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Agencies & Local Counselors

Should au pair rules be changed, to allow for “extra vacation without pay”?

by cv harquail January 25, 2012

Within the legal boundaries of the au pair program, both host parents and au pairs like to have a bit of personal discretion. We want to be able to satisfy family demands and any sensible au pair dreams. We want to be flexible when issues come up, and we want to be accommodating and reasonably [...]

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F.A.Q.: Must we use an Au Pair Agency to engage an Au Pair?

by cv harquail January 14, 2012

Must we use an Au Pair Agency to engage an Au Pair? Yes. Sure, you can go it alone, but then you would not be operating within US Law. We emphatically recommend that you use an approved agency to find and retain your au pair. Following the laws and regulations protects both your family and [...]

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Extension Fees: Why so high?

by cv harquail December 15, 2011

Why is it so expensive to extend an Au Pair for an additional year? A reader emailed to raise the concern that it costs almost as much the second year as the first, because there are fewer special discounts. (For one agency, that’s about $5,600). Not only that, but the au pair herself or himself [...]

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Au Pair Counselors (LCCs): Your #1 Defense Against Bad Host Parent Behavior

by cv harquail November 5, 2011

It breaks my heart when we get emails and comments from au pairs who are being taken advantage of by their host parents. We know that the host parents’ behavior is out of line, and we’re happy to tell au pairs what host parent behavior is inappropriate or downright exploitative. We tell au pairs to [...]

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How To Find a Short-Term Au Pair

by cv harquail October 15, 2011

Sometimes, you just don’t need an au pair for a whole year. You may need just 8 months, until your child has a full school day, or until you drop down to part-time work. You may just need an au pair to cover a gap between a departing au pair and some other childcare arrangement.  [...]

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How well do different Au Pair Agencies oversee “the rules”?

by cv harquail September 11, 2011

When it comes to following the rules and regulations of the Au Pair Program, how much oversight do different agencies actually provide? Inquiring minds want to know, since these rules are there to protect all the parties in the Au Pair – Host Family relationship. There are three areas where legal ‘oversight’ is necessary: 1. [...]

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What the best way to Pre-Match with an Au Pair, before connecting to an Agency?

by cv harquail September 1, 2011

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could meet a really terrific young person from anther country, discover that you had complementary world views, and THEN go through an official agency to engage him or her as an au pair? From time to time, we get questions from either parents or potential au pairs about how [...]

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Host Parent Wish: That Rematch would fix things, not send problems to another family

by cv harquail August 25, 2011

If host families could change the au pair ‘system’, there are many things we would improve. Chief among these would be how au pairing is advertised, how au pairs are recruited and interviewed, how au pairs fulfill education requirements, and most of all, how au pair rematches are handled. Rematch and transition processes are the [...]

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Au Pair Agency Breaks Promise, and Revokes Completion Payment. Why?

by cv harquail May 2, 2011

Dear Au Pair Mom, Today we received our monthly newsletter from our local area counselor. On the last page, it normally indicates year-end bonuses for the au pairs; however, now we see this: “Bonuses: There has been a change to bonuses. Au pairs who arrived before December 31, 2010 will still be eligible to receive [...]

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What can Host Parents Do about Deceptive Agency Practices?

by cv harquail April 14, 2011

Readers, I must admit that these stories of being screwed by both agency & au pair get me upset. Thank goodness these stories are more rare than the terrific au pair and the perfectly fine au pairs we have little reason to need advice about. We all know that most au pairs, and most agency [...]

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