From a host parent who emailed this to us:

"I want my name to be withheld. Au pair in America is our current agency

We had our first Au pair left suddenly which another story. So we interviewed and matched with another Au pair in her county. For some reason her country was denying Au pair visas 100%. So we waited for her and decided to get a temporary or a “rematch” ( Au pair who did not work out with her current family, but wanted to place with a new family for the remainder of her visa.) So I talked to this Yong Lady several times. I read her rematch paperwork and profile. She seemed to be very nice and was willing to try a family of 4 kids under 5 and she had 4 months on her visa. We needed help for the same amount of time. Our home was her 3rd home and we were well aware of it. The first home was because she was a bad driver and needed to drive. The second was a personality conflict with the Mother. Both families stated in her rematch paperwork that she was great with the children. We never spoke to them ourselves.She was great with the kids. Very attentive and concerned about their well being…she was good at keeping them happy and content. They really learned to use their imagination and creativity while she was with us. However, to me and my husband especially me b/c I managed/ interacted with her the most soon found out that she was very selfish, lazy and could not understand or correctly carry out directions unless it was to her benefit. She was just an annoying pain in the butt and I was not enjoying the cultural interchange as I had hoped. She wanted to extend a 2nd with a new family and we were waiting for December. We never thought that she would put the children in harms way and for both our sakes we put up with her personality. So the week before she was scheduled to leave our home she took vacation. No problem. When she returned we scheduled her to work a Sunday night after we put the kids in bed so that we could have a date night… it would be a while before we do that with a new Au pair scheduled to arrive. Well Sundays were typically her day off and she made me well aware of that. But she had also just come back from 4 days vacation and her weekend off Thursday night. She was scheduled to leave our home Monday morning. She was not happy about sitting in the front room by the lit fireplace watching TV while she listened for the children upstairs. She could not stay in her room b/c its not in the same part of the house as the children’ rooms. So 10 mins after my husband and I leave she calls to say that the smoke alarm is going off. We have a wood burning furnace and woodstove in addition to the fireplace. We thought it was the residual smoke from putting the wood on those fires. We immediately turn around to return home. And my husband called his brother who lives 2 mins down the road to go check the house. While I was talking to her on the phone we quickly determined it was not the “typical false alarm” that we get and she did not see flames anywhere. Then she also started to cough from the smoke. I think OMG! A chimney fire! I had already instructed her to take the kids to the back door to meet my brother in law. My husband’s brother, who grew up in the house, noticed the smoke was bellowing out the front room and went straight to the fire place and opened the damper. Someone has turned the fireplace damper screw handle 3-4 times to close it. Before my brother-in-law arrived she was the only adult in the house and person up was the Au pair. She denied turning the handle. It was pretty obvious to us that she closed the damper to make us come home. She did not want to work. I relayed these facts to our community coordinator with the preface she could have killed or serious injured our kids tonight. Our large 14 room house was completely smoked out. It took us 2 hours to de-smoke the house with every window and door open …and fans. The community coordinated responded “well I can’t come and get her…she is going to another family tomorrow anyway”. The community counselor then went on to assure me it was an accident and the au pair did not mean do it…plus no one saw her do it.

The Au pair continued to deny closing the damper. I insisted that I wanted to talk to community counselor’s supervisor whom never returned my calls but I called continuously called until I was able to talk to her. Au pair in America allowed the Au pair to join next family she was scheduled to join because the Au pair said she did not turn the screw turn handle to the damper. I wanted to call the police before we contacted the agency but my husband felt the kids we ok and did not want anymore drama in our home. Also we did not think that the Au pair in America would have such “no-consequence” response to the incident. We had no advocate. We did not feel that the facts or circumstances were correctly conveyed to the new unsuspecting host family and to my knowledge there is not a system to place for me to write a formal complaint within the agency without retribution or voiding my contract and losing my money. Call us crazy but we did accept the new au pair in our home. So far it’s a better match and more thought out match. We have a better idea of management this time and definitely will not hesitate to terminate employment.

Rematch Au pairs “rematching” for a reason always interview the previous host family.

1. Don’t rush…three weeks may not be long enough to find the perfect Au pair
2. Trust your gust and act on it
3. Read between the lines when reviewing profiles and rematch documents…they are competing to be hired
4. This website has good tips!"

