screening.html
Small Landlords Should Conduct Tenant Screening
A recent survey by Liminality found that 21% of small landlords sometimes or never conducted background checks on their prospective tenants. The study also found that only 44% of these landlords conducted sex offender checks. This news is shocking as one bad tenant could put a small single unit owner into financial distress. A small landlord will cut corners in order to maximize the return on investment, however cutting corners by not performing tenant background checks is not a wise decision. Typical thorough tenant checks only cost between $25 and $50 dollars, a small price to pay for a good tenant. It is important for a small landlord to work with a third party tenant screening company for a few reasons. First, they will get the reports needed to make an intelligent leasing decision and second to help stay compliant with laws governing the background screening industry. Along with a credit check, sex offender search, eviction search and criminal history check a landlord needs to stay compliant with relevant laws. Amidst changing laws in the background screening industry a small landlord or property manager doesn’t have the same resources as the larger property managers do to keep current with these laws. For this reason they should partner with a third party tenant screening company to get all the background reports they need as well as get good advice pertaining to the proper use of background reports in the tenant screening process. To learn more about why small landlords and property managers should use a third party tenant screening company and run tenant background checks on prospective tenant’s read recent TenantScreeningUSA.com press release: http://tenantscreeningusa.com/tenant-screening-news/why-small-property-landlords-should-conduct-tenant-screening-and-work-with-3rd-party-screening-companies/
Volunteer Background Screening
More and more organizations are requiring criminal background checks on volunteer help. This is most prevalent in the education sector where K-12 schools are now mandating criminal background checks on their volunteers. This trend comes with caution and trepidation on the part of parents who want to do volunteer work for the school but are either hesitant to give up their personal information like their social security number or just don’t want to go through a background check. School officials state that they already have enough difficulty getting the volunteer help they need and by mandating background checks on such help they fear they will not get enough volunteer help to fill all the open positions. Certainly flexibility is needed when conducting background checks on school volunteers and school background screening policies need to reflect this.
The current majority view is that volunteer background checks are necessary for risk mitigation, weeding out potential malfeasants and also to reduce insurance rates. It is common understanding that volunteers that spend time with at-risk populations like children and the elderly should go through a criminal background check that includes a national sex offender search. However, schools and other organizations need to take into consideration the length of time since an offense occurred as well as to identify what offenses would result in not hiring the volunteer. Discretion should also be used to minimize the number of eye balls allowed to look at a volunteer person’s criminal history to avoid reputation damage and discrimination.
Right now the trend is clear as across the United States more and more schools and other organizations have been updating their employment screening policies to include volunteer help. To read more about volunteer background checks and protecting at-risk populations view recent CriminalBackgroundRecords.com press release: http://www.criminalbackgroundrecords.com/news/2104-10-21-Volunteer-Checks-A-Critical-Tool-in-All-Areas-of-Volunteering.html
The Three P’s of Rental Properties
Being a landlord is not easy, however there are three areas that landlords need to understand in order to get good tenants. People, place and perception are the three P’s a successful landlord or property owner should be proactive about. First off, people that reside in an apartment unit can make or break the property. It is important for the landlord to have a harmonious relationship with the renter from the application phase to the rental phase. This starts with a thorough tenant background check to verify information and find out if the applicant has any criminal records on file and if they have good credit history. Tenant screening is very important in finding the right long term tenant. Place – is the second “P” and refers to the maintenance of the property itself. A well maintained and groomed property is quickly assessed by its appearance and also helps with the last “P” – Perception… The perception of a property is very important to the rental community and the property needs to have a good reputation. This includes being in a safe area to live in and having a low crime rate with little to no malfeasance activity. To learn more about the importance of the three P’s of rental properties read recent TenantScreeningUSA.com press release: http://tenantscreeningusa.com/tenant-screening-news/tenant-screening-risk-mitigation-and-the-three-ps-of-rental-properties/
When can I use Criminal History Reports?
