It's perhaps the touchiest decision parents can make: whether to invite a total stranger into their home to look after the kids.
Thousands of Southern California families -- those with the financial means, that is -- routinely entrust nannies with this unique responsibility. But finding someone trustworthy is much easier said than done.
You could take your chances with websites like Craigslist, where listings for nannies proliferate. Or, for a fee of thousands of dollars, you could turn to an agency that all but guarantees a hassle-free experience.
Gelila Puck, wife of celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck (of Spago fame), opted for the latter course when she and her husband decided about six weeks ago to hire a new nanny for their two young sons.
"I thought an agency would be the safest thing to do," she told me. "Now I feel so betrayed."
What the Pucks say happened to them illustrates the buyer-beware nature of the nanny business, which is subject to no state or federal regulations beyond ordinary labor laws. It also shows the importance of checking references yourself, rather than relying on an intermediary.
The Pucks were referred by an acquaintance to a Los Angeles agency, which, according to the company's website, has been operating since 1995.
Like many such agencies, this one on the Westside charges clients a one-time fee of 15% of the nanny's annual salary. This fee can range from $6,000 to $12,000.
Gelila Puck said she contacted the owner of the agency, who assured her that she deals frequently with prominent Southern California families. The owner tossed out the names of well-known movie and TV stars as regular clients.
"I felt that this was a woman I could trust," Puck said.
She said the owner eventually introduced her to a nanny whose resume stated that she'd worked from 1995 to 1999 for a Los Angeles family, from 2000 to 2005 for a family in Woodland Hills and from 2005 to 2006 for a family in Santa Monica.
"The thing that impressed me most was that she'd been at a single home for five years," Puck said. "That shows some stability."
Written references were provided to Puck by the agency for the L.A. and Santa Monica families, but not for the family in Woodland Hills where the nanny had worked longest.
Puck said she spoke with the former Santa Monica employer and then received an early-morning voice mail from the former Woodland Hills employer, who was named on the nanny's resume.
