Clearcare Online: Hiring, Background Check & Employment Verification FAQs

ClearCare was founded in 2010 (with some sources citing 2011) by Geoff Nudd, who built the company based on needs he personally observed during his own family's experiences interacting with home care providers. The company developed a comprehensive, web-based operating platform designed to handle the full range of day-to-day functions for personal care agencies, including caregiver scheduling, billing and payroll, point-of-care documentation, referral management, and business intelligence tools. ClearCare is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and built its platform to a HITRUST CSF Certified security standard.

ClearCare grew to become the leading operating platform for personal care agencies in the United States, raising more than $75 million in venture funding, including a $60 million round led by Battery Ventures in 2016. At its peak, ClearCare's platform powered more than 4,000 home care agencies, including 8 of the 10 largest personal care enterprises in the country, which collectively employed more than 600,000 caregivers. The platform included features such as a Family Room portal allowing family members to coordinate with a loved one's care team, and Home Connect APIs enabling agencies to integrate with health plans and other providers.

In November 2019, ClearCare was acquired by WellSky, a health and community care technology company. Founder Geoff Nudd was later named WellSky's chief strategy officer in April 2021, and in September 2021, the ClearCare platform was formally rebranded as WellSky Personal Care, continuing to serve the same base of home care agency customers under new branding.

Important distinction: ClearCare Online (WellSky Personal Care) is a software vendor to home care agencies, not itself an employer of caregivers. The agencies that license ClearCare's platform, such as franchises of Always Best Care and many other independent and franchised home care businesses, are the actual employers responsible for hiring, screening, and background-checking caregivers. Background check policies, therefore, are set by each individual home care agency rather than by ClearCare/WellSky itself.

ClearCare itself does not directly employ or background check caregivers; it provides software tools that home care agencies use to manage their own operations, including, in some cases, integrations that support the agency's own background check and credentialing processes.

Likely, yes. Employers in the in-home senior care and personal care industry are legally required to conduct thorough background checks on caregiver candidates, given the vulnerable population served and the unsupervised, in-home nature of the work. In the United States, employment screening is governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which requires the hiring agency to obtain written consent, provide disclosures, and follow adverse action procedures.

The hiring process varies by the specific home care agency, but typically includes an application, an interview with agency staff, verification of any required caregiver certifications, and a background check prior to a final offer, with onboarding and scheduling then managed through the ClearCare (WellSky Personal Care) platform.

Background check timelines can vary based on the type of screening requested and how quickly records can be verified. Learn more about typical background check turnaround times to understand what factors can affect the process.

A typical pre-employment background check for an in-home caregiver role may include:

Under the FCRA, criminal history reporting is generally limited to seven years for most background checks, though many states impose more extensive lookback periods or disqualifying offense lists for caregivers working with elderly or vulnerable populations.

Eligibility decisions for individuals with criminal records are generally made on a case-by-case basis by the specific hiring agency, taking into account the nature of the offense, how much time has passed, and its relevance to a role involving unsupervised, in-home care of vulnerable clients. Many states maintain specific disqualifying offense lists for caregivers serving vulnerable populations that go beyond standard "ban-the-box" laws protections.

Candidates can generally expect to provide personal information such as full legal name, date of birth, and Social Security number, along with signed consent authorizing the background check, in compliance with FCRA and applicable state requirements for in-home care providers.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a federal law that regulates how employers can use background check information in hiring decisions. It requires employers to notify candidates before running a check, obtain written consent, and follow specific adverse action procedures if a decision is made based on background check results.

What if I disagree with something in my background check?

Under the FCRA, if you believe your background check report contains inaccurate information, you have the right to dispute it directly with the consumer reporting agency that prepared the report. The agency is generally required to investigate the dispute, typically within 30 days, and to correct or remove any information it cannot verify as accurate. If Checkr conducted the background check, dispute instructions are included in the notification sent to your Checkr candidate account.

Can I see a copy of my own background check report?

Yes. Under the FCRA, if a background check is used to make an adverse hiring decision, you are entitled to receive a copy of the report along with a summary of your rights under the law before the decision becomes final.

Running a personal background check with Checkr lets you preview what a home care agency may see during the hiring process, helping you address any concerns before you apply. A personal background check can include:

Learn more about Checkr Personal Background Checks and explore your Checkr Profile to see what information may appear in your own background check.

If you're a candidate with a background check in progress through Checkr as part of your application to a home care agency or another employer, you can check your status through the Candidate Portal. For additional support, visit the Checkr Help Center.

The information provided in this article does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice. All information is for general informational purposes only. Checkr does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of this information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. This article may contain links to other third-party websites. Such links are only for the convenience of the reader. Checkr does not endorse the contents of the third-party sites and disclaims any affiliation with the companies mentioned in this article unless otherwise stated.