Elderly Caregiver Background Checks

Elderly Caregiver Background Checks

Caregiver Screening Packages: Why are elderly care checks so important?

Can a family trust that their loved one is in good hands with a nursing home facility or in-home elderly adult care service? What about an individual caregiver or home health aide that is not affiliated with a larger company? Whereas states have been obligated under federal mandate to collect data on child abuse for years now, elder abuse data is not similarly scrutinized. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) has acknowledged that elder abuse has been “poorly or imprecisely defined” and “a set of universally accepted definitions does not exist.”

There are many kinds of elder abuse, including physical abuse, emotional or verbal abuse, financial abuse, and neglect; however, states have wildly varying standards for what is classified as a “substantiated” case of elderly abuse or neglect. This leads to vast underreporting of elderly abuse, even in states that have specific protections for the elderly. While about 1 in 10 Americans aged 60+ have experienced some form of elder abuse (NCOA), one study concluded that only about 1 in 14 cases of abuse are reported to authorities, meaning that over nine percent of the elderly population in America is suffering in silence.

Potential risk factors that could lead to elder abuse include:

• Substance abuse by the caregiver

• Lack of proper training

• Not enough support from other staff

• A history of aggressive tendencies in either the caregiver or elderly adult

• The caregiver is not suited to a caregiving role

• A criminal history of theft or violence

The best way to prevent elder abuse is to spend time finding the right care provider for the individual in need of services. Whether you are a company looking to hire employees for company or simply a caring and conscientious family member seeking to hire an individual to care for your loved one, you can take the steps necessary to pre-screen your caregiver(s). A comprehensive screening package for individuals providing elderly care services will give seasoned employers and individual families alike the peace of mind that is essential to any successful healthcare practice.

What does an elderly caregiver screening package look like?

AAA Credit Screening Services offers a straightforward solution for employers in the form of a customizable Caregiver Screening Package. This package may include some or all of the following reports:

• Social Security Number Verification
  This helps ensure that the person applying for employment is who they say they are.

• Address Check
  Address checks provide known addresses for the person in question which enables a background check to be run in all jurisdictions that the person has lived in.

  
  

• Countywide Criminal Record Reports in any counties the applicant has lived in for the past 7 years

• Nationwide Criminal Record Reports

  
  

  • Includes a free search of the Sex Offender Registry

  • Includes a free search of Healthcare Sanctions Registry

• Federal Felony Criminal Record Check

• Non-DOT Drug Testing

• EducationVerifications / Credential Verifications

• Employment Verifications

• Professional Reference Check

• Other medical service reports, such as vaccination verifications

Picking a nursing home facility or in-home elderly adult care service for a loved one can be a stressful and difficult process. Knowing the caregiver is pre-screened with the highest degree of scrutiny is one way to make this decision less complicated.

The CDC Defines Elder Abuse as:

"Elder abuse is an intentional act, or failure to act, by a caregiver or another person in a relationship involving an expectation of trust that causes or creates a risk of harm to an older adult. (An older adult is defined as someone age 60 or older.)"

Forms of elder abuse:

• Physical Abuse

• Sexual Abuse

• Emotional or Psychological Abuse

• Neglect

• Financial Abuse or Exploitation

Elderly Caregiver Background Check Press Release

In The News - Why Elderly Caregiver Background Checks are Important

• Houston area health care worker accused of stealing more than $70K from elderly couple - Houston, TX - October 2021
• Home health worker accused of stealing checks from Brevard County VFW - Orlando, FL - June 2021
• Home care worker accused of stealing $15K from clientsLake Worth, FL - January 2021
• Home health aide indicted, admits to stealing thousands of dollars from clients - Cincinnati, OH - January 2020
• Navasota home health care worker accused of stealing prescription drugs from patient - College Station, TX - September 2019

Sources/More Information

• National Council on Aging
• USA Today
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Helpguide