All Background Checks are Not Created Equal

It should be easy. Just go online and order a background check. But then you look around, are you are befuddled by all the options. Why are some services available for twenty bucks, and other options go up to two hundred or more? At Health Street, we understand that the choices can be confusing, so let us provide some clarity to help guide you in ordering the right services to protect your company

Health Street makes it easy to order the right background check

Even though it's easy, we are going to take a moment to explain the whole process to you. But don't worry, we provide links below so you can go right to the "easy" way.

Let's start with finding out who this person really is, because if they're a criminal, you can't take their word for it! Where did they live, work, and pay taxes in the past 7 to 10 years? You can be sure that if they have committed crimes, and they are hiding that past from you, then they are not going to voluntarily tell you that they lived in the places where those crimes occurred. You need to run a Social Security Number Trace to find out.

Now that we know where their social has been used in the past, we know where to check if they have committed crimes.

Now you might be thinking, "Why don't I just run a national crime index?" Although it is surprising to most people, the national crime index is not comprehensive enough to be your only choice. National crime databases are notoriously incomplete and often not up to date. Not every jurisdiction reports to this database. But, it's still an important starting point. Let's run the National Crime Index to see if any crimes have been committed with that person's name, birthdate, and/or social security number, just to find out if there are jurisdictions where we need to dig further.

There are also other databases that we recommend be checked, including the National Sex Offender Registry, and the Do Not Fly list (sometimes called the "Terrorist Registry").

All of the above checks are included in our Gold Background Checks, for $99. And if no crimes come up, you're probably okay to leave it at that. Many clients do, but we encourage you to read on. If you want 100% certainty (or if something came up in one of those screenings) then you need to go for the court record search, also known as a State or County Repository Search.

If a database search revealed a crime, why can't I just "not hire" the person?

Unfortunately, the databases can indicate old records that were expunged, or arrest records that you can't use to make a hiring decision (unless you want to risk a lawsuit). Court Repository searches are the only 100% complete background checks that exist, and they must be done one state at a time (or in some cases, one county at a time). Fortunately, Health Street has "court runners" in every jurisdiction in the USA to research these repositories.

So, once we know where the person has lived, worked, and/or paid taxes (from our Social Security Trace), and where the person has potentially committed a crime (from our National Crime Index, National Sex Offender, and Do Not Fly List searches), then we go into the actual courts and check records for all of those places.

All this stuff is nice to know, but I just want to order a background check and not think about it.

If you just want to order one package that includes all of this work, done for you, with no additional concerns or questions, simply get our Platinum Background Checks for $199. It's the easiest and most comprehensive background screening package we offer, and you can sleep easy at night knowing that you have done everything possible to be sure that you are not hiring someone that will put you, your staff, or your clients at risk.