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BY JANE AMMESON
Times Correspondent | Sunday, February 10, 2008 | (No comments posted.)
This Valentine's Day -- and any time we want to get away but need to find quality care for those who are important in our lives, including our children, our elderly and our pets -- a new online service, Care.com, offers solutions.
Though she was a Harvard graduate, Sheila Marcelo had the same problem that confronts all parents of young children -- what to do about good childcare.
"In the midst of managing a career and raising my children, my father went through quadruple bypass surgery," Marcelo recalls.
"That experience raised my awareness of the fact that no online site existed for addressing the constantly changing care needs of many families out there. You may have a trusted nanny or a regular pet sitter, but if their personal circumstances change or if they suddenly fall ill, it can be a struggle to find help in a moment's notice."
And so Marcelo decided to start Care.com, an online organization that helps link those who are looking for baby-sitters, nannies, tutors, pet sitters, dog walkers and senior-care aides with those who provide the service. The nice thing about Care.com is that it's free and, since Care.com does background checks on those who are posting their services on the site, there's a sense of security.
Indeed, Marcelo stresses the security aspect of the service.
"I think we have designed our service to provide several key features that address the concerns that many families may have around using the Internet to find care resources," says Marcelo, a married mother of two children and owner of two dogs.
"Beyond that though, I always encourage families to still take proper safety measures when bringing a new caregiver into the home. Whether it's a babysitter, pet sitter or elder caregiver, it's always important to take the necessary steps to screen that person.
"Even after using Care.com to find a caregiver and run a free background check, I usually advise families to arrange for a face-to-face meeting outside the home, maybe at a local library or coffee shop, to make sure that person is the right fit before introducing them to your child, pet or loved one."
Marcelo says a lot of work went into launching Care.com nationally, but the biggest challenge was determining how to establish a service that addresses the care needs of families.
"What's interesting is that from family to family, care needs can be quite different, and for many families, their needs change on a regular basis," she says.
"A family may need a nanny today, but next year it's after-school care and later down the line, it's tutoring.
"We tried to bring several services under one roof such as child care, pet care, senior care and tutoring, based on the recognition that more and more families are facing a lifecycle of care needs."
Breakout:
How it works for care seekers:
I logged on to www.care.com and went to the right-hand side of the home page, selected "babysitter/nanny" from the drop down box headed "I am looking for." Typing in 46403, the zip code for Miller and clicking on "search now," I was taken to another page where there were 54 profiles of baby sitters within 10 miles or less of Miller, telling me what town they lived in, photos, their ages and what they had written about themselves.
The list of their qualifications includes whether they speak a foreign language, their schooling and what times they are available. There's also information on other services they provide such as cooking, grocery shopping, car pooling and light cleaning.
How it works for care providers:
"It is a simple process that caregivers go through to become listed on Care.com," says Sheila Marcelo, founder of Care.com, noting that caregivers are given free background checks.
"After they sign up free of charge on our Web site, the next step is to post a profile."
Marcelo says they find providers who have the best luck attracting seekers typically take advantage of some of the enhanced profile features that site offers, such as video profiles and recorded reference listings.
"Once a profile is hand-screened by someone on our team and approved," she continues, "the caregiver is now listed on the Care.com site, and free to start being contacted by seekers in their area."
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