Let's Talk Au Pair Agencies!
We Help you Find the Right Au Pair from the Best Au Pair Agencies
There's so much to learn you when you begin your search for the best au pair for your family! Aupairclearinghouse.com provides consumer reviews of the top au pair agencies in America - we also give you tips and advice how to avoid costly mistakes before signing a contract.
Our mission is to give you the best information you need to make the best decision when you host an au pair! Au pair agencies are not all alike and we identify their differences: fees, screening and matching features and cutting edge, innovative programs!
We use host family surveys to rate and review all 12 au pair agencies in the United States. We also provide forums, articles, interviews with agency CEOs and Directors, tips from experts in the field and we share Complaints and Testimonials from both au pairs and host parents!
The Top Three Industry Leaders
This is a newly revised list and review dated July, 2009: Since 1984, more than 175,000 au pairs have taken part in the U.S. State Department's highly popular au pair program. The main reason is for their continued popularity and success is cost - the childcare provided by an au pair is extremely affordable! Most agencies charge from $250 - $350 for the application fee and then once your au pair arrives, you can expect to pay anywhere from $250 - $400 a week for 45 hours of childcare. Critics of the programs state that young girls (ages ranging from 18-25) lack the maturity and judgment to take care of children. Yet, these programs have prospered during the last 24 years and continue to do so.
We compare our current Top Three Au Pair Programs across costs, discounts, strengths and weaknesses.
List of 12 U.S. Department of State Regulated Au Pair Agencies
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).
U.S. Department of State Regulations for Au Pairs
(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. Read All Regulations Here
Award Winning Au Pairs and Au Pair Agencies
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.
Infant Specialized Care Program By Au Pair Care Agency
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 the entire article
Bilingual Families Seek Au Pairs
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 - Social Media Savvy
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!
What Au Pair Agencies Don't Tell Au Pairs
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.
Review of the Best Au Pair Agencies
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.
Costs of Hosting An Au Pair
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:
Better Business Bureau (BBB) Rates Cultural Care Au Pair Agency
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.
Industry Changes You Need to Know About!
As the economy forces parents to spend less on childcare, au pair agencies are getting hit hard - this has forced the industry to "rethink" their marketing strategy and how they operate overall. As a result, innovative programming and marketing plans have been rolled;
out - allowing any parent to view their au pair data base is a major change for au pair agencies! This is good news for the consumer - you can view what kinds of young women are attracted to each agency and you get a "feel" for the quality and level of screening the agency is doing. What are the other big industry changes and the benefits for you?
AuPairCare's Blog Seeks to Build Better Relationships between Host Families & Au Pairs
AuPairCare has a new blog called AuPair Expert. The blog, started in May 2010, features timely topics for host parents to discuss and share experiences. The advice and tips are all in service to building better relationships between between au pairs and host parents! Examples of topics include curfews, phone and Internet rules, communication, driving and for new host parents, how to interview prospective au pairs.
The blog is written by three host parents, including a male perspective from Danny, a host dad:
Top 3 Most Popular Childcare Choices Today
Working parents are responsible for choosing the best childcare for their children. 
Today, with 2 paycheck families, we cannot get by with the help of family and friends - parents need reliable, cost-effective and convenient childcare. Most of us today need full-time childcare.
What are the Top 3 most popular childcare choices today? How expensive are they? Which ones fit your family's needs? In this article we identify the three most popular childcare choices available to today's families and tell you which ones work and which ones don't!
