Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 18, 1993 TAG: 9307160043
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BECKY HEPLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Long
Two New River Valley families have done that by enrolling in a child-care program that has international flair without all those Nannygate problems that pop up in the news these days.
AuPair Care is one of eight cultural exchange organizations designated by the U.S. Information Agency to implement an au pair program. The agency imports to the United States for a year at a time young Europeans who trade nanny services for room, board and a chance to sample American culture.
Anja Hackel is from a small town in eastern Germany. Though Spassfurst has about 25,000 people, it seems much smaller to her than the towns around here.
"There's so much to do here," she said.
Hackel arrived recently to join the David Kauffelt family in Giles County.
"It's quite a relief to walk out the door in the morning, not worrying about child-care," said Laurie Kauffelt, who walks out the door to Giles Memorial Hospital, where she is director of public relations. Her husband is a farmer and livestock broker.
"It's nice to know the children can stay at home, play with their own toys, go outside when they want," she said.
The Kauffelts have two daughters, 3 and 1.
"They adjusted to Anja immediately," Kauffelt said.
The mother wasn't aware of the program until Nancy Snow, AuPair Care's community counselor in Blacksburg, answered her ad for in-home child-care and proposed the international solution.
"We hadn't even considered live-in help," she said. "But the more we thought about it, the better it sounded. Then when we interviewed Anja, we knew we'd made the right decision. Now it's like she's a member of the family."
Hackel heard of the program at her school this year when former AuPair Care participants came to talk of the experience.
"I did not know what direction I wanted to take after school, but I did want to learn something about the world," she said.
Susan Bolin, AuPair Care's placement coordinator for the East Coast, said the au pair tradition is a strong one in Europe, especially for families not wealthy enough to send their children abroad to study or tour.
The process for picking au pairs and their host families is a rigorous one. Participants must be secondary school graduates between the ages of 18 and 25, conversant in English and experienced in child care. The visa process means the person will undergo a background criminal check.
Families that apply must fill out applications and there is a home visit by the community counselor to rule on their suitability. Once the family is approved, it handles the interviews and communications with potential au pairs and decides which au pair it wants.
Au pairs agree to be available 45 hours a week, over 5 1/2 days, for 50 weeks. The duties include child care and light housekeeping that pertains to the children, such as preparing children's meals, doing their laundry, straightening up their rooms, picking up their belongings and driving them to their destinations. The au pair is responsible for her own room and laundry.
The au pair is entitled to 1 1/2 days off per week, with a two-day weekend once a month and a 10-day vacation with pocket money during the year.
More important is the au pair's introduction to American culture.
Snow said families are encouraged to treat the au pair like a visiting niece or nephew (most are women, but some men apply and are accepted), taking the au pair with them on trips and vacations, including her or him in family activities such as meals or fun times.
Hackel has been introduced to the New River Valley Speedway and the Kauffelts are planning a trip to Disney World this fall.
This costs the family the equivalent of $170 a week for child-care. There is an initial deposit of about $3,500 to cover the costs of processing the applications, the community counselors' costs and fees, the au pair's travel cost from the home country to New York City, health insurance, and fees such as the visa application.
The family also handles auto insurance if the au pair will be driving, transportation from and to New York City, $300 in education costs and $100 a week, 52 weeks, for the au pair's pocket money.
"It's very comparable to what people have to pay for child care, especially if there is more than one child," Snow said. "Then, when you consider the cultural exchange aspect and the chance to broaden your children's horizons, it makes our program very attractive."
The program is remarkably successful. In just four years of operation, the company has grown so that AuPair Care this year will bring in 1,000 au pairs, 70 of them to Virginia. Only occasionally do hosts and au pairs not match up.
"We're dealing with people, not products, so there's always a risk involved, but generally we are successful," Bolin said.
Since the au pair is here on a cultural exchange visa, he or she can obtain neither a Social Security number nor a green card. Thus, the pocket money does not count as a salary and families do not have to worry about paying Social Security taxes.
Nevertheless, families may deduct the amount of the pocket money as child-care expense. For some parents, these are major incentives for choosing an au pair program.
"You wouldn't believe how our applications went up after the Zoe Baird thing," Bolin said. "Of course, some people just like the concept. Some of our host families are on their fifth au pair. I'd say over 50 percent are repeats."
That's the case with the Mike Norton family in Christiansburg. Anja Jorgensen (sounds like Ahn-ya Yawnson) of Bornholm, Denmark, is their third au pair.
Both Nortons work in Roanoke and, with three children - a 4-year old, a 22-month-old and an 8-month-old - live-in help was not only desirable, it was imperative.
"You can't believe how convenient it is having someone living in, especially when the children get sick," said Cheryl Norton, an accountant for Bell South. "Plus it's nice to have that other culture."
The Nortons were the first couple in the area to try the service. They had to go to Virginia Beach for their first orientation - Mike Norton heard about the program through a co-worker from the Tidewater area who had an au pair.
"We're veterans," said Cheryl, "and as long as we have the need, we'll keep using them."
by CNB