Building on its longstanding commitment to families, Care.com (NYSE:
CRCM), the world’s largest online marketplace for finding and managing
family care, today announced that it will launch expansive safety
enhancements in the next few months on its U.S. consumer digital
platform. These enhancements include in-depth background checks of
caregivers and an identity verification pilot. In addition, Care.com has
appointed former Homeland Security and State Department Inspector
General Clark K. Ervin to its Board of Directors.
Caregiver Background Checks – Care.com’s longstanding preliminary
screening of individual caregivers already includes a search of a
national criminal database and the National Sex Offender Public Website.
In the next few months, the Company will begin to implement additional
screening on caregivers looking to match with families through the
platform with the improvements to be rolled out by the end of the year.
The enhancements will include:
- A Social Security Number verification process for caregivers
-
An in-depth background check that includes federal and county-level
criminal records checks dating back seven years. These checks, which
will be paid for by Care.com, will be conducted by a leading provider
of background checks and identity services. -
Displays of the date of the most recent background check on each
caregiver’s profile
The Company expects to update these caregiver checks annually and will
continue to offer additional a la carte background checks for a fee so
families can search to get the most current records available. Care.com
continues to remind families that running background checks is only one
step in their hiring process. The Company encourages its members to
visit its Safety Center and review the five-step process for safer
hiring.
Caregiver Identity Verification – The Company’s exploration of
identity verification announced in March has resulted in a pilot to be
implemented this month and includes facial recognition matched to a
government-issued ID. Pending the success of the pilot, the Company will
look to expand the use of the technology later this year.
Child Care Center Vetting – Care.com is actively developing a
plan to verify the state licensure information on child care center
listings provided by the business owners of such listings in its free
directory. This move follows the Company’s announcement in March that it
had removed all unclaimed child care center listings from its free
digital directory.
In making the announcement, Sheila Lirio Marcelo, Founder, Chairwoman
and CEO of Care.com, said, “From the founding of the Company 12 years
ago, it has been our mission to help build a trusted, scalable,
affordable care solution for families. I’m inspired by the millions of
members we serve and excited about this evolution of our safety
practices. As the leading online family care marketplace, we believe in
the importance of creating a new safety standard for digital care
marketplaces and today’s announcements mark a substantial step toward
that goal.”
Care.com also announced that Clark K. Ervin has joined its Board of
Directors and has been appointed to the Board’s Safety and Cybersecurity
Committee. Mr. Ervin’s extensive expertise in both of these areas spans
the public and private sectors. He served as Inspector General of the
State Department under President George W. Bush, who subsequently
appointed him as the founding Inspector General of the then newly
created Department of Homeland Security. He served as Co-Chairman of the
Homeland Security Department Transition Team for then-President-elect
Barack H. Obama. At the state level, he served as Assistant Secretary of
State of Texas and as a Deputy Attorney General. Mr. Ervin also founded
the Homeland Security Program at the Aspen Institute and is currently a
partner with the global law firm Squire Patton Boggs. He received his
undergraduate degree from Harvard College, a Master’s degree from Oxford
University, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He is a member of the
Council on Foreign Relations and the Association of American Rhodes
Scholars.
In announcing Mr. Ervin’s appointment, George Bell, Care.com’s Lead
Independent Director said, “We couldn’t be more honored to have someone
of Clark’s caliber join the Board of Care.com. His expertise and
leadership will be invaluable as we continue to augment our safety and
cybersecurity protocols, and as we look to innovate further in those
areas in the future.”
Care.com’s digital consumer marketplace is among the services used by
many of its corporate clients through its enterprise offering,
Care@Work. Stephen Kaufer, President and CEO of TripAdvisor, a Care@Work
client since 2012, commented, “Our employees have come to depend on
Care.com as a solution to finding longer-term care through its digital
platform, as well short-term care through its backup care program, and
senior care support. We have always trusted Care.com’s longstanding
commitment to safety and today’s announcement is yet another example of
why they have been a valued partner to the TripAdvisor family.”
About Care.com
Since launching in 2007, Care.com (NYSE:
CRCM) has been committed to solving the complex care challenges that
impact families, caregivers, employers, and care service companies.
Today, Care.com is the world’s largest online destination for finding
and managing family care, with 19.1 million families and 13.9 million
caregivers* across more than 20 countries, including the U.S., UK,
Canada and parts of Western Europe, and approximately 1.7 million
employees of corporate clients having access to our services. Spanning
child care to senior care, pet care, housekeeping and more, Care.com
provides a sweeping array of services for families and caregivers to
find, manage and pay for care or find employment. These include: a
comprehensive suite of safety tools and resources members may use to
help make more informed hiring decisions – such as third-party
background check services,
monitored messaging, and tips on hiring best practices; easy ways for
caregivers to be paid online or via mobile app; and Care.com Benefits,
including the household payroll and tax services provided by Care.com
HomePay and the Care Benefit Bucks program, a peer-to-peer pooled,
portable benefits platform funded by household employer contributions
which provides caregivers access to professional benefits. For
enterprise clients, Care.com builds customized benefits packages
covering child care, back up care and senior care consulting services
through its Care@Work business, and serves care businesses with
marketing and recruiting support. Headquartered in Waltham,
Massachusetts, Care.com has offices in Berlin, Austin and the San
Francisco Bay area.
*As of March 2019
Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-Looking Statements:
This
press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning
of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to, statements regarding
the implementation of additional screening measures on caregivers
looking to match with families through the Company’s U.S. consumer
digital platform and the expansion of a pilot program to test identity
verification technology.
These forward-looking statements are made as of the date they were first
issued and were based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and
projections as well as the beliefs and assumptions of management. Words
such as “plan,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “should,” “believe,” “hope,”
“target,” “project,” “goals,” “estimate,” “potential,” “predict,” “may,”
“will,” “might,” “could,” “intend,” “designed,” variations of these
terms or the negative of these terms and similar expressions are
intended to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of
which involve factors or circumstances that are beyond the Company’s
control. The Company’s actual results could differ materially from those
stated or implied in forward-looking statements due to a number of
factors, including but not limited to: the Company’s ability to
implement additional screening measures cost-effectively, the
availability of screening services from third-party providers at a cost
and scale that permits the Company to operate profitably, the acceptance
by consumers and regulators of changes to our business practices as they
relate to the additional screening measures and the success of the pilot
program to test identity verification technology . Past performance is
not necessarily indicative of future results. The forward-looking
statements included in this press release represent the Company’s views
as of the date of this press release. The Company anticipates that
subsequent events and developments will cause its views to change. The
Company has no intention, nor undertakes any obligation, to update or
revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as
representing the Company’s views as of any date subsequent to the date
of this press release.
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