The articles in this section are from past years. You will find them under the headings for each year that we have kept records.

In a recent article from The Juggle http://blogs.wsj.com/juggle/, Wall Street Journal columnist Sue Shellenbarger reports that there has been a significant increase in the use of au pairs for childcare in the USA. More families are signing up for au pairs and nearly 22,000 young women were residing in the USA last year, up 44% from 2004! This is a dramatic increase and the trend appears to be growing despite the weak economy.

Parents who are looking for cost-effective childcare are driving the trend, and it appears that growth in the au pair industry has negatively affected both day care centers and the nanny industry – both childcare options are declining as the rising trend of hiring au pairs skyrockets.

Ms. Shellenbarger reviews prices for an au pair: standard program fees run from $5,000 - $7,000 and the total cost for 12 months can add up to $14,000 (which is typically much lower than a full-time nanny or full-time day care). We feel that the price of an au pair is much higher. See our article under Current News “Leading Au Pair Agency Raises Yearly Costs to a Staggering $20,000 a Year” Click here to read our estimated costs for January of 2009. . .

Effective January 2009, the Au Pair in America program will increase standard costs to a staggering $17,844.00 a year! This includes program fees and a weekly stipend of $199.00 a month paid directly to the au pair. However, this does not include education fees ($1000) and costs of car insurance (you must include the au pair on your car insurance if she is driving for you which can run anywhere between $1500 - $3000). This can bring the total costs of hosting an au pair for 12 months to over $20,000,00 - that is quite a price increase! This makes Au Pair in America the most costly program to date.

See Complaint posted December 12 2008, Au Pair in America is TOO expensive."

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.

At the 2008 International Au Pair Association (IAPA) annual meeting, Linda Falter from Vettweiss, Germany, was awarded the 2008 Au Pair of the Year Award. This award is given to one outstanding young woman out of the many thousands of au pairs who participate in the 12 federally governed au pair programs in the USA. IAPA is an international community and trade association for experienced and qualified au pair organizations that specialize in providing cultural exchange and au pair services.
The au pair, Ms. Falter, is an au pair with the EF Cultural Care program. Last year's winner was from France and worked for the EurAuPair program located in CA.