| Updated: 2/09 11:42 pm |
Published: 2/08 10:19 am
|
The person who watches your child is someone you trust with your kids and inside your home.
With nearly 200,000 children under the age of six who need child care in Oklahoma; some parents are turning to online classified ads to find childcare. FOX23’s Abbie Alford investigated the best and worst ways to find a babysitter.
You may use online classified ads such as Craigslist to buy and sell items. Parents are also trying to hire a sitter, full-time nanny or someone to transport their kids to and from school.
"It's easy. It's free,” said father Jamie Lewis.
Parents say they’re doing their homework but some parents considered hiring a sitter using the name of a convicted child abuser, Vicki Chiles.
“Nanny Needed Very Soon”, “Need a Babysitter ASAP”, “Looking for an In Home Sitter”, these are ads parents seeking sitters posted online.
Parents say Craigslist gets more traffic than membership sitter sites. But some parents are leery about using classified ads for childcare. "I would never use Craigslist for a babysitter,” said mother JoAnna Blackstock.
There are cases across the country showing some of the dangers of hiring childcare workers online. A Houston area mother hired a babysitter on Craigslist and 32-year old Steven Knox is accused of sexually abusing her six-year-old girl.
In Vermont, a family hired an in-home child care provider from Craigslist. Taryn O’Connor, 25, went to prison for violently shaking that child. The family didn’t know O’Connor was on probation and couldn’t watch her own children without being supervised.
A Coweta mother warned parents on Craigslist about a nanny who put her in a bind when she didn’t return after the first day on the job.
"When you get to that point, to me you have to put on Craigslist you are desperate, you're looking, it may be a last resort, it may be your first resort but you really need an answer and you know you are going to get one quick,” said mother Erika Slade.
However, Craigslist is only step one in the sitter search. "If I am generally interested in them I will Google their name and see if anything pops up out of the ordinary,” said Slade.
Using the name Vicki Chiles, FOX23’s Abbie Alford answered an ad father Jamie Lewis posted on Craigslist.
He replied to the message to contact him on his phone, but then he turned to Facebook and looked up Chiles’ information.
"Oh wow, what did I just do?” said Lewis. "I went to my wife and I said I think I messed up.”
In 2007, two-year-old Joshua Minton died in Chiles' daycare after she taped his mouth shut and bound his hands and left him alone in a room. She is now serving 30 years in prison.
"I gave my phone number to a convicted child killer,” thought Lewis. He has an infant son with a medical condition that isn’t safe for him to be in a daycare.
Lewis says it was a wake up call that it was FOX23 News contacting him and not Chiles.
"I was pretty relieved that it wasn't true. A big load was lifted off my chest,” said Lewis. "I am really going to do my homework before I make physical contact with them."
However, not everyone used Google or the state’s free criminal check Oklahoma State Court Networks or On Demand Court Records.
Another family posted an ad and their phone number. The family did not do their homework and during the phone interview they didn’t ask for a full name.
"We want to find someone we can trust and transport her from home to school,” said a father. After a 20 minute conversation with the mother, FOX23 News was told the child’s name, what school she goes to and where they live.
Erika Slade, who is also a nanny, says she hammers potential sitters with questions on the phone. "I call their references and ask if their references have a reference,” said Slade.
After two days the Lewis family says they had to let go of the sitter they did hire on Craigslist because she wasn’t a right fit.
"I won’t take "family" as a reference anymore,” says Lewis. They’ll continue to ask for driver’s license and background checks.
FOX23 News also contacted a mother who posted a Craigslist ad. The mother insisted she wanted to give the babysitter the benefit of the doubt.
“I felt that no matter what price I may have given you it wouldn't have mattered to you, you only wanted my kids. However I decided to give you the benefit of the doubt and to go ahead and meet you.”
An hour before meeting she backed out, not because she looked up Vicki Chiles but she had a bad feeling.
“A sense of dread came over me that you yourself may be putting on arrears.”
The ad posted by FOX23 News using the name of Vicki Chiles flagged and deleted twice. The company never gave a reason why.
“They are flagging you because you are Vicki Chiles,” said Child Care Resource Center of Tulsa Resource and Referral Coordinator Melinda Belcher.
The Center also posts ads on Craigslist offering parents free resources to find childcare.
In less than a week, five families FOX23 found on-line didn't research the FOX23 ad before the first contact.
A lesson learned for one father.
"I am really going to do my homework before I make physical contact with them,” said Lewis. "Just watch what you are doing be smart."
Accidents and mistakes do happen but you want to have that ease of mind knowing you did everything to protect your child.
"It doesn't matter if you pay two dollars a week or two hundred dollars a week, you should not sacrifice the quality of care that you have for your children. It's the most important investment,” said Slade.
Background check websites are not always reliable and accurate. You may misspell someone’s name or enter the incorrect birth date.
Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations offers name search for a $15 fee and a $19 fee for a fingerprint search.
Seekingsitters.com is paid membership website endorsed by Child Care Resource Center. An annual membership costs about $40 and the founder is a private investigator. All sitters and families go through an extensive background check.
Since Joshua Minton’s death the Oklahoma Department of Human Services makes information about previous violations and requests for emergency closure open and public record.
As part of a DHS lawsuit FOX23 filed, this also requires posting inspection summaries online and requiring facilities to keep reports, compliance notices, complaints and confirmed and unconfirmed child welfare reports available to the public.
There’s also Joshua’s List, an online registry of daycare providers convicted of child crimes.
