How we verify a caregiver
Anyone can say they check. This is exactly what we do, in order, before a candidate is ever shown to a family. It is the same in every parish, for every role, whether the family is in Kingston or in London.
Step 1
Her government ID, checked in person
A national ID, passport or driver's licence, held up against her face by someone from our team. Not a photograph emailed to us, and not a scan. The point is that a person has confirmed the document belongs to the woman standing in front of them.
Step 2
A current JCF Police Certificate
Issued by the Jamaica Constabulary Force. Where she has applied and it is still processing, we accept the TAJ receipt in the meantime and the certificate follows. She is not placed on the strength of a receipt alone, and we will tell you where a certificate is still outstanding.
Step 3
Two work references, telephoned by our team
We call them ourselves. At least one must be someone who employed her, a family or household she worked for or a supervisor, and we do not accept relatives. This is the step that decides most applications, and it is the slowest, because reaching two people by phone always is.
Step 4
An interview with our team
A real conversation, not a form. What she has done, who she has done it for, what she is comfortable with and what she is not. Most of what matters about a placement, whether she will cope with a bedridden parent or a newborn or a difficult household, surfaces here.
Step 5
A signed declaration
She declares in writing any arrest, charge or conviction, and signs it at the interview. Signing something false is a different matter from omitting it in conversation, and that is the point of asking for it on paper. This is why our placement agreements describe four checks rather than five: the declaration is part of the interview, not a separate appointment.
What people ask
- How long does verification take?
- As long as it takes to reach two references on the telephone, which is almost always the slowest part. We do not put a clock on it and we do not quote a turnaround, because the only way to hit a deadline would be to shorten a check, and we will not do that.
- Does a caregiver pay for any of this?
- No. Caregivers never pay CareLink anything, to join or to be placed, and we take no percentage of her wage. Where she needs her JCF Police Certificate, we guide her through getting it.
- What happens if something comes up in a reference call?
- She is not put forward. We do not pass a concern on to a family as something for them to weigh up, because by the time a candidate reaches you the checking is supposed to be finished. If something surfaces after a placement has started, tell us and we will handle it.
- Is a caregiver re-checked after she is placed?
- On the Complete and Diaspora Care plans, yes: an annual re-vetting refresh with an updated police certificate and a reference re-check. On a placement alone, the checks are done at the point of placement.
- Do you verify the family as well?
- Yes, at agreement stage. The client provides a copy of a government photo ID, which we keep on file and do not share with the caregiver. She is going into a stranger's home, often alone and sometimes to live. The same standard applies in both directions.
Ready when you are
Tell us the parish and what is needed, and we will start the search.