Lucia Bone is a woman who knows firsthand the consequences of not running a proper background on an individual hired to perform contract work. In February of 2001, convicted sex offender Jeffery Hefling was sent to clean the home air ducts of Sue Weaver, Lucia’s sister, only to return 6 months later to rape and murder her.
Determined to prevent a similar tragedy from befalling others, Ms. Bone now heads C.A.U.S.E (Consumer Awareness of Unsafe Service Employment). Formed in 2005, the organization’s primary goal is to make background screenings mandatory for individuals contracted to perform repair and other home service assignments. Additionally, C.A.U.S.E. educates consumers about the risk posed by workers entering the home who may not have all their personal credentials checked out by a company employing them.
Often when we let service workers into our home, it is done out of a sense of trust that is established by an official uniform or trusted corporate/brand name. After all, when you think of a nationally trusted brand or service provider, the last thing that comes to mind is that a dangerous individual is installing your oven or fixing your toilet.
Mike Coffey, president of the Fort Worth-based background screening company Imperative Information Group, acknowledged the hazard in assuming a credible service provider is sending a credible individual.
“The real trick is people just assume because someone works for a credible business, that they’re safe. They may recognize the company brand name or the company’s reputation. But the problem is, especially in the service industry, those are largely owned by private individuals that don’t have a strong HR background.”
C.A.U.S.E. encourages businesses employing home service workers to execute full background checks on employees before sending them on assignment to not only protect the business, but also the client base it serves as well. C.A.U.S.E. even offers an official certification to businesses that implement a standardized security and safety standard for employees.
Ms. Bone says that the C.A.U.S.E. certification is more than just a hand out. “We want [consumers] to know that if they hire a C.A.U.S.E. Certification company, that they should be safer because that employer has background-screened all of their employees and they’ve done them to our criteria.”
An individual’s home for the most part is a place of peace and safety. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees this will always be the case. It’s not to say that anyone coming into your home will be a felon with crime on his mind, but at the same time relaxing vigilance to the point of complacency is foolish. Fortunately, groups like C.A.U.S.E recognize the need for vigilance and their efforts will go a long way towards diminishing the risks to homeowners who open their doors to strangers.
