We have been discussing what au pair agencies do (and don't do) to  prepare their au pairs for the American families that hire them (Family Forum).  It appears that host families are split down the middle regarding 2 camps of thought:

• One group feels that much of the screening, training and preparing the au pair falls to the host parents.  They are willing to create Handbooks, offer driving lessons, spend days off work "orienting" the au pairs and showing her how to do a variety of jobs she has not been trained to do: laundry, meal preparation, enforce basic child safety rules.

• The second group feels strongly that they pay enough ($8.00 - $9.00 an hour, depending on the specific program) to the agencies to expect their au pairs will be competent drivers, know how to make a simple meal for their child, understand the basics of keeping their child safe in and outside of the home and to speak "proficient" English!

Many host parents assume that the "au pair orientation" agencies offer covers all the basics and the au pair will be "ready" to go once they pick her up to start her year with them as their childcare giver.  This is far from the truth.  The au pair orientations only begin to address topics and skills a childcare giver needs to know - the training sessions are not nearly long enough to adequately train the au pairs.

Au pair agencies do go over many topics and issues with the au pairs during the 3-4 day orientation before they are released to their host parents.  How much information the au pairs actually retain is doubtful.  During these orientations, many au pairs are stressed out, suffering from jet lag and are very tired - their English is shaky at best (all workshops are conducted in English) and as a result, they miss much of what is being taught.

However, the agencies do their best to remind au pairs that here, in America, we do things differently, and  common buzz phrases used in the orientation are "Never Leave the Child Alone" and "Don't Shake the Baby." They do attempt to over basic cultural differences and to assess potential trouble-makers in the groups (they will contact the families if they see signs of significant mental or physical health issues that may pose difficulties once the au pair is placed). 

The problem with orientations is that the agencies are only required to provide minimal child safety and child development training! 

This requirement, by the Dept. of State clearly indicates what the minimums are and no agency goes beyond the basic requirements (with one exception):

Au pairs receive training from the sponsor organization in child development and child safety before being placed in a host family. A minimum of eight hours of child safety training is required. Of those eight hours, at least four hours must deal with infant safety. Also, au pairs must receive a minimum of 24 hours of child development instruction. At least four of those 24 hours of training must relate to children under two years of age.  http://exchanges.state.gov/jexchanges/programs/aupair.html

AuPairCare is the only agency to provide additional training for their au pairs and that is the Infant Specialized Program.  Instead of 8 hours of infant care training, their Specialized Infant Au Pairs undergo training for 40 hours compared to only 4 hours provided at the orientation.

Shouldn't we expect more from our au pair dollars?  Hosting an au pair for 12 months is not cheap - a family can spend up to over $22,000 for an Au Pair Extraordinaire (Au Pair in America, the most expensive agency).  For the price of a brand new, midsize car, a parent should expect and receive an au pair who can drive and speak English well! She should have some idea of how to cook simple, nutritious meals and understand basic child development theory to assist her in keeping the children safe and happy!

I don't think these basics are too much to ask for when spending the same amount of money if you were to pay for a year's tuition at an American Ivy League college or to purchase a brand new Toyota RAV!

One way to change the "readiness" of new au pairs coming to America is for consumers to demand more.  If we communicate our needs to the agencies, eventually they will get it.  Au pair agencies that are the market leaders are listening and are doing more - support them by using them over the other agencies who refuse to change, refuse to screen properly and refuse to only accept those candidates that meet the Dept. of State basic requirements.

Edina