House Bill Introduced Supporting the Au Pair Program

On Thursday, September 19, 2024, legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives regarding the modernization of the federal Au Pair Program. Sponsored by Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R, PA-14), the Modernizing the Au Pair Program Act. H.R. 9677 (the MAP Act) addresses important issues that the Alliance has worked with its members and Members of Congress on over the last several years. We applaud the introduction of the bill and are pleased to see Rep. Reschenthaler and other Members of Congress supporting the Au Pair program and engaging on these specific issues that are so important to its continued success.

The MAP Act reaffirms and clarifies the exclusive federal regulatory authority of the Department of State over the Au Pair Program. It also directs the Department to use that regulatory authority to issue a regulation that modernizes and strengthens the program in several key ways. The bill directs the Department to modify the au pair stipend in a uniform national way, while keeping the program affordable and flexible for American families. The bill also highlights the participation of military and first-responder families who have increasingly come to rely on and appreciate the value of the program. Lastly, the bill underscores the importance of au pair immersion in host family culture and life.

All of these topics were key parts of the Alliance’s previous comments on the Department of State’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) earlier this year, and we’re pleased to see them so comprehensively addressed in this legislation. The Alliance looks forward to collaborating with our members and Congressional offices as this bill moves through the legislative process.

Ensuring Programmatic Integrity: Commenting on the Au Pair Proposed Regulation

A critical area of the Alliance’s advocacy efforts is engaging in the Department of State’s regulatory processes. When the Department proposes changes to the function and implementation of a program, the Alliance engages impacted members, partners, and communities to gain an understanding of the situation and put forward a strong, unified response. The federal regulatory process provides for public comment periods, and submitting comments during this time is critical to influencing the outcome. 

Our most recent work came on behalf of the Au Pair Program. In October 2023, the Department of State released a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) outlining major regulatory changes to the federal Au Pair Program. The Alliance has long supported modernizing the Au Pair Program regulations for the benefit of au pairs and host families. Upon reading the proposed changes and hearing from our Au Pair members, however, we became concerned that the proposed regulations would threaten to significantly harm an exchange program with a nearly 40-year track record of success.  

Our first step was to work with our Au Pair Steering Committee and Working Group to gain a full understanding of the impact of the proposed changes. What we came to understand is that, if enacted, the proposed regulation would: 

• Strip away the essential cultural exchange nature from the program, turning it into a domestic labor program; 

• Diminish participation in the program by 70-90% by making it far too expensive and outpricing many American families, including middle-class and military families, and essential workers and first responders, and thus concurrently diminishing the number of au pairs who could participate; and 

• Negatively impact the Department of State’s public diplomacy goals. 

Second, we petitioned the Department to extend the comment period. The initial comment period was only 60 days, set to end on December 29, 2023. Given the limited amount of time this gave concerned parties to share their thoughts (not to mention two major holidays also cutting into the time), the Alliance requested that the comment period be extended by at least 30 days. This request directly led to a 30-day extension, with a new deadline of January 28, 2024. 

Third, we immediately engaged au pair host families, encouraging them to submit their own comments on the proposed regulation. This grassroots letter campaign led to 5,233 comment letters being sent to the Department. We also led a campaign encouraging constituents to write their Senators and express support for the program, which led to  4,286 advocates reaching out to all 100 Senators. 

Fourth, we wanted to have a fuller understanding of the impact these regulations would have on the program, namely on the desire and ability of host families to participate. We worked with the firm McDermott, Will & Emery to survey current and recent host families. Unfortunately, the data showed that, if these proposed regulations went into effect and raised the price of the program by 150-200%, more than 90% of host families would no longer choose to participate. This would of course have a devastating impact on the program.  

And finally, we gathered detailed information from our Au Pair members regarding the more than 220 changes being proposed. This information formed the basis of the fifty-page comment letter we submitted to the Department. This letter addresses our general concerns (p. 1), identifies principal problematic aspects of the NPRM (p. 5), and outlines recommendations for a clear and modernized regulation (p. 10). It also provides commentary and recommendations on more than 50 individual proposed provisions. 

