As a Papa member, your trust and safety is our priority. We are committed to ensuring you have a safe and delightful visit with your Papa Pal each and every time.
Member Safety
Actions we take to keep you safe
Papa Pal screenings
Before accepting a new Papa Pal into the program, Papa conducts extensive background checks that go above and beyond the industry standard. This includes manual reviews of prospective Papa Pals’ histories, in addition to standard reporting generated by our background check vendor. We require an up-to-date background check yearly for Papa Pals to remain in the program and screen Papa Pals monthly against The Office of Inspector General’s List of Excluded Individuals/Entities. Ongoing, we conduct continuous criminal monitoring of active Papa Pals and motor vehicle record searches in every state for those conducting transportation visits.
Visit and Community Standards
We have created Visit Standards that outline guidelines Papa Pals should follow when conducting visits, as well as Community Standards, aligned to our core values, which we expect all in our community—Papa Pals, members, and employees—to abide by. Papa Pals must agree to these standards each time they accept a visit on our platform. See them in full here: Visit Standards, Community Standards.
Visit monitoring
We continuously monitor visits and visit feedback from members and Papa Pals for situations that violate our standards or seem irregular, such as visits that lasted longer than expected and transportation that was not reported. All incidents are thoroughly investigated and may lead to disciplinary action, which can range from education to removal from the program entirely.
Education and resources
During onboarding, Papa Pals learn about their role and expectations, services that are in and out of scope, how to successfully prepare for and complete visits, how to respond in an emergency, and more. Papa Pals also review and acknowledge requirements around detecting and reporting health care fraud, waste and abuse; understanding and following HIPAA rules; and sensitively handling personal information.
Following onboarding, Papa Pals receive a series of communications with educational resources and gain access to an array of on-demand materials, such as a visit checklist and an overview of the kinds of tasks that are in and out of scope.
Safety guidelines
If you need emergency help at any time, call 9-1-1. Emergencies are situations that require medical help (an ambulance), police, or firefighters right away.
If you ever feel uncomfortable or unsafe with your Papa Pal, request your Papa Pal end the visit and ask that your Papa Pal leave immediately.
If the Papa Pal refuses to leave, remove yourself from the situation by getting somewhere safe, whether a private space in your home, outside, or at a neighbor’s, and call 9-1-1 immediately.
Once you are able, call Papa Support at 800-348-7951 to report the incident so we can learn more and take action.
Additional safety tips
- If you feel a specific Papa Pal is not a good fit for your needs or you’ve had a less-than-positive experience, you can request not to see that Papa Pal again by contacting Papa Support.
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Your Papa Pal is instructed to call you before a visit to introduce themself and confirm your visit needs. After that call, if you do not feel comfortable meeting with this Papa Pal or you feel they are not the right fit to support you, you can request a new Papa Pal by contacting Papa Support
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All visits must be scheduled through Papa so we can appropriately monitor your time with your Papa Pal. Never schedule a visit directly with your Papa Pal.
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If something feels off with a Papa Pal or you had a negative experience, please report your concern to Papa Support so we can take action.
To learn more about Papa, visit this page.
For Papa Pals safety information, please visit this page.
