A name and phone number are not a completed reference check. Before you hire, decide whether you will call the references yourself or require the provider to complete and document the calls. That choice belongs beside the agency-or-direct decision because it determines who gathers the information and who notices what is missing. Use the role split in Hire a Caregiver in St. Louis: Agency or Direct before assigning the check.
1. Pick who owns the completed record
Write one name, not “the family” or “the agency.”
Reference-check owner: ______________________________
If you are hiring directly, the owner usually receives the names, makes the calls, records the answers, and decides whether another reference is needed. If you are hiring through a provider, require the provider to explain what it checks and what result reaches your file. The site’s Sources page collects the public materials used for these hiring checkpoints.
Ask: “Who actually contacts the references?”
Write down the person or department: ______________________________
Ask: “Is the check a phone conversation, a written response, or confirmation of employment only?”
Method described: ______________________________
Walk away from the reference portion of the process if nobody can name its owner or describe what “checked” means. Do not treat a vague answer as a completed step.
2. Separate identity confirmation from a work reference
For each reference, record the name, organization if any, relationship to the candidate, and a callback number obtained from the reference. Then ask what the person actually supervised or observed.
Reference name: ______________________________
Relationship to candidate: ______________________________
Work observed: ______________________________
Approximate length of working relationship: ______________________________
A friend who has never observed paid caregiving work may be able to speak about reliability in ordinary life, but that is not the same record as a person who assigned shifts or reviewed the work. Label the answer accurately instead of stretching it.
If a provider performs the check, ask: “Do you distinguish personal references from supervisors or clients who observed the work?”
Answer: ______________________________
3. Give every caller the same six questions
Use the same questions for every candidate. This keeps one friendly conversation from replacing the comparison. The worksheet approach follows the documented method in How We Write the Sheets.
1. “What work did this person perform, and what part did you personally observe?”
Answer: ______________________________
2. “What schedule or type of shift did the person regularly cover?”
Answer: ______________________________
3. “When instructions changed, how did the person receive and confirm them?”
Answer: ______________________________
4. “How were missed tasks, late arrivals, or other problems handled?”
Answer: ______________________________
5. “Was there a task you would not assign to this person without more instruction or supervision?”
Answer: ______________________________
6. “Would you place this person in the same kind of assignment again?”
Answer and reason: ______________________________
Listen for an example tied to actual work. Write “no example given” when the answer stays general. Do not improve the answer in your notes.
4. Match the reference to your actual shift
A positive reference is not automatically evidence for every assignment. Put your three most important shift duties next to what the reference actually observed. Use the task-first sequence in Start Here: Five Steps to Hiring so the check follows the job rather than replacing it.
Required duty 1: ______________________________
Reference observed it: Yes / No / Unclear
Required duty 2: ______________________________
Reference observed it: Yes / No / Unclear
Required duty 3: ______________________________
Reference observed it: Yes / No / Unclear
If none of the references observed the work that matters on your shift, the record has a gap. Ask for another reference, change the assignment, or add a separate way to verify readiness. Do not turn silence into a yes.
5. If the provider owns the calls, ask what you will receive
A provider may limit what it shares about employees or internal records. You still need to know what decision its process produced. Ask these questions before treating the provider’s check as complete:
“How many work references do you attempt to contact?”
Answer: ______________________________
“What happens when nobody responds?”
Answer: ______________________________
“Do you verify only that the person worked there, or do you ask about the work performed?”
Answer: ______________________________
“Who reviews conflicting answers?”
Answer: ______________________________
“Will you confirm that your reference requirement was completed for the person assigned to this house?”
Answer: ______________________________
Listen for a defined fallback when a reference cannot be reached. “We try” leaves the result unclear. Write down whether an unanswered call counts as incomplete, acceptable, or replaced by another check.
6. If you own the calls, close the callback loop
Do not rely only on a number supplied in a text message. Ask the reference to identify the organization or household relationship, the work observed, and how the person can be reached again. When an organization is named, use its public contact route to confirm that the reference belongs there before relying on the conversation. The public-record starting points used by this desk are collected on the Sources page.
Number supplied by candidate: ______________________________
Public callback route found: ______________________________
Name or role confirmed: ______________________________
Second contact attempt needed: ______________________________
Stop and resolve the discrepancy if the organization, role, or working relationship changes between calls. Record both versions word for word.
7. Compare the completed records, not the warmth of the calls
Make one row for each candidate or assigned caregiver.
Name: ______________________________
Reference who observed similar work: ______________________________
Relevant duties confirmed: ______________________________
Problem-handling example given: ______________________________
Unanswered question or discrepancy: ______________________________
Next verification step and owner: ______________________________
Do not score personalities or convert the sheet into a ranking. The purpose is to expose missing evidence and assign the next move.
8. Use a stop rule before the hire proceeds
Pause the reference check when the candidate forbids contact with every work reference, the provider cannot say whether its requirement was completed, a supposed supervisor cannot describe the work, or the names and relationships change without an explanation you can verify.
Reason for pause: ______________________________
Person who must answer: ______________________________
Evidence needed to continue: ______________________________
Deadline set by the family: ______________________________
If you need a public office or local program to identify another verification route, use Local Help for Hiring a Caregiver. The reference check is finished only when the owner can show what was checked, what remains unknown, and why the hiring process is moving forward.