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[quote=Anonymous]Hi OP!  I remember being in your shoes and it is great that you found this message board to help you decide whether or not to take the step of getting an au pair.

Regarding the agency - honestly, it really doesn’t make that big of a difference.  You can sign up for as many as you want - don’t feel limited to one agency.  The AP program is governed by Federal law, so it will be generally the same deal regardless of which agency you go with.  You will find different applicant pools with each agency and the matching process will differ slightly.  For example, I have always hated using Cultural Care because the matching process is super competitive and stressful, despite their huge pool of applicants.  The other agencies aren’t much better, but we have always had more luck with Au Pair Care with regard to matching (although I did not like the Area Director/LCC that we had with them).  You should also look at their rematch/refund policies (and don’t assume that you are not going to rematch, it is not uncommon).

A word of warning since you are talking to agencies - don’t forget that they are businesses and that their number one goal is to get you into their program so that you will pay them the hefty $9,000 annual agency fee.  Sometimes they will offer good advice, but they will not always have the well-being of you and your family as their number one concern, even though they may act helpful and say that they care.  Also, just be aware that basically anyone can sign up to be an au pair - there is very little screening done by any of the agencies.  So don’t assume that someone will be good just because they are listed on an au pair site.  It is completely on you to figure out their qualifications during the interviews.

Based on the requirements that you mentioned, I think that many au pairs would find your requirements somewhat strict and difficult.  Most of them don’t do that much housework or shopping (and as others have said, you may be surprised at how much guidance you will have to provide).  I have found that many are also very turned off by weekend hours, or even a schedule where they would be working the full 45 hours.  I would suggest that if you do decide to sign up with the program, be as honest as possible - there are a lot of them who just want to have an easy/fun gap year, so you will need to find someone who is actually willing to work.  This can be hard to discern over video-chat and rematch sucks if you end up with someone who doesn’t work out.

Final thing is that costs can creep up on you with this program.  The agencies advertise what seems like a super low annual price, but there are a lot of extra costs (examples are gifts, eating out, extra person on vacation, car accidents, etc).  I think that $30,000+ per year is really more of a better estimate for the actual cost of hosting an au pair.  Still cheaper than a FT nanny, but not that much so.

Good luck in making your decision! [/quote]

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