AuPair in America Review

Overall 2.00 of 5 view all 5 reviews

Jolie
Chicago, IL

One of the better aupair agencies, but has room for improvement

a believer in in-home care, in Chicago, a working mom, safety conscious, parent of toddlers, appreciative of other cultures

Pros

Large # of girls, active counselors, decent online tools, partially stepped up in a crisis

Cons

high fees, dont prep the girls, not priority given in crisis, one or two year limit

OCT

2007

AuPair in America —

I have had an aupair for almost 4 years now. For those that dont know what an aupair is, it is a live-in foreign girl (generally girls aged 18-27), that come to live with you to take care of your children. In exchange, you give them room & board, weekly pay, access to your car, and an education allowance.

Once I decided that I wanted an aupair, I needed to find the right agency to source one. There are 10+ agencies that do placement of aupairs. And, the average cost is $5k to $8k for placement. Yes! That's right. It's not cheap!!!

A friend of mine used the agency Aupair in America for nearly 10 years so I decided to take her word and use that agency. (I did interview a few others) Aupair in America seemed like a logical choice to me since I liked my primary contact. Also, they are one of the largest agencies in the country and do thousands of placements every year.

Over the last 4 years I have learned a lot about the agency. I have been pretty pleased with AuPair in America. But, there have been some hiccups along the way. In fact, I decided this year to try a new agency. When I was looking for reviews of agencies, I was floored that there was so little info available. So, hopefully this helps prospective parents in thier search for a good agency.

Here's my two cents on what I like and dont about one agency- Aupair in America.

What I like about Aupair in America

Aupair in American seems to have a large database of candidates to pull from
They have a program called Aupair Extraordinairre. The program is a group of women that are much more qualified than the average aupair. They are typically teachers, nurses or general educators.
You see multiple candidates at one time. So, you arent forced to look at one candidate at a time. (that's annoying to me!)
My counselor has been really great to work with! (each family is given a counselor when they sign on. And, you meet with your counselor monthly to talk about how things are going)
They are really good about checking in with the families and the aupairs to see how things are going....

What I dont like about Aupair in America

Your only contact with the agency is with your counselor; other than that, you really dont know anyone else. And, if you call corporate you always get an answer machine! Annoying.
The placement process is a little funky. You give them criteria and they automatically generate leads for you. You are never really introduced to a person that you can talk to about your criteria. (ONE TIP: CALL and find out who is assigned to your placement. Talk with them on the phone and tell them specifically what you want)
The program is great for seasoned families who have used aupairs in the past, but for first timers, it is a little complicated.
They do some family events, but they arent really inclusive of little ones. They are very much geared at kids 5 and above.
I had a few issues with my aupair (I had a runaway!) and I was shocked how little the agency did to help locate the runaway and get her deported. They also didnt go above and beyond to find me new help. (I went 4 weeks without childcare)

Now that I am using another agency (the largest one!), I appreciate some of the practices at aupair in america a lot more. While there are issues with their approach, and I havent always gotten the service that I would expect for the price, I would take them over the other agency any day. The few things they do better, they do significantly better and they really do make all the difference in the world.

3.5 stars.

Last edited on Jan 11, 2008

AuPair in America is recommended by Jolie

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Comments about Jolie’s Review

In response to CathleenHillary's comment from Dec 30, 2008 at 1:41PM:

Yes. I have had an aupair for 5 years and I have one now. I know everything there is to know-- sadly! :( Happy new year.

In response to Jolie's comment from Dec 30, 2008 at 1:15PM:

Yes, it was terrible. I have had good experiences with au pairs too - there is no question that if you get a girl who is stable, well adjusted and likes children (and adjusts well to our very different culture) they can be a delight and quite a help around busy households. Did you know that the Dept. of State (DOS) now allows registered au pair agencies a visa for two years instead of 12 months? This is very helpful so you don't have to go through that taxing rematch process every year!

Good luck!

In response to CathleenHillary's comment from Dec 29, 2008 at 7:16PM:

Wow- that sounds terrible. I have had some pretty good experiences with aupairs... but looking every year for a new care taker is taxing.