Summary of Problematic Aspects 

• Counter to the cultural exchange mission and mandate of the program 

• Does not include a clear statement of federal preemption 

• Undermines the experience of au pairs 

• Dramatic increase in costs for host families, and, consequently, a dramatic decrease in au pair and host family participation 

• Complex and burdensome administrative requirements would discourage participation and create new problems where there were none previously, and confusing and contradictory requirements would put host families at risk of liability 

• Underestimation of financial burden on sponsors 

Guiding Principles for a Successful Regulation 

• The regulation must include an express, clarifying statement of federal preemption as to the program’s terms and conditions 

• The regulation must be narrowly tailored, aiming to modernize and clarify only key issues 

• The regulation must continue to ensure that cultural exchange is at the heart of the program 

• A commitment to maintaining affordability and accessibility must be central 

• The regulation should keep the administrative burden at a minimum 

• The current flexibility must be retained 

While this comment letter is only the start of our engagement in the regulatory process, it is a significant one that dictates our actions and messaging going forward as we continue to engage with our colleagues at ECA to come to an NPRM that supports all those invested in the program. We are grateful for all those who contributed to the comment letter process and look forward to the work to come to ensure the integrity of this important cultural exchange program is preserved.

Check out a full summary of our work on the Au Pair proposed regulation, as well as on Congressional activity and media mentions. 

Au Pair Program Clarifying Regulation

Background:
On October 30, 2023, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) at the Department of State (DOS) released a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) outlining significant regulatory changes to the federal au pair cultural exchange program. These changes were only proposed (not enacted) and put forward for public comment.

The Alliance has long supported modernizing the Au Pair Program regulations for the benefit of au pairs and host families. We are very concerned, however, that the proposed regulations threaten to significantly harm an exchange program with a nearly 40 track record of success. Specifically, if enacted, the proposed regulation would:

• Strip away the essential cultural exchange nature from the program, turning it into a domestic labor program

• Diminish participation in the Au Pair Program by 70-90% by making it far too expensive and outpricing many American families, including middle-class and military families, and essential workers and first responders, and thus concurrently diminishing the number of au pairs who could participate

• Negatively impact the Department of State’s public diplomacy goals

Alliance Response:
In response to these proposed changes, the Alliance, along with our members and fellow program advocates, took the following actions: 

• Initiated request to extend comment period: The initial comment period for the proposed rule was only 60 days, set to end on December 29, 2023. Given the limited amount of time this allowed concerned parties to share their thoughts, the Alliance sent a letter to ECA requesting the comment period be extended by at least 30 days. This request directly led to a 30-day extension of the comment period, with a new deadline of January 28, 2024. 

• Led comment letter writing campaign: The Alliance launched a grassroots letter writing campaign that led to 5,233 comment letters being sent to DOS. 

• Led Senate letter writing campaign: The Alliance also led a grassroots letter campaign for constituents to write their Senators and express support for the program, which led to 4,286 advocates reaching out to all 100 Senators. 

• Submitted Alliance comment letter: After extensive consultation and collaboration with au pair members, the Alliance submitted a comprehensive comment letter outlining our overarching concerns with the proposed rule, sharing our reactions to specific changes, and outlining recommendations. In particular, we noted:

  • That the proposed regulations would make the program too expensive and too administratively burdensome for most host families to participate. Participation by both host families and au pairs would thus plummet, irreparably harming the program and threatening its existence.

  • That we believe any future version of this proposed regulation should not be an unnecessarily sweeping re-regulation of the program, but rather a narrowly-tailored program update that focuses on:   

    • A clear statement of federal preemption to clarify any confusion regarding the fact that the federal regulations of the program always have and continue to preempt all state and local labor laws as to the  program’s terms and conditions, including local wage and hour laws that may otherwise seek to regulate au pair compensation;   

    • A reasonable and uniform increase to the au pair stipend     

    • An update to the educational component to include volunteer and online opportunities and with a reasonable increase to the allowance families would pay.

• Facilitated research and comment from regulatory experts: In partnership with the Alliance’s au pair members, we worked with the firm McDermott Will & Emery to gather data on how the proposed changes would impact au pairs and host families, as well as to submit further comment.  

Congressional Response: 

• Bipartisan Senate sign-on letter in support of the Au Pair Program: On December 15, 2023, Senators Shaheen (D-NH) and Tillis (R-NC) sent a bipartisan letter to the Department of State expressing support for the Au Pair Program and concern about the proposed regulation. The final letter was co-signed by: Senators Coons (D-DE), Cruz (R-TX), Duckworth (D-IL), Risch (R-ID), and Van Hollen (D-MD).  

