Can you recommend your au-pair service?

We are considering getting an au-pair in the fall but there are so many organizations to choose from! Does anyone have any recommendations? I would love to hear about anyone's experience (good or bad!) with an au-pair!

 

We've had great experiences with Cultural Care http://www.culturalcare.com -- if you have any questions feel free to ask. And if you don't have anyone else to name as a referrer, I'd be really happy to have been your referral (I think at least $150 happy ) -- but we are about to get our third au pair from them and I have nothing but good words about the experience.

 

My old boss and his wife, used Craigslist, and have also gone through agencies in NJ. Maybe you should see if there is an agency in your area. The agency that they used had a policy if for some reason there was a problem w/ the au-pair they got them a new on within 2 days.

 

QUOTE(Jberman @ Jul 7 2007, 09:40 PM) [snapback]321314[/snapback]
My old boss and his wife, used Craigslist, and have also gone through agencies in NJ. Maybe you should see if there is an agency in your area. The agency that they used had a policy if for some reason there was a problem w/ the au-pair they got them a new on within 2 days.


No disrespect intended, but I don't think that an actual au pair agency could have that policy. Au pairs are similar to exchange students and they don't come from their home countries, can't even apply for a visa, until they are matched with a family. The process in getting a new one would take at least three weeks, unless there was an available one who had a problem with their original match -- then they try to fit them into a new home. But they can't depend on failed matches. I've had discussions with our local coordinators to that effect. They always hope that all matches are good ones, so they can never count on having spare au pairs in case of an emergency.

The term "au pair" is used fairly loosely. But a real au pair is here for one year -- and within the last couple years they've been allowed to extend to the maximum of a second year.

It's a scary proposition in a way. You basically have phone interviews, and often the girls' English isn't really great (plus they are nervous) and it's hard. But you can get a lot from their applications and pictures and essays. So you end up really having to go on gut instinct. And do know that the agencies themselves do a tremendous job of screening. In the years that we've been working with au pairs, we've come to know a LOT of au pairs (they make friends) and I've never met a bad seed. They are all really nice girls that I've seen.

I'm really looking forward to meeting our incoming au pair (Paulina from Durango, Mexico). She seems like a total sweetie. We've been exchanging emails for months and she's been chatting online with our current au pair as well. She's so excited, it's adorable!

 

Thanks Marie- I was looking at their website last night and ordered a brochure. Most agencies quote a cost of about $300 per week.... was this your experience? What kind of schedule did you have for your nanny and what were her duties? We are really on the fence about this and would love to hear how this whole thing works in the real world! Having a stranger move in with us is a little scary at this point! Right now I have a part time nanny, 20 hours per week, but she has become completely unreliable. What did your nanny do when she wasn't watching your kids? How hard was it to find a good "match"... do they give you a lot of options or do they really narrow it down for you? So many questions!!

 

We've looked at AuPairs in America www.aupairinamerica.com and www.aupairusa.com

I would completely recommend going through a legitimate agency. We have friends who have used Au Pairs for years and absolutely love them - but the prescreening is REALLY important so you get a good match for your family.

Do you know that you also much pay for/arrange education classes in the US for foreign Au Pairs? Most would like to take english classes, but usually college level classes are appropriate. Treating them as a "member of the family" is one of the recommendations of the agencies. Taking them on vacation with you, being very specific about the child care portion of their duties and you are only allowed to have them work a certain number of hours per week just as any other employee.

We wanted someone from Spain, Germany, Austria or Switzerland/Netherlands - and with these agencies you can easily only receive applications from the criteria you list for your family.

They typically come for one year but you can 'reup' them for another 6 months I believe. If you really like them the continuity for the children is great!

You need to decide if you want them driving/driving your children and then need to provide a vehicle and insurance. They should be encouraged to get involved locally in peer group extracurricular activities and such.

It is much more than just having a hired babysitter. But a GREAT experience for the family and the Au Pair if you find the right person.

 

QUOTE(rachinoc @ Jul 8 2007, 06:33 AM) [snapback]321552[/snapback]
Thanks Marie- I was looking at their website last night and ordered a brochure. Most agencies quote a cost of about $300 per week.... was this your experience? What kind of schedule did you have for your nanny and what were her duties? We are really on the fence about this and would love to hear how this whole thing works in the real world! Having a stranger move in with us is a little scary at this point! Right now I have a part time nanny, 20 hours per week, but she has become completely unreliable. What did your nanny do when she wasn't watching your kids? How hard was it to find a good "match"... do they give you a lot of options or do they really narrow it down for you? So many questions!!


I just asked DH and he agrees, about $300/week, but that doesn't really factor in room and board. Electricity, food, whatever... (maybe another $75-100 a week?) ... no matter what, in my book, worth it all the way!

Yes, you have to be willing to accept another person living in your house, and yes, sometimes it's annoying. But mostly not. What is very very important is that they make friends and have a social life, that they are happy in general. Here there are lots of au pairs, and they call each other and have meetings and make friends. Personally, I have no problem with my au pair being gone all weekend with my car (we have three now...) -- I say as ours pulls into the driveway on a Sunday evening...

