I have been happy with the au pairs that I identified through Au Pair in America. The concern is the support from the community counselor. There are naturally some small concerns that arise as you have a younger lady living in your home, the problem is that our APIA community counselor took those concerns and very poor translated (and amplified) the feedback to our Au Pair, repeating things shared in confidence and creating a toxic home environment for our family until the Au Pair could be re-matched. I requested a different counselor for our next au pair and it was turned down without an explanation. The agency does not care about the families or the children concerned, our community counselor confirmed that directly. Do yourself a favor and work with another au pair agency, this one is terrible.

ckb131

New York, NY

If you are depending on this company for childcare, beware. Company reps are shady- will not respond to any questions via email because they don't want to commit to anything in writing.

mommy2mrf

Philadelphia, PA

Field staff are charged a fee to attend annual work related conferences. Staff also pays for ground transportation to and from conferences. In house incentive programs are sloppy and payments take up to 90 days for payments. No merit based compensation for field staff.

Penniless

USA

Used this agency twice in the 9 years I have used au pair services and both times the au pairs are not prepared and one au pair was actually neglectful to my young girls. Almost called the police. Next experience close the first. Use Cultural Care if you must use agency.

hostmominva

USA

BAD BAD BAD experiences . After 6 years of being with them, The quality of au pairs has gone WAY down. I feel the screening process is not thorough. Girls Lie on their applications. After having had 2 wonderful au pairs for 4years I searched for 2 months for another one, the selection is disappointing and management listens to whoever complains first. Am glad we're out.

lamags

USA

I think this is service is only for someone that can afford it. I personally feel that being a stay at home mom is better for kids. But I can also understand the need to have two parents needing to work if they have too. Even if I could afford to have an aupair I would much rather be at home with my children. Everyone is different and has their own preferences.

homeschoolmom

Hot Springs National Park, AR

  Au pair in America, use to be good...way back when. But I don't think they select their counselors very well or get rid of the bad ones...so you may get way more than you bargained for, trouble that is. Here in Rochester, NY there is a high drama going on since the new person is taking care of this cluster. All that you can imagine from a white trash: lies, gossip, and true wars...discrimination against certain nationality...she even advised not get au pair for 3rd world countries, will not say the name, but she hates Latinas. Not to mention that she never answer the calls... I will never invest my money on that agency again... And I do not recommend that agency to anyone...especially here in Rochester. If you want peace in your life, look for other agencies... I am glad that I am out.

JaneRochester

Penfield, NY

AuPairClearinghouse,   the first and only consumer website on the au pair industry, rated Au Pair in America Number Three out of 12 agencies designated by the USA government.  They are experienced, have well-screened au pairs and counselors who are paid per family each month and not on commission, as most of the other agencies are.  That said, they have slipped from their number one status as other agencies, such as Cultural Care and Au Pair Care, have entered the market.  Au Pair Care offers a special Infant Program and other programs that Au Pair in America does not have.   Cultural Care has won the Au Pair of the Year Award twice in a row.  Both newer agencies have marketed aggressively, taking away host families from Au Pair in America.  The main reason, however, that Au Pair in America has slipped to the Number Three slot is that they are much more expensive than any other agency to date!  To read the entire review, check out our site at aupairclearinghouse.com Edina Stone, Founder & CEO

EStone

San Francisco, CA

As a host family for 3 years, we have gone through 6 girls and only had 1 that was a success.  All the girls lie about their ability to speak English, their ability to drive and their ability to cook.  One girl flat out told us that her embassy "coached" her on what to say and how to sell herself.  One au pair wrecked our car (we no longer allow them to drive).  The current one can not cook anything!  Tuna salad is a challenge!  Be careful in the way you pick them out and interview them by skype or messenger so you can see their actual speaking ability and not what they rehearse and record.

Busyfamily757

Virginia Beach, VA

We have had many aupairs over the past eight years. Some of the girls were wonderful, and developed into great aupairs. Recently, the quality of the screening process, as well as the support from the agency to host families and aupairs has declined. We were in a situation with an aupair who stated she did not like children, and did not think she wanted to be in a house with children. On rematch, we related this to our community counselor, who promptly helped place this aupair in a household with small children. I believe this was unethical, as well as not having the "new family" interests at heart. Why pursue this? One must think it is the bottom line. A few years later, we had another situation where the aupair was clearly unprepared for her duties- she reported she could drive, then confessed to us that she had her license for only a few months- different info than what she gave on her application. We helped her, taking time out of our busy schedule to assist her with driving lessons.  She promptly wrecked our minivan, and asked if we could buy her a smaller car. On rematch, we confided to the community counselor as well as corporate office her driving deficiency. What do they do? Rematch her with a mother of triplets who specifically asked her if she was a good driver or had any problems with driving a larger car. Again, this was not the best option for the aupair or the new host family. Does Aupair in America mind? Not by their actions in this instance. I understand these are only two incidents, but when you are talking about who is watching your kids, and bringing a person into the family, it is a big deal. Consider your choices carefully. We are still in touch with several of our aupairs, and it was a wonderful experience while everything works well. Good luck to you if you have a glitch.

Busymom245

Richmond, VA