Anyone Ever Run a Background Check on a Potential Babysitter??

I also auggest checking with the police department. The online services are available but are limited and it is possible for them to pick up a lot of false info. I used to work with a woman that pulled a report on herself to see how well it came up. She was looking for child care herself. It said she was imprisoned for check fraud for about 6 years--the time frame she got married and had her kids. IT did have her address correct though. Even if you do check the background, make sure you have multiple references and call all of them. Ask about attitude as well as performance.

Call your local police department. When we hired managers for my restaurant, we obtained forms from the police department for criminal background checks. You do need the person's information from their driver's license I believe. I don't know if you need permission from the person you're checking out, but someone at the police department can tell you that. (We told the applicants we would be doing a background check.) Once you have the form filled out, you send it in to the state (I believe) with a fee to obtain the report.

D., I have never done this but I do know that if your looking at a licensed sitter then DCFS can give you info. probably not personal info but they can tell you if there have been any complaints about them. Also you can go online and find out if there are any complaints against the sitter. You may not be able to get financial background etc but that really isn't what your looking for anyway. good luck

I believe there are many companies that offer background checks online although I have never used any of them. You may want to contact your local sheriff's department and ask them if the offer any help in this area. I use sittercity to hire sitters and they offer the background check as part of their package, you may want to check into that.
Another thing to keep in mind is that if you are hiring a person that currently works at a daycare or in a school, they have already had a background check and passed it or they wouldn't be there.