At Papa, your safety and well-being is our top priority. We strive to create a positive and secure experience for every interaction you have with our dedicated Papa Pals. To ensure your safety and comfort, we have implemented robust safety guidelines and support mechanisms at every step of your journey. We’ll guide you through them below.
Before the visit
Papa Pals join our platform because of their dedication to helping people in their communities. Every new Papa Pal is required to meet our rigorous safety measures before they are ever allowed to accept visits on our platform, including:
- Robust background checks: A comprehensive background check is conducted for every new Papa Pal. We go beyond the industry standard, including manual reviews, in addition to standard reporting generated by our background check vendor. Ongoing, we conduct continuous criminal monitoring of active Papa Pals so we can be alerted to any new offenses and take appropriate action.
- Continuous Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) monitoring: Through this continual monitoring, if a Papa Pal receives a motor vehicle record-related flag, such as a speeding ticket, Papa’s background check provider runs a full MVR screen on the Papa Pal and adjudicates the results through the same screening matrix applied at onboarding.
- Papa Pal identity verification: Papa uses a world-class standard similar to that used by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) that matches a prospective Papa Pal's driver's license to a real-time selfie to verify the prospect's identity and the validity of their driver's license.
- Education on Visit and Community Standards: Papa Pals received education on, and must agree to, our Visit and Community Standards before each and every visit.
- Custom-built training: Every Papa Pal is required to complete an in-depth, custom-made training before they are able to gain access to our platform. This training is tailored to situations that can come up during in-home visits and between people of different generations.
- Some Papa members have certain conditions that may require specific management techniques to best support. We provide our Papa Pals with information on the conditions that a Papa member may have and tips on how to make their experience as positive as possible. We encourage you to proactively communicate your needs or preferences to your Papa Pal, so they can best support you.
But safety measures don’t stop here. Once Papa Pals are accepted onto our platform, we take further action before a visit even takes place, including:
- Ongoing Papa Pal education: In addition to the above, Papa Pals receive robust onboarding information covering their role, in-scope services, safety policies, and emergency response procedures. Following onboarding, Papa Pals receive a series of ongoing communications with educational resources; 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; and receive a monthly newsletter and ad hoc communications with further education.
- Masked phone numbers: Papa assigns temporary phone numbers to you and your Papa Pals to add a layer of privacy and security to every interaction. These “masked” phone numbers all start with “786-998…” and remain the same for the duration of your relationship, so there’s no additional work on your end. Simply dial your Pal’s assigned phone number, and your call will be automatically routed to their phone. It’s that easy!
You can review details about your Papa Pal and upcoming visit at the Member Portal. Simply follow the steps on the screen to login with no password required.
During the visit
When you’re taking a Papa visit and invite a Papa Pal into your home or community, we’re with you every step of way. Here’s how we keep you safe while your visit is taking place:
- Papa Pal ID badge: Papa Pals can access a digital “badge” in the Papa Pal app that displays essential, timely information so you can easily and quickly confirm your Pal’s identity before inviting them inside. The badge includes your and your Papa Pal's names, and allows the Pal to call you directly from the app right then and there, for an added layer of security.
- Visit monitoring and location tracking: Papa actively monitors your visit as it’s taking place via location tracking in the Papa Pal app. We look for situations that seem irregular and may indicate something is off, such as visits that last longer than expected or 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.
- Real-time emergency support: Papa Pals have access to immediate emergency assistance directly in the Papa Pal app from trained, real-life agents with our partner Noonlight. In the event that you or your Pal needs immediate assistance and calling 911 is not possible, Pals can request emergency support with a single click in the app and receive a response within 15 seconds.
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. In the event you or your Papa Pal needs immediate assistance and calling 911 is not possible, your Papa Pal can use the emergency support feature above.
If you ever feel uncomfortable or unsafe with your Papa Pal, request your Papa Pal end the visit and 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 1-800-348-7951 to report the incident so we can learn more and take action.
After the visit
Your feedback is invaluable to us. After each visit, we encourage you to provide feedback on both the visit itself and your experience with your Papa Pal. This feedback helps us maintain a safe and positive environment for all members.
In addition to actively monitoring visits as they take place, Papa closely monitors your visit feedback for situations that violate our Visit and Community Standards and/or seem irregular. All incidents are thoroughly investigated and may lead to disciplinary action.
If, for any reason, you feel that a Papa Pal is not the right fit for your needs or if you've had a negative experience, you can request not to see that Pal again by contacting Papa Support. This request ensures that the Papa Pal will not receive any of your visit requests in the future.
Your safety is our top priority, and we are here to support you.