December 18 2008: RE: EurAuPair



"I used EurAuPair for two years and I found the staff in the office to be good, but my local representative was never around. I think she had a full time job and she rarely answered her phone and she would call me back in 2 or 3 days, so I handled a lot of issues myself. But we found Expert Au Pair when we moved to Florida and they are wonderful! Expert Au Pair assigned me to a very friendly counselor and the main office personnel really knows how to give great customer service. My au pair is excellent and she said that many of her friends signed up the same time she did and several did not get accepted by Expert Au Pair - and she felt their screening methods were more rigorous. Good for them! The first company I signed up with, EurAuPair, never contacted me after I left, and they didn't seem to care they lost a customer."

Judy, West Palm Beach, Florida

December 12 2008: Au Pair in America is TOO expensive

"I read your article, Au Pair in America Raises Yearly Costs to a Staggering $20,000 a Year (under Current News). I think you are being conservative about the rising costs over at Au Pair in America! You are missing some of the hidden costs of a hosting an au pair for 12 months. What about the 2 week vacation (which is mandatory and in our contract with Au Pair in America) and other costs like dental (which the program's insurance does not cover); any medical condition are pre-existing (the agency expects the host parents to pay for these doctor visits, etc.); cell phone and charges which can run to 600 dollars or more a year; and don't forget room and board - you are feeding them, sometimes clothing them, and there is the hot water, electricity, etc. (I figured this was around 4000) and HBO/Cable (500).

"All of these costs that your article didn't mention can bring your figure of 20,000 a year to more over 27,000 a year! YIKES. Your site is right about Au Pair in America - I called them and they did admit they are raising their fees in January 2009. Look on their website and read the press release where the CEO of Au Pair in America, Mr. Gertz, talks about mothers returning to work due to the weakening economy and how they are ready to "offer families an affordable child care solution." Hah! He talks about inexpensive programs to two parents working in a tough economy while at the same time he raises costs to an historic high! I am switching to another, less expensive program. With the added expense and the fact my counselor left in October (the one I have now is not nearly as good), it's okay. I have been talking to other agencies. Good luck to any host family with this program next year! Sometimes I think maybe the mom should stay home - half of my salary is now going to pay the au pair!"

Amy, Randolph NJ

"I was with Au Pair in America for a long time - about 3 years and then a new regional manager came on board and she was very young and inexperienced. I have been in customer service for over 15 years and she knew nothing about keeping her customers happy and serviced. My counselor was in there batting for us, but it became so difficult each year to match successfully that I finally left. Working within the customer service industry I find that many young managers often forget why and whom they are working for. I don't have time for them to 'catch up' so I had to leave. I am with Culture Care now and my counselor is not as good, but the customer service and the matching staff in the main office is much better so I am staying with this agency. Au pair care is great since it is so affordable and when you get the right au pair (and the right customer service), it is a pleasure!"

Colette from New Jersey

"I went with Au Pair in America because they were advertised as the "premier program." I have twin infants and I matched with a Thai. She was described as a driver and having good English. However, she did not drive well at all and had an accident with our new car in the first week. Our counselor explained that most au pairs that are qualified with 200 hours in infant care happen to come from Thailand and this is why the agency pushed the girls from Thailand. I did not know that! I finally matched with a local au pair who was also in rematch and she is great. My Thai au pair could not find a family and had to go home. My advice? Don't assume that the au pairs assigned to you can drive and speak English well. Interview the girls more than once and be ready to rematch if they don't come with the qualifications they say they have."

Nancy from Portland Oregon

"After three weeks of trying to matching with the agency Au Pair in America
this summer I threw in the towel - their temp staff are trained on the job
and they do not get the matching process at all! I think they
hire new staff each summer! I called Au Pair Care and they sent a representative
to the house on a Friday and by Monday morning I was matched
with a wonderful German girl - she is with us now and we love her!"
Sean, Randolph NJ

"Our family has used several programs and they all say the same thing about
Thai au pairs and driving: 'they drive!' but they don't drive well or not at all.
Then you are stuck with them and have to carpool not only your children, but the au pair herself, as she has to attend meetings and college courses! Don't listen to half of what the agencies tell you - I found the Au Pair Clearinghouse site right on about a lot and they confirmed what I am saying about Thais and driving - don't go there!"
Stan from NJ

"My au pair had an affair with my husband and I was the last to find out. Everyone in town knew and it was right under my nose. Finally, my community counselor came over and had a long talk with me. We tried to send the au pair home, but my husband left me and the au pair went with him. They are now married and have a family of their own. I am very bitter about it still. You are asking for advice? Don't hire a pretty au pair or any attractive, sexy childcare giver - you never know what will happen." <!--(click here to go to "Top Ten Tips to Avoiding the Most Common Mistakes in Hiring an Au Pair".-->
Angry Divorcee from Seattle - name withheld by request.

