Lack Of Licensing For In-Home Caregivers Questioned

While permits are required in California to work as a taxi driver or massage therapist, just about anyone -- even someone with a criminal past -- can work as an in-home caregiver in the state without a license.

The family of Mary Jane Scanlon walked out of the Contra Costa County courthouse last month after watching a jury convict 57-year-old Diane Warrick of second-degree murder.

Warrick was the woman the family had hired to take care of their loved one without knowledge of her past. In April 1997, Warrick had stormed Napa State Hospital demanding prescription drugs and firing shots at police.

13 years later, Warrick was arrested once again. This time she was accused of murder.

The victim was 70-year-old Scanlon, who was found stabbed to death in her Pleasant Hill home. Warrick had been hired as Scanlon's live-in caregiver.

"She was telling neighbors as well as local merchants about her anger and frustration with her living situation," said Contra Costa County prosecutor Jason Peck. "She referred to the victim as her roommate."

When she stood trial for the stand-off at Napa State Hospital, Warrick was found not guilty by reason of insanity and released in 2002.

"She was allowed on the street within three and a half years," said Napa County District Attorney Gary Lieberstein.

And a few years after that, Warrick went to work as an in-home caregiver. Pleasant hill police said Scanlon and her family found Warrick through Craigslist.

"The woman she was caring for had no idea what her background was," said Lieberstein.

California does not license in-home caregivers. While agencies screen candidates, many people are going online to find caregivers without agency help.

Experts warn there are risks.

"One of the fastest growing industries for years has been home health care," said Lieberstein. "In fact, we've even heard of parolees being told before they're paroled 'This is a good thing to get into, because you don't have to disclose you've got a prior felony.'"

25 percent of caregivers accused of crimes had been in trouble with the law before according to a recent study by the California state senate.

Investigators also looked at hundreds of ads on Craigslist -- including some posted in the Bay Area. They found at least five of the people offering their services as caregivers had criminal records.

If you're hiring a caregiver on your own, by law you have the right to request a criminal background check. A potential employee would have to go to a county office that has a live scan fingerprint machines. Then the California Department of Justice will run a check on those prints.

"Anyone who's been arrested in the state of California in the past ten years it would come back as a hit on this," Alameda County Sheriffs Sgt. J.D. Nelson.

The background checks cost less than a hundred dollars, but very few Californians request those checks from the state. So far this year, no one has asked for such a background check. When KTVU asked Contra Costa County Sheriff's, the office didn't even know about the background check.

In Napa County, officials take care of the background check for residents. It's the only place in the state that requires a permit for all caregivers.

"If Contra Costa County had had such a law, it's unlikely the victim would have suffered losing her life," said Lieberstein.

Donna Schempp is the director of Jewish Family Services of the East Bay. She told KTVU there are things you can do to vet candidates on your own.

"99 percent of the people you hire are wonderful, if you do your homework," explained Schempp. "Check whether people have a drivers license. You also want to Google a person. You have no idea what you might find just using the internet."

A Google search would have turned up news articles on Warrick's troubled past. But this time there is very little chance she will ever work as a caregiver again.

Warrick was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for the murder of Mary Jane Scanlon.