What are Herewith caregiver profile badges?

Learn about Herewith badges

Caregiver profiles primarily reflect information provided by the applicable Caregiver, but may also reflect one or more badges issued by Herewith. 

Badges are issued by Herewith when Caregivers meet certain criteria. Herewith uses reasonable efforts to verify that the applicable criteria is met before issuing a badge. However, badges should not be solely relied on by Care Recipients and/or families in selecting a Caregiver – they have some significant limitations, as described below.  

Unlike badges, other information in a Caregiver profile is self-reported and Herewith does not take any steps to verify such information. Care Recipients may wish to confirm or vet profile information with Caregivers if there is any profile information that is particularly important to the Care Recipient, such as a particular qualification. 

With respect to both badges and other profile information, it is important to remember that it is the Care Recipient’s responsibility to interview and vet potential Caregivers, including performing any background and reference checks deemed appropriate, verifying information provided by Caregivers, and selecting an appropriate Caregiver for themselves or on behalf of another.

Herewith strongly recommends that each Care Recipient use a thorough vetting process for any prospective Caregiver, including considering the use of additional background checks and requesting their own evidence of insurance coverages, rather than relying on any badges. However, please note that there may be federal, state and/or local laws that apply to any additional screenings or background checks run by a Care Recipient – Care Recipients should take steps to understand their obligations before requesting any such screenings or checks. 

Types of Badges:

1. Platform Eligibility Background Check Badges

Herewith requires that all Caregivers who join our platform undergo an initial eligibility background check and asks all Caregivers to consent to an annual eligibility background check thereafter. All Caregivers who have undergone this background check will have a badge on their profile. These background checks are designed by Herewith to verify whether Caregivers meet Herewith’s eligibility standards for participation on its platform. 

Herewith’s platform eligibility background check is primarily focused on identity verification and a criminal history check, including a search of sex offender registries. It does not include a credit check. Certain types of criminal felony convictions, such as murder, sexual assault and other sexual misconduct offenses (whether or not resulting in registered sex offender status), and other serious violent crimes, may result in ineligibility to participate in the Herewith community if they occurred at any time in an individual’s lifetime. Additional serious crimes, such as theft or fraud, may result in ineligibility to participate if they occurred recently, such as within the last few years. Pending charges for any of the foregoing categories of crimes will also render a potential Caregiver ineligible to participate in the Herewith platform, until such charges are dismissed or otherwise resolved in such potential Caregiver’s favor. 

To protect the privacy of its Caregivers, Herewith does not share the results of its platform eligibility background checks with any Care Recipients.

Even though Herewith undertakes these platform eligibility background checks, Care Recipients should understand that background checks have inherent limitations and may not be complete or accurate in all cases. The presence of a platform eligibility background check badge should not be understood as a guarantee that a particular Caregiver has no criminal history. Please see the Background Check Limitations & Care Recipient Responsibility [Insert Jump Link] section below for more information. 

2. Insurance Badges

Herewith also offers Caregivers the opportunity to obtain Professional Liability insurance policies via Herewith’s insurance broking partner, Advanced Benefit Solutions, for the  in-home care provided by such Caregiver using Herewith’s platform and services. All Caregivers who have enrolled for this Professional Liability insurance will have an insurance badge on their profile.

To protect the privacy of its Caregivers, Herewith does not provide certificates of insurance evidencing this Professional Liability insurance directly to any Care Recipients.

Even though Herewith undertakes reasonable measures to verify where Caregivers have obtained Professional Liability insurance policies via Advanced Benefit Solutions, the presence of an insurance badge should not be understood as a guarantee that a particular Caregiver has obtained such insurance, the amount of any such insurance, or that such insurance would cover a particular loss. Care Recipients should consider requesting a copy of a Caregiver’s certificate of insurance prior to engaging such Caregiver to confirm that the insurance meets such Care Recipient’s particular expectations.

3. Hours of Service Badges

Herewith also makes badges available to Caregivers who have provided care to the Herewith community based on their hours worked, aggregated across all Care Recipients on the Herewith platform. Badges are available for 200 Hours, 500 Hours, and 1,000 Hours. 

Background Check Limitations & Care Recipient Responsibility 

Care Recipients should not rely solely on the presence of a Herewith platform eligibility background check badge, or any other badge offered by Herewith, in selecting a Caregiver. Each Care Recipient may have different standards or levels of comfort with respect to a Caregiver’s history than Herewith has for eligibility to participate on its platform and/or earn certain badges. 

In particular, each Care Recipient should understand that Herewith’s platform eligibility background checks are limited in scope (as determined by Herewith in its sole discretion) and are run by a third-party service provider on Herewith’s behalf. Herewith reserves the right to change the scope of its eligibility background checks from time to time and to issue or revoke a platform eligibility background check badge in its sole discretion. Care Recipients should also be aware that there are inherent limitations in background checks, including the following:

Accuracy of Provided Information

Background checks and insurance verification both rely on the Caregiver provider accurate information. Inaccurate or incomplete information may not return information that otherwise would have been reported. 

Infrequency

While Herewith asks Caregivers to consent to conducting platform eligibility background checks on an annual basis, Herewith does not conduct such background checks more frequently, so recent activity may not be reflected even if a platform eligibility background check was conducted. 

Inconsistent Reporting

Even if accurate information is provided, background checks may be subject to inconsistent reporting of information. For example, the platform eligibility background check does not include state and county courthouse records, criminal registries, or public databases, such as but not limited to Moving Violation Reports and Driving Records.  Due to variations in local laws and reporting systems, criminal record information that’s searched and reported in each type of check can vary by state and county. 

Incomplete Search Results

Also, databases reviewed during a background check may not necessarily be complete and may not include records of all prior criminal conduct. For example, not all criminal records are public in all states, nor are they always captured in the databases review. Records of criminal activity outside the United States may not be included. Finally, some states by law limit results from public records databases that took place a certain number of years prior to the date of the check (such as 7 years in some states).