Hi. My two neighbors were with Au Pair in America and I didn't feel they knew enough about how to screen the girls properly. My neighbors on both sides of my family had au pairs from this agency and one couldn't drive and crashed the car with the children in the car (no one was hurt thank goodness) and the other family's au pair came with an eating disorder and their counselor didn't know anything about mental health issues and my friend had to take off from work and drive this au pair to a doctor's and then arrange to send her home. They both now have private nannies and there is peace on our street! My niece just had a baby and she wants an au pair (her 29 year old girlfriend has a German au pair) and I have been helping her find an agency. Since the child is just an infant we were looking for an agency that caters to babies and I read the website that Kate Stone suggested on this thread and I found an agency that does train their au pairs for a program called Infant Specialized Care Program and it can be found at Au Pair Care. My niece is working with them to find a suitable candidate. Thanks for the source: www.aupairclearinghouse.com! Cathleen Hillary NJ

Hi - I know many women who have hired au pairs in their careers. It is an inexpensive way to get good, built in care for your children - but I do agree that you have to choose wisely - both the program and the au pair. I found a website online that does this for prospective host families: www.aupairclearinghouse.com. It reviews and compares programs across costs, awards, number of matches in a year, who is the industry's leader and has great articles - from "party girls" to how to get an au pair that drives. Check it out!

My sister has had enough with her agency - she's firing her second one this year. They've had four total. Only one was really qualified to work with children. They are in desperate need of one that won't let them down. Can anyone recommend a good one? My nephews are 2.5 year old and a 5.5 year old. The 5.5 year old is in nursery school. The 2.5 year old will enter play group very soon, leaving the au pair a lot of free time during the day. They've expressed interest in hiring a "manny" to motivate the boys, get them more active beyond watching TV, which is what they forbid during the day, but have caught their au pairs doing regardless.

It's not about multiple candidates, it's about the agency screening them properly in advance. My sister and her husband are very generous, paying a lot extra than what's required for overtime. They also are very aware of what au pairs are there to do, not be housekeepers, but caregivers. I know it's tough being in a foreign country. I've actually worked at an agency before, but it's important they be qualified and ready to be in new situation like this. It's not an excuse to escape overprotective parents or learn English. It's about joining a family and learning about new cultures.

I was an Au Pair for one year. I am originally from Germany, but was living with a nice family and their daughter in San Diego, CA in 2001/2002. My agency was EF Au Pair. I believe, they are the biggest one. Sorry to hear you had a runaway. If i could I would have stayed with "my" family until "my" little girl goes off to college. ;-P

When I was in college I looked into being an aupair and I think that was one of the agencies I looked into.

Wow! I've never heard of such a thing. What happened to the good old fashioned Nannies? I agree, that's not peanuts by any means. You did a nice review though.
I guess I never heard of them because I don't have little ones any more.

Crytsa-- The law actually controls how long they can stay-- and it caps at 2 years. They link it to education so it isnt an indefinite visa. ;)

I forgot to add that over the years my Nana's life changed a lot, she married and had two kids (one exactly one year and one day after me) that we grew up with. They all lived on the property which really connected our lives, even to this day we are all close.
Good luck with your search - we have used a similar service for vacations.

As children, we grew up with a live-in Nanny. I was very lucky as mine was brought in as soon as my sister and I were born and stay with us until college when she moved back to France. LOL She was much more to all of us than just a Nanny (and still is) - if that sounds odd.
My mom focused a few things but was most concerned that she spoke French and English, so we'd speak both fluently. My Mom was French and so we also had a French cook.
Anyway, you have many more options which is nice - we just happen to have been very lucky.

Ok, I have a question. How come if you find one you like you can't keep her forever? lol Well, not forever but until she wants to no Au Pair anymore?

I carried one of mine on my hip a couple of days to teach. When it's small town, there are not many options. I sure do enjoy hearing the city life though.

Thanks for the great info. I live in small town America where AuPairs are only heard of in the movies or, in the one infamous instance, on Court TV. I do know, however, that when I graduated from high school some 17 years ago, a handful of my classmates moved to NY, Chicago, and a couple of other places to be live-in nannies. It's nice to hear first hand from someone just what the pros and cons of hiring and AuPair are. Thanks for the input.

Nice job. I just got someone to clean my house and I'm thrilled but then again I never had a 24/7 job like you have! Jo

Maybe you can tell Britney about an agency she can use because she sure could have used an aupair obviously. This sounds great but so out of my league and now, happily, not necessary since my kids aren't kids anymore! lol.