THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 15, 1994 TAG: 9412150392
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH SIMPSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
New regulations for a program that brings young Europeans to America to care for children of working parents could put the option out of the reach of middle-class families.
Parents will have to pay the live-in baby sitters, called au pairs, $55 more a week under the regulations, and will not be able to leave in their care children under 3 months old. Au pairs caring for children under 2 years must be at least 21 and have documented child-care experience.
The regulations, published in the U.S. Federal Register Wednesday, set off an outcry by parents who say the regulations will wipe out the child-care option for many two-career families.
The regulations follow reports of abusive behavior by some au pairs and host families, and the shaking death in August of a Loudoun County infant in the care of a 19-year-old Dutch au pair.
While the rules are supposed to reduce the risks to children, parents say they will price many middle-class families out of the program.
``That's a 50 percent increase in cost,'' said Steve Paulson, a Chesapeake resident who, with his wife, Shelley, have had four au pairs care for their two sons. ``For a family with two children, that's almost prohibitive,'' Paulson said.
Since the au pair program got the government's official blessing in 1986, the number of au pairs has grown from 300 nationwide to nearly 10,000. Au pairs have become a popular child-care option for Hampton Roads families. One agency, AuPairCare, has about 50 au pairs in Hampton Roads.
Although the program was started as a cultural exchange program for 18- to 26-year-olds, it has become popular among two-income families as a form of affordable care. In return for 45 hours a week of child care - usually for a year - host families provide room and board, a $100-a-week stipend, air fare and a one-time fee of about $4,000, which is less than the cost of a live-in nanny.
The new regulations increase the stipend to $155 a week and require host families to contribute up to $500 for six credit hours of study for the au pair. The stipend is based on a U.S. Labor Department formula based on the minimum wage and the cost of room and board.
Kathy Sparrow, regional director for AuPairCare, said many middle-class parents are concerned that the new stipends will force them out of the program. ``I hate to see a child-care solution pushed up the ladder two rungs,'' Sparrow said.
The regulations also require more screening and education of au pairs, changes most parents and au pair agencies support. ``That's good for parents as well as au pairs,'' Sparrow said.
Elena Igelsias, a 23-year-old from Spain who has spent the past year as an au pair for the Paulsons, said the changes appear positive for au pairs.
``For the au pairs, it's great,'' Iglesias said. ``But for the families, it's hard. Maybe they should increase the pay little by little.''
The regulations were written by the U.S. Information Agency, which administers the au pair program. Congress voted in October to give the agency the power to set and enforce guidelines for the eight organizations that recruit au pairs. Previously, guidelines were voluntary.
The regulations are scheduled to go into effect Feb. 15, but the public has 30 days to make comments about the proposed regulations. Sparrow said AuPairCare families have been encouraged to write to their Congress members about the changes.
James Morgan, a spokesman for the U.S. Information Agency which is a foreign affairs agency within the Executive Branch of the federal government, said his agency will review comments before deciding whether to revise or keep the proposed regulations.
``We'll have the final call,'' he said.
KEYWORDS: CHILD CARE BABY SITTING by CNB