Expediting background checks

Since 2004, I have been hiring drivers to take me on outings. Sometimes I hired former nursing home employees. But, whenever I ran an ad for one I did not know, I used a county educational facility through the developmental disabilities board to do their background checks. The report usually came back in two weeks.

Both nursing homes where I have lived had to employ potential staff before their background checks returned. Sometimes it took a few weeks and other times months. At both facilities, "new hires" were working when an unacceptable background check required the facility to let them go.

However, things are different since I moved to this facility. Two years ago, I ran an ad for a driver. I sent my candidate to a background check facility near his home. I hoped his report would return quickly. But it was six weeks before I saw his "clean slate." Luckily, I did not need to have him work until after I received it.

Last December, I hired a backup driver. I sent him to the sheriff's office for a background check, he assured me it would be clean. When I needed him to assist me at the ER in December, he agreed. He stayed with me for two hours before I was admitted. He was nice to me and even texted "Merry Christmas" on Christmas Day.

Eight weeks later I received a letter from the state attorney general's office that said he had been convicted of petty theft. Although, it is not a major crime, I no longer want him to work for me.

Because background check reports take so long to be completed, the next time I hire a caregiver/driver I may need him or her to work for me before I receive their background check report. Also, potential employees do not like to wait weeks or months for their background report before they can begin a job.

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