Summer Au Pair Child Care Program Launched by Au Pair USA

 

NEW YORK, New York - April 2004—Au Pair USA (www.AuPairUSA.org) announces the launch of the first ever Summer Au Pair program, giving families an affordable alternative to traditional childcare for the summer months.

U.S. host families receive quality, in-home child-care by carefully screened young adults from Europe. Au pair participants speak English, provide personalized care, supervise and play with the family’s children, drive them to the pool or play dates, and care for them while the parents are at work or out for the day. Children get the chance to spend their summer learning about a different culture from a full-time childcare provider. The average weekly cost to a host family for a summer of childcare is $290.

Au pairs are young adults between the ages of 18 and 26 who come to the United States on a J-1 Exchange Visitor Visa to live as an extended member of their host family. Au pairs provide up to 45 hours per week of live-in childcare, in exchange for room, board, an educational allowance, and a small weekly stipend.

“Allowing au pairs to come to the U.S. for less than the traditional 1-year period is an exciting opportunity for parents who only need childcare during the summer months,” noted Krista Rowe, InterExchange Au Pair USA Program Manager. “This is a unique opportunity for children over the age of 2 to spend their summer learning first-hand about another culture.”

InterExchange Au Pair USA is the first U.S. Department of State designated Au Pair agency to offer the Summer Au Pair program. InterExchange has been sponsoring the 12-month program since 1986. The InterExchange Au Pair USA program recruits Au Pairs from over 40 countries and places them with Host Families in over 90 communities in 22 states. Roughly 1,000 families per year take part in the Au Pair USA full year program.