Care.com does not verify credentials of recommended caregivers, WSJ reports

Despite its pledge to “help families make informed hiring decisions” about caregivers, Care.com (CRCM) largely leaves it to families to figure out whether the caregivers it lists are trustworthy, Wall Street Journal reports. The company does what it calls “preliminary screening” of caregivers, which isn’t a full background check, and doesn’t verify credentials, the Journal points out. Further, it does no vetting of day-care centers listed on its site and suggests that customers purchase additional screening packages, which cost $59 to $300, the paper adds. In about nine instances over the past six years, caregivers in the U.S. who had police records were listed on Care.com and later were accused of committing crimes while caring for customers’ children or elderly relatives, the Journal reports, citing its own investigation, which included the review of police records, court records and local media reports. Alleged crimes included theft, child abuse, sexual assault and murder. In addition, the Journal found hundreds of instances in which day-care centers listed on Care.com as state-licensed didn’t appear to be. Shares of Care.com have quadrupled in three years and its largest stockholder is Capital G, a fund backed by Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), the paper notes. Shares of Care.com closed Friday up 61c to $23.41

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