Laws are changing across the country regarding the use of criminal history reports in the employment screening process. New ban-the-box laws are popping up around the country in city and State legislation. Typically employers within the jurisdiction of these new laws cannot ask a job applicant about their criminal history in the initial phases of the hiring process. A criminal background check is then allowed once the applicant is deemed qualified for the position and has completed an in-person interview. Recently Portland Oregon enacted ban-the-box legislation continuing a trend across the nation to reduce disparate impact caused by the initial disqualification of job applicants due to checking the “Criminal History” box on job applications. In a hope to reduce discrimination and possible disparate impact the legal use of criminal history reports in the hiring process is changing. To read more about the proper use of criminal history reports in the employment screening process view recent CriminalBackgroundRecords.com press release: http://www.criminalbackgroundrecords.com/news/2014-9-11-Criminal-History-A-Public-Document.html
The Importance of Eviction Reports
Many landlords simply perform a credit check on applicants prior to renting or signing a lease. However an eviction report is perhaps the most telling document a landlord can use as it greatly informs a potential tenant’s rental history. An eviction report is a singular disqualifier as no landlord or property manager would rent to an applicant that has just recently been evicted by a previous landlord or apartment management company. Typically a good eviction check costs around $20 to perform and is worth every penny. A thorough tenant background check should include a credit check, criminal history check, national sex offender search and an eviction search. The more information a landlord has the better their leasing decisions will be. To learn more about the importance of eviction reports in the tenant screening process read recent TenantScreeningUSA.com press release: http://tenantscreeningusa.com/tenant-screening-news/evictions-reports-integral-to-the-tenant-screening-process/
Education Verification Can Screen Out Diploma Mill Degrees
False unaccredited degrees from diploma mills are on the rise and can cause problems for employers. For a fee a diploma mill offers degrees, diplomas or certificates to people with little or no coursework required. Quick degrees that require little or no education is not what employers are looking for. Many employers are requiring a legitimate bachelor’s degree as part of a job requirement. It is now more important than ever for employers to conduct an education verification prior to hiring to make sure the degree listed on the resume is in fact a valid degree and satisfies job requirements. An education verification can be conducted through a third party background screening company like CriminalBackgroundRecords.com. An education verification typically costs around $20. In addition to a criminal background check an education verification as part of a pre-employment screening policy is a smart idea as diploma mills keep producing false and unaccredited degrees. Performing an education verification in addition to other valuable background checks will help screen out diploma mill degrees and help employers hire the right candidates. To read more about how education verifications can help weed out diploma mill degrees view recent CriminalBackgroundRecords.com press release: http://www.criminalbackgroundrecords.com/news/2014-8-22-Diploma-Mills-The-Scourge-of-Employers-and-Education-Verification.html
Happily Renting to College Students
As college dorms fill up to capacity often times last minute students find themselves without a place to live on campus. In these situations small landlords make an apartment available to rent to such students. Off campus living is necessary in many higher education institutes as on campus demand surpasses supply. Many times landlords with only one single family dwelling can rent out an apartment that could end up disastrous. This is why small landlords need to conduct a tenant background check on the student as well as the guarantor listed on the lease application. A landlord needs to protect property, community and their investment. One way to achieve a happy college student rental experience is to conduct a tenant check on both the student and guarantor including reference checks. Allowing a landlord to make a well-informed decision based on public records, personal references, and tenant screening, will help create a harmonious relationship with a student tenant. To learn more about how a small landlord can happily rent to a freshman or other college student read recent TenantScreeningUSA.com press release: http://tenantscreeningusa.com/tenant-screening-news/going-back-to-college-how-a-small-unitsingle-dwelling-landlord-can-happily-rent-to-a-freshman/
Criminal History Reports in Employment Screening
As laws change on the appropriate use of criminal background checks in the employment screening process it is a good time to review current policy and work with a third party background screening company to stay compliant in your hiring practices. Ultimately the fair and lawful use of criminal histories will continue to be scrutinized and it is critical that companies work with third-party background screening companies in order to remain compliant with local, state, and federal regulation governing background screening. Failure to comply with law could result in significant penalty and costly legal action. Inappropriate use of criminal history reports by human resources could also result in a great injustice to potential job candidates. To read more about the evolving landscape of background checks in the employment screening process view recent CriminalBackgroundRecords.com press release: http://www.criminalbackgroundrecords.com/news/2014-7-25-The-Evolving-Landscape-of-Background-Checks.html