Partner Response:

• U.S. Small Business Administration comment letter

Media: 

• Au Pair Program Eyed for Wage, Hour Revamp in New US Proposal – Bloomberg Law 

• Au Revoir, Au Pairs – The Wall Street Journal 

• Au Pair Wage, Hour Overhaul Public Comment Period Extended – Bloomberg Law 

• WILL THE AU PAIR PROGRAM CONTINUE TO BE AN AFFORDABLE OPTION FOR MILITARY FAMILIES? - National Military Family Association 

• Cost of Hiring Au Pairs Could Double Under Biden Administration Proposal – The Wall Street Journal 

• Au (s)pair me – Politico 

• State Dept. proposing major changes to U.S. au pair regulations – NBC12 

• Families threaten to exit the au pair program if stricter rules are finalized – The Washington Post 

• Pending changes to the au pair program – Good Morning America 

Statement regarding proposed reforms to the federal Au Pair cultural exchange program

Statement of the Alliance for International Exchange Regarding Proposed Reforms to the Federal Au Pair Cultural Exchange Program

Washington, D.C. – February 23, 2023 –  On behalf of our members designated by the U.S. Department of State to administer the federal au pair cultural exchange program, the Alliance for International Exchange is supportive of the Department of State (DOS) taking steps to clarify and modernize the program via new regulations. DOS is uniquely positioned to modify the program and, in so doing, to strike a balance between the program’s clear foreign policy and public diplomacy goals and the need to update and clarify certain aspects of the program in support of all program participants.

On February 10, proposed new regulations were submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). We look forward to the opportunity to review the proposed new regulations in full once they become publicly available, and to weigh in at that time on the impact they may have on our international exchange community.

For more than three decades, the federal au pair program has remained a vitally important cultural exchange opportunity for thousands of American families and young people from around the world.  The program provides a mutually enriching experience that builds bridges across borders and cultures, sparks mutual understanding, and creates meaningful life-long friendships.

Au Pairs are Essential During Pandemic and Beyond

As published in Medium on September 14, 2020.

Families are managing challenges with their children going back to school in a world that certainly looks different than it did last September. Many school districts have returned to classes virtually and parents continue to work from home. Now, more than ever, families are looking for childcare solutions to meet the moment. One popular option is the U.S. State Department Au Pair program. The federal Au Pair program is a cultural exchange program that enables young people between the ages of 18 and 26 years old to experience life with an American family.

This week, EurekaFacts (an independent research firm) released one of the most comprehensive Au Pair program reports to date. EurekaFacts surveyed 10,881 au pair participant alumni and 6,452 host families to determine the impact of the program. By all objective measures, the report demonstrates the overwhelming success and positive impact of the Au Pair program. The report corroborates the very positive annual reports of program sponsors (the U.S. Department of State, which oversees the program, requires annual audits). The report confirms that: the program provides flexible and dependable childcare support for American families, while supporting economic growth; the program serves as an invaluable foreign policy tool; and au pair participants and host families are satisfied with their experience.

Ameena, an au pair host parent in Missouri explains, “As a dual-physician household, our childcare needs are unique and variable due to our work schedules and having no family in the city where we live. We considered many local childcare options and have had great difficulty in finding a solution. The Au Pair program provides a trustworthy and reliable way to provide secure childcare while at the same time broadening our children’s cultural experiences. We had a successful and extremely positive experience with our first au pair over the past year.”

The Au Pair program provides participants with broad exposure to American culture and society and fosters greater knowledge and appreciation among Americans of the participants’ home countries. According to the EurekaFact’s survey, 97 percent of au pair alumni gained a better understanding of American culture during their time in the United States.

Laura, au pair host parent in California explains, “During these unprecedented times, the Au Pair program has been such a cultural and personal blessing. Not only is my daughter, now two years old, learning about the South African culture through our exceptional au pair, I am able to care for our newborn during the uncertainty of the COVID 19 crisis. We are middle class Americans, and the Au Pair program has allowed both of us to work in a major U.S. city. Using our skills and talents to directly impact the healthcare and education industry would not be possible without our au pair.”

The EurkaFacts report demonstrates that the Au Pair program is additionally an important tool for economic growth. Au pairs spend approximately $257 million per year on items such as food, entertainment, and travel in the U.S.

Critics of the program have argued that many au pairs are not satisfied with the program. EurekaFacts, however, concludes that the criticisms of program opponents are unfounded. According to EurekaFacts, critics leverage “very little supporting data from program participants, elevate the opinions of those whose experiences are the exception, and are at odds with the vast majority of au pair experiences.” EurekaFacts finds that 90 percent of au pairs rated their experience in the U.S. as excellent or good. The program is exceedingly popular and grows largely through word of mouth. 86 percent of host families are very likely or somewhat likely to recommend becoming a host family to friends or family in the future.

The Administration through its June 22 presidential proclamation suspended issuing visas for most au pair participants through the end of December. The EurekaFacts report, however, demonstrates the critical nature of this program. With numerous challenges during these uncertain times, the Au Pair program remains a lifeline for many families including the ability for host parents to be able to work full-time. Importantly, the program also enriches international participants and creates lasting relationships with their American host families. For all these reasons, the Administration should resume issuing visas for participants of international exchange programs, including those hoping to join American families as an au pair.

Ilir Zherka is the Executive Director of the Alliance for International Exchange.