That said, the first couple weeks are rough on nearly all of them.

One thing to gain -- very good reliability. I haven't dealt with a single "sick day" since going with au pairs. It might just be that you can't really "fake it" when you live with the people. Who knows. My experience.

Not too hard to find a good match. Our current au pair specified our area actually because she has family here. She spent a first year in San Francisco and then wanted to come here. A second year au pair to me is a good thing, and I sought another for the next go-round, but none were available. I also now only want Spanish-speaking since our current au pair has taught our girls Spanish (you should do that! whatever language, have your au pair teach it to them, she speaks Spanish to them almost exclusively and they totally understand her! so cool!)

It's also nice to have a "built in babysitter" if you want to go out. IME, they always want the extra money and are willing. That's someone you trust and your kids love.

Yes, love, your kids will LOVE your au pair!!

I'll happily email you last years "au pair handbook" if you are interested. I need to redo it for the upcoming year, but just so you have an idea of schedule, etc. PT me.

 

We have used Au Pair Care (aupaircare.com) and have been very pleased with their service. It only took us a few days to find the right Au Pair for us and about 2 months before she arrived in our home. We went with a girl from Brazil and they have very strict rules granting Visa's so they have a minimum of 6 weeks before they can leave their country. In our area, there are hundreds of Au Pairs and the Brazilians top the list in amount of girls, so our Au Pair has tons of friends and feel so happy here. Our agency has what is called an "Elite" Au Pair which we have. They require these girls to have more extensive training and experience with infants and children under 2. The regular au pairs have to have a minimum of 500 hours caring for children, which was not enough for us since when she arrived, we had a 2 year old and new born twins. We were happy to pay a little extra for more experience. Our au pair is in her second year and her weekly stipend went up $20, but our program fees were much less as returning customers.

You must remember that there are rules the government has set that allows them to work only 45hrs a week, less than 10 hours a day. This is to protect the girls (or guys) from being worked too much. They have to attend classes at an accredited school and they are paid weekly in addition to the agency fees.I'm not sure if they all do this or not, but our au pair gets 2 weeks paid vacation as well.

I know none of this is relevant! In short we love our agency, we love our au pair and I highly recommend the agency route. Good luck!!

Kelly

 

QUOTE(KellyJ @ Jul 8 2007, 10:29 PM) [snapback]322367[/snapback]
You must remember that there are rules the government has set that allows them to work only 45hrs a week, less than 10 hours a day. This is to protect the girls (or guys) from being worked too much. They have to attend classes at an accredited school and they are paid weekly in addition to the agency fees.I'm not sure if they all do this or not, but our au pair gets 2 weeks paid vacation as well.


Yep, all the same. Also re children under two I think all agencies require particular "infant experience" for the au pair to work with children under two. Our agency, fwiw, didn't charge any extra for it though. It was just a requirement. Most things are indeed pretty standard though. 45 hours per week, no more than 10 hours per day. We generally have Judith working 8:45-5:45 M-F -- 45 hours. Currently it's a $140/week stipend but that's going up this year. The educational requirement is up to $500/year. And the 2 weeks paid vacation is also standard. Which means you have to work out how to deal with that.

Kelly, all good info! Totally relevant!

 

We also have an aupair and HIGHLY recommend it. We go through EuAuPair
http://www.euraupair.com/
Feel free to PM if you would like if you have any questions. I think most of the agencies already highlighted in this post are similar.

We are on our 2nd aupair, or first one from germany extended for a full year, and now our current aupair has decided to expend for a year. I feel like they have become part of our family!!
Rebecca

 

oh...
The weekly stipend will go up a little but with the increase of minimum wage. I think the new weekly stipend is $157.

 

QUOTE(marieber @ Jul 9 2007, 02:48 AM) [snapback]322387[/snapback]
Yep, all the same. Also re children under two I think all agencies require particular "infant experience" for the au pair to work with children under two. Our agency, fwiw, didn't charge any extra for it though. It was just a requirement. Most things are indeed pretty standard though. 45 hours per week, no more than 10 hours per day. We generally have Judith working 8:45-5:45 M-F -- 45 hours. Currently it's a $140/week stipend but that's going up this year. The educational requirement is up to $500/year. And the 2 weeks paid vacation is also standard. Which means you have to work out how to deal with that.

Kelly, all good info! Totally relevant!



Thanks! To explain further, all the agencies I checked out offer a more experienced au pair option that you pay a little more weekly for. Our Au Pair makes $200 per week. EurAuPair calls it "Par Experience" (http://www.euraupair.com/experience.htm), our agency calls it "elite au pair". To quote the website, "Have at least 2 years of full time child care experience or be a certified child care provider or hold a kindergarten or elementary school teaching degree and be at least 20 years of age (but no more than 26 years) upon arrival." Our au pair is a special education teacher at a private school in Brazil, for example. All the other requirements are the same and the program fees are the same, it's just the weekly pay to the au pair that is higher. We think it was worth it for our family, but it's certainly not a requirement! I know lots of regular au pairs through Heloisa and they are excellent care-givers. On a personal note, I'm really happy Heloisa has the experience she does because our twins are showing signs of developmental delays and it's right up her alley to help us with their issues. Hope that clears that up okay!

