Local Net firm aims to match families with tutors, sitters

A new company in Waltham hopes to make the Internet the safest place to find a babysitter or a tutor for the kids.

CareZen Inc.'s website, Care.com, combines the local advertising power of sites like Craigslist with an extra layer of security. Would-be caregivers can sign up for free to offer their services. Meanwhile subscribers who pay $10 a month can get a listing of the caregivers in their area, along with ratings from other subscribers who've done business with them. In addition, subscribers can request a free background check to make sure the caregiver has a clean criminal record.

Care.com founder Sheila Marcelo came up with the idea while working as an entrepreneur-in-residence at the venture capital firm Matrix Partners, which has put $3.5 million into the company. "I really wanted to focus on something that helps families," said Marcelo. Besides, she'd had problems of her own trying to locate a reliable nanny on the Internet, and was worried about caring for her aging parents. Mar celo created Care.com to help other people with the same problem.

Care.com officially launches on Monday, but the site already has listings for thousands of caregivers. Marcelo said that for months her company has quietly posted advertisements on college campuses, and sent e-mails to prospective caregivers, urging them to sign up.

People often use advertising services like Craigslist to find caregivers; Marcelo herself has used the site. But Craigslist may not provide detailed information on the caregivers, or display reviews by other people who've used them.

Caregivers who advertise on Care.com must provide detailed information to help customers make the right choices. A babysitter, for instance, lists the ages of children she's most comfortable with, and other duties she's willing to perform, like cooking and light housekeeping.

There's also a rating system modeled after the auction service eBay, where buyers can assess the quality of their buying experience. Care.com customers can post reviews of caregiver performance. The best babysitters, nannies, nurses or tutors will gradually build up reputation ratings similar to those of people who sell lots of merchandise on eBay. The better their reputation, the more business they may get from Care.com subscribers.

Customers who want extra assurance about a caregiver can request a background check. Care.com uses Reed Elsevier Inc.'s LexisNexis database service to check for a criminal record and make sure the caregiver isn't listed on a sex offiender registry. Each search costs Care.com $8, but the service is free to subscribers.

Charlene Li, an Internet commerce analyst at Forrester Research, lives near San Francisco and uses a similar service run by a local woman. "I get a whole list of people who are interested in sitting for me, and it's updated quarterly," she said. Based on her own experience, Li said there'll be lots of demand for Care.com's services.

"This would be a great model to take national," she said.

Hiawatha Bray can be reached at bray@globe.com.