Unless you'd like to endanger the welfare of your children, a professional comprehensive background check is the only way to avoid hiring a felon. Unfortunately, without a Manhattan nanny check you may already be ahead of the curve and have unknowingly hired a felon to oversee your children like a Houston mother. In this all too real scenario, the candidate was warm and pleasant.

She came through a nanny agency that the mother had used before, one that said it conducted background checks. She hired the nanny, but luckily decided to check her out further and uncovered a nightmare. Not only was the nanny using a fake name, but a subsequent police check showed she had been convicted of a killing 12 years earlier in Switzerland and escaped from jail there.

Take Matters Into Your Own Hands

Only about 50% to 75% of nanny agencies conduct background checks on applicants, based on estimates from several Manhattan and nationwide nanny agencies and security agencies that were surveyed. Making it clear that you need a good background check for your Manhattan nanny from a firm that is familiar with providing Manhattan Nanny Checks.

Make Sure It's Done Right

You need to know what the pros know. A good Manhattan Nanny check should include a check of the applicant's Social Security number, to verify name and past addresses. Ensuring that first and foremost, the person really is who they claim to be.

An experienced Manhattan private investigator will know that while they are reviewing past addresses, it is important to check the court records including felonies, civil proceedings and sex offender listings, in the places the applicant has lived. Past employment should be verified, driving records checked and references interviewed.

Check for Credibility and Proof

If possible, while looking for your Manhattan nanny, seek out a nanny agency that belongs to the Alliance of Professional Nanny Agencies. Some agencies do little more than pass on candidates names. Ask the agency for written results of a background check. As the case with the Houston mother, her former agency assured her that a background check had been done, however, it could offer no written proof.

Let her experience be a lesson to us all. There is no substitute for doing things right, and absolutely no excuse for not doing everything possible to ensure the safety of our young ones.