Kelly

 

I am a big supporter of hosting Au Pairs for child care / mother's helpers. My DH and I are now hosting our 5th Au Pair. We live in SE MI, and I am a local Rep for our Agency, which is goAUPAIR. Years ago when I first began looking into Au Pairs, I checked with all the agencies and we never even heard from many of them -- never got a call from the local Rep, or from anyone at the agency, or rec'd any info in the mail or via e-mail. The only one that we had great success with and contacted us immediately and took a lot of time explaining the program, the rules, and giving us the info was go AUPAIR. And the fees are not nearly as expensive as some of the agencies. APIA (Au Pair in America) is the largest agency, but also has the highest fees, and I know many people who have used them and been unhappy with their service and their refund / rematch policy.

Also, keep in mind that because the Minimum Wage was just increased, the weekly stipend to Au Pairs increases as of July 24th of this year. Agencies advertise that you pay the Au Pair $139.09 per week, however, beginning July 24th, that weekly stipend is now $157.95 per week. There is another increase in the stipend that goes into effect a year from now, and then another is 2009.

It is a cost effective program for child care and you pay the one rate no matter how many kids you have her taking care. It is about $300 per week (a little less than that) and that includes the $157.95 you will be paying her each week, plus the agency fee and the $500 towards the education. I've never had an Au Pair who ate very much, so it never increased our food bill that much, and we have a 4 bedroom house so we had the extra bedroom and she is not using up a lot more electricity, water, etc. Besides, the Dept. of State and Dept. of Labor have figured in that room & board amount based on the minimum wage that you would pay her for 45 hrs per week of work, and then deducted that, which is how they get to that weekly stipend amount.

What they do NOT tell you is that you DO have to provide transportation for your Au Pair to/from her classes at the college, and to/from Monthly Au Pair meetings. This means that either you drive her, or she can take a bus or other transportation if it's nearby. If you choose to have your Au Pair drive herself, keep in mind that you will have to check with your car insurance agency to find out about adding her to your policy and if she needs a driver's license for your state, and also how much your premiums will increase. That is an additional expense the program does not tell you about....and depending on their age it can be a hefty expense.

There are other things I would ask an agency too -- like what their refund policy is, what is their rematch policy, where do they recruit most of their au pairs from (Culture Care recruite heavily in Germany)., do they offer a payment plan for paying the fees, how many applications will they allow you to review at one time, do they offer other au pairs such as premeire au pairs (you have to pay more for them) who have college education and/or nanny experience.

I would be happy to answer any questions you have about the program rules and/or about hosting. I moderate a Yahoo Group as well that is entirely host families who are hosting au pairs at the moment. go AUPAIR is currently running a special for this month (July) where they are waiving the Applicatin Fee ($250 savings). The web site is www.goaupair.com and the number is 1-888-AUPAIR1. If you call, tell them that you rec'd info from Kim Nuttle. They are really great and extremely nice and helpful.

--Kim

 

I do not have first hand experience with this, but my sister (who has 4 kids, soon to be 5) has had several au pairs, some of whom worked out well, some of whom did not.

I think one issue that made it difficult for the women working for my sister (aside from the fact that my sister is a difficult person) is the hours she demanded . . . she wanted them to work a few hours in the morning, before the older kids went off to school, a few hours in the afternoon (when the kids came home from school) and a few hours in the evening to help with bedtime. She thought this was reasonable, but I think it made it very difficult for the au pairs to have a life away from the family . . . I'm not surprised that two of them asked to be switched to new families.

So, just a suggestion to think about what kind of schedule you want the au pair to work, as well as how much you want her to be a part of your family, what's available for her to do when she's not working (I live in a very rural area, and I'm sure most au pairs would be miserable here - very little to do, no other au pairs to hang out with). I think that for the person to be happy, they need a good work situation as well as a good social life.

So, good luck figuring it out!

-Rachel

 

Having a consistent schedule is definitely better for au pairs -- It is nice because you have some flexibility, but having a schedule like your sister's where they work for a few hours, have a few hours off, work a few more makes it very tough for them to not only have a social like of any kind but also to try to plan for taking their college courses. It's better to have them work in blocks of time, like 6 hours straight or something, and I find that I can always use the help because I can have them clean up toys, do the kids laundry, straighten their rooms, etc. etc.

Also, you should keep in mind that while it isn't necessarily bad if you live in a rural area, you really need to live somewhere where there is a college nearby. The Dept. of State (DOS) requires that they complete 6 college credit hours (or 72 CEU's) through an accredited college/university. Online and distance learning programs are not accepted by the DOS as completing the requirement, therefore, the au pair will not receive her deposit (usually the equiv of about $500 US dollars) money back when she returns home after completing the program.

On a positive note, Au Pairs can stay with your family for up to 2 years. In the past, it was only 1 yr, but about 3 yrs ago the DOS allowed what they call an 'extension program' where the same au pair can stay with your family for an additional 6, 9 or 12 months.

--Kim

 

Thanks for all the info ladies! We are still trying to decide if getting an au pair is right for us. Such a tough decsion! :blink: