Background Check & Verification Policy

This Policy explains Connect-4Care's caregiver identity-verification and background-screening features, including the meaning of the Verified Background Check and Background Check Provided badges. It supplements the Connect-4Care Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Caregiver Marketplace Agreement.

1. Purpose

Connect-4Care uses verification and screening features to provide Care Seekers with additional information when evaluating Caregivers. These tools are intended to support informed decision-making, but they do not replace a Care Seeker's own judgment, interviews, reference checks, credential verification, or assessment of whether a Caregiver is appropriate for a particular Care Recipient.

2. No Guarantee of Safety or Future Conduct

No identity verification, background check, badge, credential, reference, or other screening process can guarantee that a person is safe, trustworthy, qualified, appropriate for every care situation, or free from past or future misconduct. Background checks depend on records available to the screening source at the time of the search and may be incomplete, delayed, inaccurate, restricted by law, or later changed.

3. Identity Verification

Connect-4Care may require Caregivers to complete identity verification through Connect-4Care or a third-party provider. Identity verification may involve a government-issued identification document, photograph or selfie, legal name, date of birth, address, telephone number, or other information reasonably necessary to confirm identity. An identity-verification result confirms only the matters evaluated by the applicable process and is not a background check or guarantee of suitability.

4. Verified Background Check Badge

A Verified Background Check badge means that Connect-4Care or a designated third-party screening provider facilitated or obtained a background screening for that Caregiver using Connect-4Care's then-current screening process. Whenever reasonably feasible, Connect-4Care may display the date or month and year associated with the completed screening. The badge does not mean that continuous monitoring is occurring unless Connect-4Care expressly states otherwise. It also does not mean that every possible federal, state, county, international, licensing, civil, financial, driving, or other record was searched.

5. Background Check Provided Badge

A Background Check Provided badge means that the Caregiver supplied background-check documentation or information to Connect-4Care for consideration. This badge is intentionally different from a Verified Background Check. Unless Connect-4Care expressly states otherwise, Connect-4Care did not order the report and does not independently guarantee the completeness, authenticity, scope, search methodology, or continuing accuracy of every item in the caregiver-provided report. Connect-4Care may review basic information such as the Caregiver name, report date, provider, and apparent document completeness before displaying the badge.

6. Screening Scope

The scope of a screening may vary based on the screening package selected, applicable law, available records, Caregiver location, services offered, and third-party provider capabilities. A screening may include one or more types of records or verification but should not be assumed to include every type of record unless specifically stated. Care Seekers should review the badge explanation and any screening date displayed on the Platform.

7. Screening Date and Recency

Background checks reflect information available at a particular point in time. Connect-4Care may establish recency requirements for displaying screening badges and may remove or modify a badge when a report becomes older than Connect-4Care's then-current standard. Connect-4Care may also require a new screening, updated documentation, or reverification where permitted by law. A badge remaining visible does not represent a guarantee that no event has occurred since the screening date.

8. Third-Party Screening Providers

Connect-4Care may use consumer reporting agencies or other third-party providers, including Checkr, to facilitate background screening. Those providers may collect sensitive information directly from the Caregiver and may operate under their own privacy notices, terms, dispute processes, and legal obligations. Connect-4Care generally seeks to avoid collecting highly sensitive screening information, such as Social Security numbers, directly when the third-party screening provider can collect it securely through its own hosted process.

9. Disclosure and Authorization

Where the Fair Credit Reporting Act or another applicable law requires disclosure and authorization before a consumer report is obtained, Connect-4Care will use a separate disclosure and authorization process rather than relying on acceptance of this Policy, the Terms of Service, or the Caregiver Marketplace Agreement as the sole authorization. Caregivers may be required to electronically authorize a screening before the screening provider begins the report.

10. Information That May Affect Platform Eligibility

Connect-4Care may consider screening information when determining whether a Caregiver meets Platform eligibility or safety requirements, subject to applicable law. Connect-4Care does not promise that any particular record will automatically result in approval, denial, suspension, or removal. Relevant factors may include the nature of the information, its relationship to caregiving activities, recency, legal restrictions, accuracy, rehabilitation or contextual information where applicable, and other factors permitted or required by law.

11. Pre-Adverse and Adverse Action Procedures

When legally required, if Connect-4Care intends to deny or materially restrict Caregiver participation based in whole or in part on a consumer report, Connect-4Care will follow applicable pre-adverse and adverse-action procedures. These may include providing the Caregiver with a copy of the report relied upon, a summary of applicable consumer rights, information about the reporting agency, and an opportunity to review or dispute inaccurate information before a final decision is made.

12. Disputing Background Report Information

A Caregiver who believes information in a third-party background report is inaccurate or incomplete should follow the dispute process provided by the consumer reporting agency that prepared the report. Connect-4Care may pause or reconsider a Platform decision where appropriate while a timely dispute is being resolved, subject to safety considerations and applicable law. The screening provider, not Connect-4Care, is generally responsible for investigating disputes regarding records contained in its report.

13. Credentials and Professional Licenses

A background-check badge is not the same as verification of a professional license, certification, CPR credential, driver's license, insurance policy, education, or other qualification. Connect-4Care may separately request or verify certain credentials, but a Care Seeker should not assume that every profile statement has been independently verified unless the Platform expressly identifies it as verified.

14. Driving and Transportation

A general background check does not necessarily include motor-vehicle records. Caregivers who offer transportation are responsible for maintaining a valid driver's license, legally required automobile insurance, vehicle registration, and any other requirements applicable to the transportation they provide. If Connect-4Care displays a transportation-related verification, the Platform will identify the nature of that verification where reasonably practical.

15. Care Seeker Responsibility

Care Seekers remain responsible for choosing the Caregiver they believe is appropriate for their needs. Before a first booking, Care Seekers may wish to communicate with the Caregiver, conduct an interview, request references, review applicable credentials, discuss relevant experience, and consider whether the Caregiver's skills match the Care Recipient's needs. A badge should be treated as one piece of information in that evaluation, not as a recommendation or guarantee by Connect-4Care.

16. Caregiver Responsibility

Caregivers must provide truthful information and may not falsify, alter, manipulate, or misrepresent identity documents, background-check reports, credentials, licenses, screening dates, or verification status. Caregivers must promptly notify Connect-4Care of material changes affecting information they are required to maintain or disclose under the Caregiver Marketplace Agreement or applicable law.

17. Privacy and Data Handling

Background-screening and identity-verification information is handled in accordance with the Connect-4Care Privacy Policy and applicable law. Connect-4Care may receive screening status, completion information, report information, or other information reasonably necessary to administer the screening program, but sensitive data may be submitted directly to the screening provider. Connect-4Care does not publicly display a Caregiver's Social Security number or full background report.

18. Badge Removal or Change

Connect-4Care may remove, suspend, expire, or change a verification badge when reasonably necessary, including when information becomes outdated, a new screening is required, documentation cannot be validated, a report is disputed, an account is suspended, or legal or Platform requirements change. Badge removal does not necessarily mean that misconduct occurred.

19. Regulatory and Policy Changes

Connect-4Care may change screening procedures, badge criteria, screening providers, documentation requirements, or verification features to respond to legal requirements, safety needs, provider capabilities, or changes to the Platform. Material changes will be communicated when required by law.

20. Contact Connect-4Care

Questions regarding this Policy or a Connect-4Care verification badge may be directed to:

Connect-4Care
Email: info@connect-4care.com
Phone: (404) 477-4806
Website: connect-4care.com