The au pair program is a cultural and educational exchange program with a childcare component. Au pairs provide up to 45 hours of childcare per week for their host family while attending college or university studies. Au pairs can participate in the program from 12 months - 24 months.

The 12 sponsoring agencies in the U.S. have the responsibility to adminster the au pair programs according to the regulations set forth by the U.S. Department of State (US-DOS).

(a) Introduction. This section governs Department of State-designated exchange visitor programs under which foreign nationals are afforded the opportunity to live with an American host family and participate directly in the home life of the host family. All au pair participants provide child care services to the host family and attend a U.S. post-secondary educational institution. Au pair participants provide up to forty-five hours of child care services per week and pursue not less than six semester hours of academic credit or its equivalent during their year of program participation. Au pairs participating in the EduCare program provide up to thirty hours of child care services per week and pursue not less than twelve semester hours of academic credit or its equivalent during their year of program participation.

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This article presents the winners of the International of Au Pair Awards and the au pair agencies that sponsored them. We also review the au pair agency that won the coveted IT Award from the CIO Magazine for outstanding website design.

Honoring the Best Au Pairs

Every year thousands of young people from all over the world embark on a special journey by becoming au pairs. Leaving behind the familiarity of their homeland for as long as one year, au pairs travel to distant countries, where they are welcomed into different cultures and become part of a new family. For most of these young women, this is their first experience away from home and their first opportunity to experience a new culture.

Au Pair Care (www.aupaircare.com), a leading au pair agency, has a new program that should be of interest to parents of infants! Data from the Census Bureau show that over half of mothers' with infants are employed outside the home - these working moms have to arrange for childcare, but the first year of a baby's life is a critical developmental period that requires a consistent, reliable and nurturing caretaker. As most working mothers know, maternity leaves are relatively short and they must entrust their precious infants in the care of someone else.

A new au pair program, sponsored by Au Pair Care, might be the answer! Infant Specialized Care is a program that provides families with a trained, live-in au pair who specializes in infant care and child development. Au Pair Care's program allows working mothers to provide their babies with consistent care in the comfort and safety of their homes.

Read this press release from AuPairCare that addresses the rising trend of bilingual host families seeking au pairs.

No doubt this trend is being driven by the rising number of Hispanic families looking for full-time childcare that is flexible and affordable. As the number of educated Hispanic professionals increase in America, the number of au pairs sought to serve this niche will increase. The cultural aspects of the au pair program will also serve to enrich the childrens' background and heritage. Au pair agencies also seek to serve those families who want their children, regardless of enthicity, to become bilingual and often the second language desired is Spanish. Au pairs from South American countries would meet this need. Brazil, a popular country for recruiting au pairs, would be the exception since they do not speak Spanish, but Portugese!

Cultural Homestay International, the organization that sponsors www.chiaupairusa.org, has updated their site to include social media formats that are really cutting edge and kind of neat. They have two social media formats that can offer you detailed access to information about au pairs: audio/visual videos of their au pairs and a Face Book fan club, where you can chat with friends or family regarding your search for au pairs and with the au pairs themselves!

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Many au pairs sign up for their cultural exchange year abroad with very different expectations compared to American host family's expectations. This difference
between host family and au pair expectations can lead to rematchs, au pairs leaving families in the middle of the night, financial loss to host parents and general dissatisfaction and disappointment with the entire au pair industry.

Au pairs are courted by the au pair agencies by glossy, colorful brochures depicting exciting travel opportunities and a fun-filled adventure. The material skims over the childcare components. Many au pairs arrive imagining an easy life "helping" laid back host parents with their well-behaved children and in their free time exploring the country and making lots of American friends. They dream of visiting the exciting cities and sights of America illustrated in the glossy brochures and look forward with excitement to trips to NYC, Washington, DC and the Grand Canyon.

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We review the top au pair agencies governed by the U.S. Department of State. There are 12 designated Au Pair Agencies in America that fall under the Department of State's supervision. There are many other au pair agencies out there, some good, some fair, some bad, and most of them are much cheaper, but the following agencies reviewed here are the only au pair agencies that are required to abide by the laws and regulations set up by the Department of State. These 12 agencies are also monitored and audited once a year to make sure the agencies are abiding by the laws/regulations. They are sanctioned if they are found to be negligent in their services to either the au pairs or host families that contract with them.

We list all 12 agencies here. We also list our Top Three Industry Picks for 2009.

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How Much Does it Cost to Hire an Au Pair?

As childcare costs soar, au pair agencies are capitalizing on the international young womens' dreams of a year abroad! Au pairs come to America to improve their English and enjoy a new cultural experience. Au Pair agencies are quite affordable and much cheaper than daycare centers and nannies. Agencies promise to provide quality, live-in care up to 10 hours a day and for 45 hours a week.

It is important to understand your overall cost if you plan to hire your aupair through an agency.

Here are a few tips and some advice regarding costs associated with au pairs:

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August 20 2009. The Better Business Bureau, one of the most respected authorities on consumer trust in the marketplace, rates Cultural Care and gives them a B-. BBB has been around for nearly a century, has held high standards for fairness and honesty and is a trusted source for consumers looking for reliable and impartial information.

How did they come up with their rating?

The Boston area BBB looked at 50 complaints on the internet and charted how many of these complaints were handled successfully by the company and how many of these complaints were not).

BBB processed a total of 50 complaint(s) about this business in the last 36 months, their standard reporting period.

Of the total 50 complaint(s) handled in the last 36 months, 14 were addressed in the last 12 months.

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