Safety
Clear rules, so both partners can trust the arrangement.
One agreement for every Keeper and Anchor. Thirteen terms apply at every tier, and the tier adds its own. In an emergency, safety comes before every other rule.
Draft. Not legal advice. Reviewed by an attorney before launch.
The 13 terms.
These apply no matter which tier or track a pair chooses.
Roles
The Anchor is a trusted adult ally in the household, not a parent, babysitter, caregiver, or employee. The Keeper stays the decision maker for their home and their children.
Children
The Anchor is never alone with a child. No driving a child, no discipline, no private messages with a child, and no photos of the children shared anywhere online. Emergencies follow their own rules, set out below.
Agreed tasks
The Anchor helps with the tasks listed in the agreement, such as repairs, cleaning, yard work, and heavy lifting. Anything not listed needs the Keeper's yes first.
Not a dating service
The arrangement is not a romantic or sexual relationship. If either person wants one, the arrangement ends first through a no-fault exit.
Money
No loans, gifts, shared accounts, or access to accounts. Money moves only as written rent or listed shared costs.
Hours and visits
Visit days and departure times come from the tier terms. Any change is agreed by both people in writing before it happens.
Screening
Both sides are verified. Anchors pass identity, criminal record, sex offender registry, and reference checks before any visit to a home. Keepers verify identity and address. Checks repeat every year and after any reported incident, each with written consent from the person checked.
Conduct
No illegal drugs. Alcohol only if the Keeper allows it. No weapons brought into the home.
Privacy
A home address is shared only after screening and a mutual yes. Family details stay inside the arrangement.
Concerns
Either person, or any child, can raise a concern at any time. Reports go to the platform, which can pause contact or suspend an account right away.
Disputes
Talk first. If that does not settle it, a neutral mediator steps in before anything else.
No-fault exit
Either person can end the arrangement at any tier. The notice period comes from the tier terms, and a longer notice applies under a long-term agreement. Every exit includes a planned goodbye for the children, except an immediate exit for safety, which ends the arrangement at once.
Platform role
Steady Allies matches, screens, and mediates. It is not a landlord, employer, or childcare provider. The agreement is between the Keeper and the Anchor.
Both sides are verified.
- Anchors
- Identity, criminal record, national criminal search, county searches, sex offender registry, and references, all before any visit to a home, plus a check of their profile photo against their ID.
- Keepers
- Identity and address verification through the at-cost identity check (about $5), including a check of their profile photo against their ID, plus a signed home disclosure sheet.
- Repeat checks
- Every year, and after any reported incident, each with written consent from the person checked.
- Photos
- One clear, recent photo per person, checked against ID. Private: never shown in public browsing, only once a match opens a profile from a shortlist. Location and camera details are removed when a photo is saved.
What an Anchor sees, and what stays private.
The Keeper completes and signs this before an Anchor agrees to anything. A false answer is grounds for removal.
The Anchor sees before agreeing
- Other adults who live in the home or stay often.
- The number and ages of the children, with no names or photos.
- Pets, including any that bite or need daily care.
- Smoking, vaping, and alcohol in the home.
- Whether firearms are in the home and how they are stored. The Anchor never has access to them.
- Cameras or recording devices, and where they are.
- The co-parent's role, such as pickups and visits, with no personal details.
- House rules, the tier terms, and the town only.
Kept private until it's safe
- The home address, shared after screening and a mutual yes.
- The children's names and photos, shared once a trial begins.
- School and sports schedules, shared once a trial begins.
- The co-parent's name and contact details, never shared by the platform.
Anchors complete a matching sheet of their own, covering smoking, alcohol, pets, and who else might visit.
Safety comes before every other rule.
- Call first
- 911 for any medical, fire, or safety emergency. An Anchor never needs permission to call.
- Then call
- The Keeper or their emergency contact, then the platform's incident line.
- Neighbors
- The Keeper lists one or two neighbors or contacts the Anchor may call. Anyone else needs the Keeper's okay.
- Children
- The Anchor may act to protect anyone present, including a child, even if they're unexpectedly alone with a child. First aid, leaving a building, and staying with a child until help arrives are all allowed.
- Driving
- The Anchor does not drive a child to care unless the 911 dispatcher says to.
- A child in danger
- Call 911 or the state child abuse hotline, then tell the platform.
- Afterward
- The Anchor reports what happened in the app within 24 hours, and the Keeper confirms it. Acting in good faith in an emergency is never a rule violation.
- Keeper's part
- Posts a one-page emergency card at home with contacts, the address, allergies, and medications. It lists only what someone needs in a crisis.
Draft. Not legal advice. Reviewed by an attorney before launch.
Belongings are protected on both sides.
For a Full Hearth exit.
- Notice
- Written notice, with the length set by state law. Under a long-term agreement, the longer notice written into it applies.
- A planned goodbye
- The children get a planned goodbye, agreed by both people and led by the Keeper, as part of the move-out. The only exception is an immediate exit for safety.
- Inventory
- Photos of the Anchor's room and belongings at move-in, signed by both people. The same again at move-out.
- Move-out day
- The Anchor takes their belongings and returns the keys. Both walk through the room together.
- Left behind
- The Keeper never sells, keeps, or throws anything away. Belongings are stored for a set period (suggested 14 days) with three written reminders in the app. After that, the state's abandoned property rules apply.
- Safety exit
- If the exit follows a safety concern, the Keeper never has to face the Anchor. A friend or the platform's mediator is present when the Anchor collects their things at a set time, or a neutral party ships them.
- Money
- Rent and shared expenses are settled within 14 days. Any deposit follows state law.
- Accounts
- Mail and address changes are the Anchor's job. The Keeper stops sharing the home address after move-out.
Draft. Not legal advice. Reviewed by an attorney before launch.
Fair warnings, without public accusations.
A bad match has to reach the next family without turning the platform into a place to post accusations about private people.
- After every trial
- Both people answer the same short form: would you match again, did the other person keep the agreement, and was there any safety concern, yes or no.
- Double blind
- Neither side sees the other's answers until both submit or 7 days pass. This limits payback reviews.
- What families see
- A verified badge, trials completed, trials ended early, and platform-confirmed safety actions. Never the reason for a private ending.
- Written comments
- Stay private to the platform. Nothing about a private person is posted publicly.
- Safety reports
- A trained reviewer reads every one. The reported person can respond before a decision, unless anyone is in immediate danger. In that case contact is paused first.
- Outcomes
- A confirmed violation can suspend or remove the account. A removed account never appears in matching again, and nothing says why.
- Both directions
- Anchors see the same signals about Keepers.
- Appeals
- Anyone can appeal a decision once, to a second reviewer.
Draft. Not legal advice. Reviewed by an attorney before launch.
Be part of the first steady matches.
Whether your home could use a hand or you have a hand to offer, join the early-access list and we'll let you know when Steady Allies opens near you.