Editorial note: a check run at signing starts to age the day it is filed. This guide covers how to keep the file current. The lookups themselves are described in the five-lookup guide, and this page only covers the upkeep.
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Name one owner for the file
Editorial: Choose one family member to keep the check file for each agency. That person holds the dated pages, the lookup notes, and copies of any written answers. A file with three owners tends to end up with three versions of the same agency.
Set the recheck dates
- At signing, when the first check is filed
- At each review sit-down
- Before any change in the agency's name, owner, office address, or service area
- Before a new visiting aide starts, if the agency asks the family to accept one
Repeat the lookups and compare
Editorial: Repeat the federal lookups described in the five-lookup guide. Set the new pull beside the old one. Mark each difference as From file when it comes from a public record or listing pull, and as Editorial when it is your own reading. Do not treat a missing entry as a clean result until you have checked for a name change. The self-check page lists the same steps in the order you run them.
What to do with a changed entry
Editorial: Write the change down first, then ask the agency about it in writing. Ask for the reason, the date, and any paper that explains it. Take the answer to the next review. Do not decide alone, and do not let a ranking position stand in for the recheck. A rank is an order, not a current record.
Keep the file with the agreement
Editorial: Store the check file next to the signed agreement, not in a folder of brochures. When the arrangement ends, the file goes with it, so the next family member or the next agency starts from the same dated record.