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Care.org

Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere, Inc. (CARE), is a leading humanitarian relief and development organization fighting global poverty, which is unrelated to Care.com but is one of Care.com's preferred charities. Visit care.org for more information about this organization.

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CARE.COM RESPONSE TO FTC AGREEMENT

At Care.com, we put our members first, providing valuable tools and resources to help families find care and caregivers find jobs. 

Though we were fully prepared to litigate for the next several years if necessary and confident in our position, we decided to enter into an agreement with the FTC to resolve this matter now and keep our focus on helping our customers.

This settlement is in no way a validation of the FTC’s claims.  In fact, the settlement requires no material change in how Care.com serves those who use its platform.

At a time when the care economy is under assault, when families are draining their savings to afford child care, when caregivers are leaving the profession and when our growing senior population is facing astronomical long term care costs, it is disappointing that the FTC has chosen to attack trusted businesses who are part of the solution.

We have been in business nearly 20 years, available in every state and every town in America.  That kind of longevity and scale comes from putting customers first every day; helping millions of families access the care they need and connecting millions of caregivers with meaningful, well-paying jobs.

In response to the FTC’s misleading press release, we wanted to clarify a few facts:

  • The presentation of available job opportunities: We would not be in business for long if we manipulated optics, inflated statistics and attempted to trick our customers. We have found that many care seekers prefer to see a level of interest in their job post before committing to a premium membership, and our basic service tier offers this “try before you buy” opportunity.  This does not mean that there is little to no chance that a caregiver will be hired for these jobs.  When a seeker sees the array of caregivers available, the commitment to premium membership—which enables seekers to contact and hire caregivers—follows naturally. Moreover, the annual fee that caregivers pay while active on our platform is a screening fee, which helps maintain the safety of our community. 
  • Earnings data: Care.com does not set rates and we never make promises about earnings. The data we provide about posted rates is based solely on what families say they are willing to pay, which varies significantly. Given the size of our platform, the potential earnings data we provide is at scale, and helps maintain a balanced and fair market for care.
  • Cancellation process: Families and caregivers can and do cancel memberships at any time and for a variety of reasons, including having successfully found a caregiver or a job. Our members can easily cancel if they wish, and we have further streamlined the process for doing so. Cancellation instructions for desktop and mobile users are included in every confirmation email upon sign up, accessible in our Help Center and available through our Customer Care support team which also offers 24 hour support via chat.

Given the care crisis in America, we believe our collective energy as a country should be on solutions, not nitpicking attacks. Care.com intends to keep our focus on what matters: American families and the hardworking caregivers who support them.

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