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Home › Articles › Child Care Issues › On Par with Au Pairs

On Par with Au Pairs

Is This Childcare Option for You?

By Hilory Wagner

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These regulations were set in place by the United States Information Agency (USIA), the government body that established guidelines in 1986 for this educational and cultural exchange program with a strong child care component. In October 1999, the USIA was abolished and administration of the au pair programs was taken over by the U.S. State Department, Educational and Cultural Services. Currently, this department lists six approved au pair programs with roughly 12,000 participants yearly.

All au pair programs must adhere to government regulations, which -- among other things -- state that au pairs:

  • cannot work more than 10 hours per day and not more than 45 hours in a week;
  • must be given private bedrooms;
  • are given meals;
  • receive remuneration tied to the minimum wage;
  • have a full weekend off each month;
  • get two weeks paid vacation; and
  • receive up to $500 in education allowance from the host family.

baby In 1995, the guidelines became regulations, and now there are mandated training requirements. According to the U.S. State Department, au pairs must receive at least eight hours of child safety and 24 hours of child development instruction. Moreover, at least four hours of the child safety training will be infant-related and another four hours of the child development instruction will be devoted to the care of children younger than age 2. The child-safety training, provided by qualified organizations, includes topics such as stress management, shaken baby syndrome and CPR. Additionally, au pairs responsible for children younger than 2 must have at least 200 hours of documented infant child care experience.


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