In Los Angeles , there are three main companies that handle the vast majority of background work for children. Buyer beware: to our knowledge, none of them are licensed as talent agencies in the State of California . None are SAG franchised. These are NOT Disney Channel casting directors.

This means that they are NOT YOUR AGENT. They do not have your best interests in mind, and should not legally be negotiating anything. They are simply a booking service, a broker, and you need to become knowledgeable on your own about labor laws, union regulations, upgrades, conflicts, etc.

In addition, those that are charging registration fees would likely fall under the Advance Fee Talent Service law in California ...so they may be operating illegally by taking a percentage and an advance fee. Unfortunately, we cannot endorse any of these companies, as we have had complaints about all of them:

Kids Background
www.kidsmanagement.com
(661) 964-0131

Studio Kids Management
562-902-9838

Screen Children's Casting
*do not have current phone number

Some require registration fees of $20-$40 a couple of times a year. They all take a percentage of the child's earnings which ranges from 15% to 20%. Some require pictures. One takes a check fee from each check, cancellations fees, and more. Most will require you to sign a contract (be CAREFUL—read the small print) but it is possible to register with several services at a time.

Article courtesy of The BizParentz Foundation