Host Family Screening & Matching

Au Pair Care host families are looking to provide loving childcare for their children. They also want to share their home with a young person from another country and have a meaningful cultural exchange experience. When you apply to become an au pair, you can be sure that you’ll be placed with a carefully screened host family, who is excited to welcome you to their home and the United States. Meet some typical Au Pair Care host families.

Host Family Screening

Au Pair Care only accepts host families who can provide a comfortable and supportive environment for their au pair. Au Pair Care requires that families complete our online host family application, which includes detailed information about the family’s children, occupations, reasons for hosting an au pair and information about their home and community.  Additionally, Au Pair Care also requires two references completed by non-family members to ensure the family’s suitability to host an au pair.

Every host family is interviewed in-person by an Au Pair Care local Area Director in the host family’s home. During the in-home interview, the Area Director will meet all members of the family, assess the host family’s home (including the private room for the au pair) and discuss the family’s motivation for wanting to host an au pair. The Area Director provides the family with helpful information about what to expect once the au pair arrives to their home.

Each host family agrees to:

• Provide the au pair with a private bedroom
• Limit the au pair's working hours to no more than 45 per week, and no more than 10 hours per day
• Limit the au pair's responsibilities to childcare and light housekeeping as it relates to the children
• Pay the au pair a weekly stipend and provide an educational allowance up to $500 to take accredited courses

In addition to Au Pair Care's careful screening, host families must meet all of the requirements set by the U.S. Department of State including:

• Being fluent in English and speaking English as the primary language in their home
• Being willing to comply with U.S. Department of State regulations
• Being U.S. citizens or permanent legal residents

Matching Process

Families use Au Pair Care’s EasyMatch™ online system to search for and review profiles of compatible au pairs.  This online system allows host families to search for au pairs based on specific traits such as childcare skills, nationality and driving experience. Families can review your application, photos and video to see if you will be a good fit for their family. Should they wish to interview you in person, you will receive an email from Au Pair Care to notify you of this. In Au Pair Room, Au Pair Care's online resource for au pairs, you'll find helpful information about interviewing, and information about the families who are interested in speaking with you.

Both you and the host family are required to speak to each other over the phone at least two times prior to making the decision to match.  When speaking to a family, you should inquire about the family’s children, their childcare needs, lifestyle and interests.  Families and au pairs make the decision to match together; this decision is not made by Au Pair Care. 

More information about the matching and interview process is available to au pairs in the Au Pair Care Au Pair Handbook located in Au Pair Room.  Only au pairs who have completed the application process have access to Au Pair Room. Start your application today.