FAQ

Family Questions

It's easy. You just sign up, buy one of our credit packages and then begin contacting nannies. We offer 3 affordable credit packages for families. With our 3 month and 1 year credit packages, you get to post your job listing and also search candidate profiles and message nannies that look like good matches. When you see a nanny that looks like a fit, simply use a credit to contact them. Right now, for a limited time, you can post a free job posting for 90 days, no credit card required.
Yes, really. We have heard so many families complain about their credit cards being charged after they have cancelled their accounts and/or put their accounts on hold. You spoke, we listened.
The cost to contact each nanny is 1 credit. We offer 3 easy credit packages that families can purchase. We offer a 1 month package with 25 credits for $59, a 3 month package with 100 credits for $149 (most popular package), and a 1 year package with 250 credits for $479 (perfect for families that need more than one nanny and/or use multiple babysitters throughout the year and for corporations and nanny agencies). Families get a free 90 day job posting with the 3 month and 1 year packages.
To contact nannies, families will need to buy one of the three credit packages. You can view the amount of credits you have by logging into your account area. When you see a nanny that looks like a match, simply use a credit to contact them. You can buy more credits at any time. Credits cannot be sold, transferred or exchanged for “real world” currency. Credits are final and non-refundable and there are no refunds for any unused credits. In the event that you close your account or your registration is terminated by NannyCare.com, you will not be able to use or access your credits. Credits expire after 90 days.
Since you are the nanny’s employer, you will be responsible for paying the nanny directly and for any tax responsibilities.
Each nanny writes on her profile what her salary is and ultimately you will have to discuss that with each nanny. Many nannies will put a certain amount on their profiles but will be flexible on their price (especially if the job is close to them and it's the hours they are looking for). We suggest that when you initially contact the nanny, you should give her a description of your job along with the pay you are offering. If you are flexible on the pay but want to meet first and then decide, just let the nanny know this. At NannyCare.com, we recommend paying $15-$18/hr for 1 child and $16-$22/hr for 2 or more children. This is what we have found to be very common but keep in mind that each family is unique and each city has a different precedent.
Yes, we highly recommend that families call and verify all references on any nanny they are interested in hiring. We do offer a reference verification service for $49.99 (up to 4 references, $20 per additional reference). We highly recommend that families call and verify the nanny's references themselves after a successful in-person interview. Most nannies request that you wait to meet them before you call their references so that their references are not being called constantly. We do think it's healthy for parents to speak directly to the nanny's references for peace of mind. Speaking “parent to parent” can give you a sense of trust right from the get-go.
Sometimes it isn't always a match. Even when parent's go through an expensive nanny agency it doesn't always work out, but at least with us, you're not out thousands of dollars. If it doesn't work out the first time, we encourage you to come back and give it another try. Unfortunately, there is no way we can guarantee that the nanny will be a perfect match since each family dynamic is different, however, we can provide you with local nannies and give you the tools you need to succeed. Also, you may find that the candidate you contacted isn't the right fit for your the main position you're offering, but maybe she'd be great as a babysitter or back-up nanny.
NannyCare.com does not screen the nannies in any way. We ask that they fill out an extensive nanny application which creates a nice profile for them. Parents can view these profiles and determine if the nanny is a good fit for their job. At NannyCare.com, we give you the tools and resources to successfully screen the nannies on your own and we can also help with running background checks and verifying references. Keep in mind, even if your nanny has a preliminary background check, you should do a more extensive background check on any nanny your hire through our site. Our background check should not be used as the sole background check you run on your nanny
NannyCare.com can run a preliminary background check as long as the nanny agrees and fills out the background check form located in their account area. The cost of this check is $24.99. Nannies can opt to run this check to earn a badge on their profile and families can also request the nanny to run it if they are considering hiring them. This check runs a social security number search to confirm identity and make sure the nanny is eligible to work in the U.S. It also brings up every address the nanny's resided at for the past 7 years. Most importantly, this check runs a National criminal and sex offender database search going back 7 years. For an additional $25, NannyCare.com can run a department of motor vehicles search. This search also goes back 7 years and will tell you if the nanny has had extensive tickets, accidents or a DUI/DWI in their past.

As soon as you pick a nanny, you will need to run a more extensive background check. NannyCare.com offers a' la carte background check searches for an extra fee. At the very least, you will want to run county criminal searches ($25/per county plus state fees through NannyCare.com) in any county the nanny's lived in during the past 7 years (going off the social security search), a Federal search ($25/per county plus state fees through NannyCare.com) in the main county they've resided in and finally a department of motor vehicles check ($25/per state plus MVR state fees through NannyCare.com) to make sure they don't have excessive tickets, accidents or a DUI/DWI. All of NannyCare.com's background searches go back 7 years. It's important to understand that background checks are not always accurate and may not reveal a person's complete criminal history.
Yes. When you meet the nanny, she will bring you a copy of her background check and also show you her CPR/First Aid card and driver’s license.
By law you are supposed to report your nanny’s wages. Since we are not professionals in this field, we have teamed up with GTM to give you all the information and advice you need to make sure your are doing everything right.
In almost 20 years of placing nannies, we have never had a nanny do something illegal or hurt a child. With that said, if the nanny were to do something unacceptable, we are not her employer (you are) and she is responsible for her own actions. We will not be help liable for any damages that result from injury, theft or negligence. We are simply an online site where nannies and families can meet in one place. Unfortunately, there is never a guarantee that someone won't do something wrong, even if they have a perfect track record.
Unfortunately, accidents do happen and we do recommend that families get worker’s compensation just in case the nanny were to injure herself at work. Each state is different, but in California, it is very easy to add worker’s comp to your home owner or renter’s insurance policy and it is relatively cheap (usually $500-$1,000/yr).
We always recommend that families try out the nanny before she starts. A 3-5 day trial should tell you if the nanny is the right fit. Always go with your gut, if your gut says it’s not the right fit, it probably isn’t. If you have reservations, keep going until you find the right fit for your family.
Some families do a nanny work agreement otherwise known as a “nanny contract” with the nanny. It is a good idea since it outlines exactly what the job entails and gives less room for miscommunication between the family and the nanny. The nanny contract should include things like pay rate, days/hours nanny will work, responsibilities and duties and whether the nanny will get any vacation, sick days or paid holidays. Feel free to use NannyCare.com’s Sample Nanny Contract.

