
Our candidates find us through personal and client referrals, our extended nanny network, specialized training programs, local university networks, parenting groups and organizations, our website, networking, and word of mouth. We actively recruit for every family we work with and are constantly receiving new applications from across the country (over 10,000 in 2019!)
Before a candidate is introduced to any of our families, they will complete both a general interview and a job-specific interview, fill out our full candidate profile, pass our in-depth Internet screening, and glowing references from their past employers. We also run a background check on each candidate at the time of hire in compliance with applicable law including FLSA and Ban the Box laws. To read more about our screening process, click here.
Background checks are run at the time of hire in compliance with applicable law including FLSA and Ban the Box laws, and cover the following:
It’s our goal to find your family the right nanny as soon as possible. A typical nanny search can take anywhere between 2 and 8 weeks, depending on the current market, how specialized your search is, and your family’s response time.
We have a large network of travel and temp nannies who are based across the country. To ensure our candidates will be available, we encourage you to begin your search at least 2 weeks in advance, although we are sometimes able to accommodate families who are operating on a shorter timeframe.
We are a unique agency in that we run both local searches in the greater NYC and Denver areas, as well as relocation searches across the country. We have an incredibly large candidate pool compared to most local agencies, and we also recruit new candidates for specific roles every day. Our screening process is extremely thorough, and less than 5% of the candidates who apply make it through. We take care to only introduce your family to candidates who check all of your boxes, schedule your family’s interviews and trials, provide you with offer letter and employment agreement templates, and provide you with access to our network of third-party professionals to assist you in setting up legal pay, QSEHRAs, and other benefits to ensure your family is protected.
The Association of Premier Nanny Agencies is a non-profit organization that vets and supports nanny agencies in the United States and around the world. Since the nanny agency industry is largely unregulated, APNA members (such as Adventure Nannies) go through a rigorous vetting process of all documents, materials, and agreements to ensure they are operating ethically and within the law. You can learn more about APNA here.
Travel nannies are considered domestic employees, and typically charge between $25-$40 per hour depending on the length and schedule of trip, duties and responsibilities, and qualifications.
The benefits each nanny receives are unique to their needs and the family they will be working with. Some common benefits provided to a nanny by the family include: medical, dental, and/or vision insurance or a healthcare stipend, two weeks paid vacation time, contribution to nanny’s auto insurance plan, sick days, federal holidays, use of car while not working, gas mileage stipend, meals while working, work cell phone, room and board, 401k, traveler’s insurance (if applicable.)
Yes! We often run specialized searches for nannies who are well-versed in many alternative education and childcare practices. We also encourage families to consider candidates with a basic familiarity and appreciation for the practice their family would like to follow, and investing in a formal certification course for the ideal candidate if one is desired.
Newborn care specialists provide overnight or round-the-clock care for newborns from birth to 6 months (or longer.) They are experts who will provide your family with guidance and support around sleep conditioning and infant development while giving your family the rest you need and deserve. Newborn care specialists are often booked 3-9 months in advance, so we recommend beginning your NCS search as soon as possible!
Yes! Many of our professional nannies are fluent in second and third languages such as Spanish, French, Mandarin, and American Sign Language. We are one of the only agencies nationwide that offers specialized searches with language and specific education requirements! Please keep in mind that the timeline for specialized searches is often longer, as these types of requirements will significantly reduce the size of your candidate pool and cause us to recruit more new candidates than a standard search typically entails.
Yes! This is one of our most popular requests. We have many nannies that have received formal training and certifications and/ or have years of experience working with children who have a range of special needs.
Yes! Many families sign on with multiple agencies when launching a search to cast a wide net and meet many candidates. While we do not have any rules about exclusivity, as we believe it’s your family’s right to run your search however you see fit, we do ask that our proprietary materials, including job description and candidate profiles, are not shared with other agencies or used to run your own search. Additionally, we often find that families quickly run into ‘search exhaustion’ when reviewing candidates from multiple agencies and often are not able to invest as much time and energy into their search as families who choose only to work with us.
Our launch fee for a standard nanny search is $500, which covers some of the costs associated with our initial recruitment and on boarding. When signing the agreement, you will be asked to provide a credit card number to have on file, and will have the option of paying both your launch fee and final placement fee using a different card or an ACH or wire transfer.
TrustLine is California’s registry of in-home child care providers, tutors, in-home counselors, and child care staff at Ancillary Child Care Centers who have passed a background screening. It was created by the California Legislature in 1987 and is a powerful resource for parents hiring a nanny or baby-sitter. All caregivers listed with TrustLine have been cleared through a fingerprint check of records at the California Department of Justice. This means they have no disqualifying criminal convictions or substantiated child abuse reports in California. TrustLine is administered by the California Department of Social Services and the non-profit California Child Care Resource and Referral Network. It is endorsed by the California Academy of Pediatrics. -From Trustline.com
Many common employer/nanny issues can be resolved with communication and counseling. We understand that introducing new caretakers to your children can be stressful on all parties involved, and our team stays in touch after the placement is completed to provide guidance as needed on how to preserve a good relationship with your chosen nanny. If the issues cannot be resolved, we are happy to provide you with a full replacement search at no additional cost within 60 days of the nanny’s hire. If the nanny elects to leave the position within the first year, we will apply a portion of the fees you have paid Adventure Nannies to your next search. Please review your Referral Agreement for additional information about our replacement and search credit policy.
The candidates we work with are professionals and expect to be legally employed by your family, the same way any employee working in a business would expect to be employed. It is becoming less and less common for families to pay their nannies illegally (or more politely called ‘under the table’) as the IRS is taking more note of these infringements. Hiring a nanny illegally can often result in serious tax and legal consequences for families, and also withholds vital protections for your nanny, including unemployment and worker’s compensation benefits. Additionally, nannies who are paid illegally are unable to verify their professional income and often struggle when applying for rental housing, mortgages, student loans, auto loans as they are unable to verify their income. We are always more than happy to talk to your friends and explain the risks they may be unknowingly taking on for both their family and their employee by neglecting to pay legally. 🙂
Here are seven common mistakes to avoid when hiring a Nanny or Private Educator.
Here are our top 10 questions we like to ask nannies, with insight into the applicant’s answers.
Important form for babysitters and nannies. Please print, complete, and display in your home. Don’t forget to update it regularly!
A quick look at New York tax laws for household employees.
A quick look at California tax laws for household employees.
A quick look at Washington tax laws for household employees.
A quick look at Colorado tax laws for household employees.