Q & A with Lisa King from Cultural Care Au Pair
Lisa King, “The Au Pair Lady” of Moore County
Have you ever imagined what life might be like with an extra pair of hands? For many families, balancing the demands of life, family, and work can be incredibly challenging, especially without reliable or consistent help from family or their community. Join me as we explore some common questions about welcoming an au pair into your home. We'll cover topics such as what an au pair is, how they get paid, and how to find one. Whether you're just curious or ready to commit, Lisa is the person with all of the answers!
Lisa and Tommy King | lisaandtommy.king@lcc.culturalcare.com | 717-713-1267
Okay, so tell me, what exactly is an au pair?
Lisa: Au pairs are young people (between the ages of 18-27) from another country who have childcare experience. Some of them have worked in daycares, preschools, or orphanages in their home countries. Others are certified early childhood education teachers. Still others have extensive experience babysitting and nannying for the children in their families or for friends/neighbors. They come to the US to live with a host family for a year and provide up to 45 hours of care each week. Your au pair truly becomes like another member of the family. It’s kind of like having a college-aged niece or nephew come live with you. They are older and more mature so they can help out around the house as you would expect of an adult roommate, but they still rely upon you for food, shelter, and sometimes loving parental words of wisdom.
And When do they take time off?
Lisa: While the schedule is flexible to be able to suit each family’s unique needs, there are some requirements to ensure that au pairs get a true break so they are well-rested to keep up with your kids and also have time for themselves! The childcare schedule cannot exceed more than 10 hours a day, or 45 hours a week. There must also be a consecutive day and a half off each week, with the half-day not exceeding 5 hours. So, for example, you can’t schedule your au pair to work 7 days a week even if it’s just for 5 hours a day; that would cause burnout for anyone! While your au pair can work occasional weekends, they must have one full weekend off each month. Additionally, au pairs get 2 weeks of paid vacation on mutually agreed upon time. Some host families ask that au pairs request vacation time 2-3 months in advance, while others provide a variety of weeks for their au pair to choose from; it all boils down to having good communication with one another.
This all sounds pretty amazing.
So, how do they get paid?
Lisa: The host family pays their au pair directly every week at least $197.75; most families round up to $200. Personally, I tend to use Zelle to pay my au pair because it’s quick and easy. However, some families will set up a direct deposit, or use another payment app. As long as your au pair is paid consistently every week, any method of payment that the two of you agree on is fine.
Do we need to be fully committed to hiring an au pair before starting the conversation?
Lisa: Absolutely not! You can create a host family profile and interview au pairs all while keeping other childcare options open. We understand that the most important thing is that families feel they have found the right fit for their children, whether that be with one of our au pairs or through another form of childcare. There is no financial commitment until you have found the right au pair for your family and that au pair agrees that you are the right family for them.
How do we find the right au pair for our family? and what’s the process like?
Lisa: We have au pairs from 30+ countries! Many of them come from Europe: Germany, Austria, Italy, France, Spain, Sweden, Latvia, Portugal, and the Netherlands to name a few countries. Our Latin American au pairs come from Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil. We also have au pairs from South Africa!
All of these au pairs have extensive profiles on our website that include information about their natural families, their childcare experience with information from both professional and personal references, pictures, videos where they introduce themselves to you in English and explain why they’ve decided to become an au pair, a letter they’ve written to prospective families, their religion, information about their driving history, skills they have such as languages they speak, any certifications they have, etc.
As the host family, you are able to view all of the au pair profiles and filter them based on the qualities you seek in a caregiver/extended family member. When you see an au pair who piques your interest, you send them a connection request on our site. At that point, the au pair can view your host family profile, which is equally extensive, with details about each family member’s interests, a sample schedule, pictures, and details about the area you live in. The au pair can then decide to accept or decline the connection. While at first it may feel disheartening for an au pair to decline, rest assured this is normal! As the host family, you seek certain criteria in an au pair, and au pairs are also looking for certain qualities in their host family. It’s important that you end up with a good match for both parties; so, you want to find an au pair who is equally as excited about your family as you are about them!
When an au pair accepts the connection, you are then able to contact them to schedule a video interview. After speaking with an au pair a few times, if you feel they are “the one” you will then ask them to match with you. If he/she agrees and says “yes” to the match, we begin to make travel arrangements!
The host family will pay a program fee which covers the au pair’s flights, health insurance while they’re in the US, and all of the support that they get from us during their time in the program. This fee combined with the au pair’s weekly stipend averages out to spending around $1,800/month on childcare, and this is not per child, but per family! For more details you can visit my site www.theaupairlady.com to request a cost breakdown.
Are there any fee assistance programs that help pay for an au pair?
Lisa: Many families can use employer-sponsored Flexible Spending Account (FSA) funds to pay the program fee.
Is there a term commitment?
Lisa: When an au pair first comes to the US it is for a year long term. As you near the end of the year together, you can invite them to extend with you for 6-12 additional months if you wish. Two years is the maximum time that an au pair can be in the US on this particular visa.
I’m sure your next question is what happens if it’s not working out, right? Are you locked in for the full year together? That’s usually the next question people ask, anyway. Throughout your time in the program you’ll have a local childcare consultant (LCC) who will support your family and your au pair. They’ll get to know you all and be someone who you check in with at least monthly letting them know how your relationship is progressing and will be available to you anytime that you have questions or need some advice. This way, if things go south with your au pair, you have a third party who is already aware of your history together. They can provide mediation and help you and your au pair come up with a plan for resolution. You try out the new plan together for a week or two to see if the issues are resolved. Then, you can either continue your year together if things are looking up, or you or your au pair can decide that it’s still not working and go into what’s called “rematch.” In rematch, your au pair would have two weeks to remain with you and find a new host family. You’d be able to search for a new au pair, as well. Au pairs who are in rematch will commit to the remaining time on their current term with their new family. So, if you were to match with an au pair who entered rematch four months into their initial twelve month term, you’d be committing to the remaining eight months with them.
Who can we reach for more information?
Lisa: Reach out to me, Lisa King! You can contact me directly via text/phone call or submit an inquiry on my website: www.theaupairlady.com
Lisa and Tommy King | lisaandtommy.king@lcc.culturalcare.com | 717-713-1267
So, Say I’m ready to get started, How can I do that?
Lisa: Visit www.theaupairlady.com and register today! Once you register, you’ll create a host family profile and then you can start connecting with potential au pairs.