"The agency didn't tell me that this au pair was a party girl and was not interested in watching children all day Monday through Friday. My kids said all she did was talk on her cell phone and watch TV. Our au pair from Brazil couldn't wait to take our car every night and every weekend and go to parties, clubs and goodness knows, where else! Our counselor didn't tell us, a new family, how to screen for "party" girls - we found out the hard way. We had to send her home after she got pregnant" <!--Click here to go to "What the Agency Doesn't Tell You".-->
Susan, host mom from Philadelphia PA

"My American/Muslim family loved me at first - brought me from Bosnia and treated me like a family member. Then they asked me to leave when I met an American boy whom I wanted to date. I was 25 years old but they disapproved. They asked me to leave their home. I was very hurt and disappointed. I called my father in Bosnia for airfare money and stayed with a friend until he could buy me a ticket home. I was with my host family for 11 months and they just kicked me out of their home. It was very traumatic for me."
Merheta, au pair from Bosnia

"I came to the USA through Expert Au Pair and the family told the program they wanted a new au pair because I couldn't drive. I didn't think this was fair - they could have hired someone to drive their children - Americans are very rich. I had to go home after 3 months and I was very angry about it."
Jaidee from Thailand

"I was a LAR (Local Area Representative) for an au pair agency three years ago. I liked the job a lot but it turned out to be more work than I was getting paid for. I know there are other agencies that pay more, but I also had to house au pairs that didn't have a place to stay once the host family kicked them out. It got to be too much for my husband and me. There are many au pairs coming into the USA without the proper screening and I had to intervene several times for stealing (au pairs stealing from host parents; local department stores). Then the agency expected me to house these girls! You are asking for advice? I would caution any new host family looking for an au pair to be careful - shop around and be sure your agency screens carefully and runs a background check on all the young ladies who sign up. If you don't, you may be sorry someday. Don't use any program that does not work with the USA government or hire an au pair who has left an agency and is staying in the USA illegally - it is only asking for trouble."
Betty from Washington

"I worked in the au pair industry for 7 years. It was an easy job until it wasn't! There were several serious emergencies that could have ended badly - for example, many au pairs had issues with mental health problems - I am a social worker and I could see the breakdowns coming but the agency that I worked for didn't understand mental health or nervous breakdowns. One of my Swedish au pairs became depressed and was suicidal. I told the host mom to take her to the doctor's and she thought I was being overly cautious. I called my agency and they said "just watch her" but how could I monitor the situation? My au pair ended up attempting suicide by driving the host parents' car into a wall but the airbags saved her life. Since I had a MSW license, I couldn't afford to lose that credential, so I quit the agency - they have no clue about mental health and this age group!"
Kelly, NJ

Deceitful Practices- False Screening, Poor Screening at Best

"We just read the CYA article regarding the Rape of a recent Au Pair. Natalie Jordan is A TOTAL SPIN DOCTOR. She and Cultural Care have been entirely too sneaky and deceitful about this story. We are not strangers to the practices of CCAP and Ms. Jordan. So many families we know have been sent Au Pairs who admitted that their in country Cultural Care offices instruct them to falsify their applications, references and abilities in order to get their foot in the door to the US. I know as a host family that the screening of our family was a joke. We had the money upfront and a child, therefore we quallified!

Cultural Care's first priority is MONEY paid upfront. LCC's are often ill equipt to handle the issues that arise. Cultural Care has an enormous turn over with staff.

We had 3 LCCs over a 5 month period because they would quit out of frustration and disgust. Our most recent LCC was a licensed, clinical social worker and she quit after 2 months and stated in an email to me that "working with Cultural Care just felt so dirty"

Our Au Pair falsified her application, drove without a driver's license(in a stolen car)with our child and ADMITTED ALL OF THE ABOVE to the LCC and guess what? Cultural Care recycled her. I could write a book about the terrible things our Au Pair did and all of the things she neglected to do, like feed our 4 year old all day, which she happily admitted to....We had a meeting in our home with the Au Pair and LCC and the Au Pair admitted everything too the LCC, but THEY STILL MOVED HER TO A SECOND FAMILY. Would you want this girl "supervising" your child???? By the way, our Au Pair had no complaints about us, our child or home and she asked to stay with us. Natalie Jordan summarized our problem with our Au Pair as being a "cultural difference".

Natalie Jordan has to live with herself. Sooner or later justice will prevail.

We lost our money and discontinued our relationship with Cultural Care immediately."

Sadmom