Nanny Questions

NannyCare.com allows nannies and families to meet in one place and contact each other directly through our private messaging system. Families can view nanny profiles and message nannies directly and nannies can message families about their job postings. NannyCare.com also offers tons of free information, articles, forms and tools to help both families and nannies through the hiring process. The ending result is that families and nannies can easily and safely find great connections through our site.
NannyCare.com believes that great nannies should be recognized. One of the most common complaints by nannies is that they feel “unrecognized” and aren't confident that families will be able to find them online. To fix this, we only accept a certain amount of nannies per zip code. We also recommend that families pay a minimum hourly wage of $15-$18hr for 1 child and $16-$22/hr for 2 or more children. We want our families to know going into it that they will be required to pay a reasonable hourly wage for quality connections.
At this time, NannyCare.com is offering all nannies a FREE 3 month all inclusive membership. After the 3 months is up, nannies can opt to stay on our site for a small monthly listing fee of $9.99. Our normal price for a 3 month membership is $24.99. Nannies can also opt to buy badges to draw more attention to their profiles. Nannies can earn badges for certain attributes; preliminary background check ($24.99 alone, with a department of motor vehicles check it's $49.99), reference verification ($49.99 NannyCare.com verifies up to 4 references) and CPR & First Aid (bundle is $34.95 through our partner ProTrainings). If a nanny purchases a preliminary background check, they will get a consumer copy via email and be able to use it for any jobs obtained through our site and/or any jobs they find on their own. The same holds true for references verified by NannyCare.com.
Yes. You just need to send us an email and we will be glad to either put your account on hold status or cancel your account. You can put your account on hold anytime. We recommend that if you have found a job, you may want to put your account on hold for at least a few months to ensure that everything is going good with your new job. If for some reason it doesn't work out, you can re-activate your account at any time with us.
There are no refunds given that we are currently offering a free service for nannies. With that said, we want you to contact us and let us know if there are any issues with our services. There may be a technical or unforeseen issue if you aren't hearing from families and we'd like to know about it. You may also have something on your profile that makes you look less appealing (sometimes nannies accidentally check the wrong box off) or something that makes families think that your not the right fit. We may be able to spot it and help you. We will also run additional ads in areas where nannies need jobs, so it really helps to let us know if you need more families in your city.
Yes. We allow nanny members to email family job listings for free.
It is up to you to decide when you'd like to give the family your personal phone number. If a family contacts you and their job sounds like a match, then obviously you'd want to share your phone number with them. If it's not a match, you might want to let them know that it's not the right fit so that they can continue looking at other candidates.
Families will contact you through our private messaging system so that your email and information is always private.
You will need to fill out the nanny application in your account area and click on 'Get Membership" to access your free 3 month membership. If you have CPR and First Aid, you can upload them in your account area and receive a badge for each one. You're also welcome to upload any reference letters, certifications and a resume (if you have one). We do offer a reference verification service where we will call and verify up to 4 references for $49.99 and in return you get a reference verification badge on your profile. You can also click on the preliminary background check link and fill out the background check form to get a badge (assuming it's clear). This is $24.99 alone and $49.99 if you add a DMV search (department of motor vehicles report). If you add the DMV search, then you will get a separate badge for a clean DMV report. The preliminary background check with DMV just takes a few minutes to complete and we usually get the results back the same or next day.

Within 72 hours (sometimes longer if we have a lot of applicants signing up) you will receive an email letting you know the results of your preliminary background check and DMV report. If your background check is clear, we will add your profile to our site and give you badges. We will send you a consumer copy of your background check via email and you can show that to any families you plan on working for.
If you’ve encountered a family through our site that is inappropriate in any way or seems like a scam, please contact us right away at [email protected] and put in the subject line “Complaint about a family”.
While we don’t mind giving you general advice, we really cannot get involved between you and the family for several reasons. The family is your employer, not us, and so everything is between you and them. We have no legal right to get involved in any family matters and we cannot take sides since we were not there. With that said, if you tell us that a family did not pay you for hours worked, we will contact them and research the matter. We may cancel their membership (if they are still using our site) if we find that they did anything unethical or illegal. In most cases, if a family does not pay, it turns into a civil matter and you will have to take them to small claims court to get a judgment against them.
Every family is different but we recommend that they give the nanny at least 1 week of paid vacation per year, 3 sick days and the main holidays off and paid. We know from experience that the more you offer your nanny, the happier she will be and the longer she will stay at your job (and not be looking for other jobs).

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NannyCare.com does not employ any caregiver ( nanny, babysitter, newborn specialist, elderly caregiver or housekeeper ) listed on our site and accepts no responsibility for provider's (client, family, user, parent) selection of a caregiver, or for any caregiver's conduct or performance. Provider is ultimately responsible for selecting a caregiver and for complying with all applicable laws that may apply when employing a household employee. Provider is fully responsible for their caregiver selection, checking references, interviewing and screening applicants and interpreting the background check results. NannyCare.com's screening services and background checks are not a substitution for a provider doing their own thorough screening. Caregivers should never be hired on the spot or without being interviewed in-person first. Our site provides an abundance of helpful tools, articles and resources to help families make smart, safe hiring decisions.