Home Share of Central Vermont

Safety

Everyone deserves to be safe at home. Home Share of Central Vermont (HSCVT) works hard to ensure the safety of everyone in the program. Here’s how:

• Extensive one-on-one interviews.
  HSCVT staff and volunteers devote an average of 24 hours in working closely with every applicant. After receiving an application, we engage in a wide-ranging conversation to get acquainted with each person. In that initial
  interview, we look for “red flags” that might tell us someone is not suitable for a home share.
• Drug and alcohol questions.
  The initial interview also includes questions about health, and possible substance abuse. We ask, has drinking or drugs ever been a problem for you? Every applicant must sign a form that the information they provide is true.
• Reference checks.
  We ask all home seekers and home providers to supply names and phone numbers of three references. HSCVT staff and volunteers then have long, confidential conversations with the references, who discuss such issues as whether the applicant might take advantage of someone, physical or mental health problems that might get in the way of a good home sharing arrangement, and drug and alcohol histories.
• Four background checks.
  We are required by the state of Vermont to conduct four background checks on all staff, volunteers and applicants. We check to see if there is a criminal record or history of either adult or child abuse, and we run each person’s name through the federal Office of the Inspector General “excluded person” database.
• Confidentiality.
  Finally, you can rest assured that your private information is safe with HSCVT. Everyone in the program – staff, volunteers, home seekers, and home providers alike – signs an agreement to keep all home share information confidential.
• Conflict.
  HSCVT understands that conflicts are likely to arise in any new relationship. That’s why we provide the services of a trained conflict resolution specialist, at no cost, to help you work through any difficult issues that might crop up. If you need help ending the relationship, our mediator will help you with that, too.