Families need more affordable childcare options, not to have good options taken away!
The State Department has just proposed new regulations for the nation’s long beloved Au Pair program that could double, even triple, costs for families. These new rules would gut the program—or eliminate it entirely as an option for working parents.
These proposed rules simply don’t make sense.
- Au pairs report high levels of satisfaction under the program’s existing structure, as do the families who engage them. Why is the Biden administration proposing to fix what isn’t broken?
- The proposed rules will cost families an additional $10,000 to $20,000 each year. They will also require families to take on new administrative burdens, like keeping a list of all meals offered “and accepted” by the au pair each week and obtaining written sponsor approval for any changes to the au pair’s weekly schedule. The proposed rules ignore the many ways families support au pairs by providing not only housing and food, but by incorporating them into their family life, providing other material support including access to cars, auto insurance, cell phones, and more.
- The rules also reduce the number of hours au pairs can be asked to work each week from 45 to 40.
- In essence, the Biden administration is proposing to reduce the number of childcare hours host families can use, while significantly increasing the cost.
- These changes will make this form of child care simply too inflexible and expensive for many families, which is a loss for working parents, au pairs, and American diplomacy.
Tell the State Department not to destroy the Au Pair program!
Only a few thousand families use au pairs—but there is no reason to take away this option and push these families into the childcare market, where childcare slots are often already scarce.
Your voice matters in this conversation!
We have until December 29, 2023, to weigh in on these proposed changes—regulators need to hear from you now!
Fill out the form to easily submit a comment to urge the State Department not to destroy a beloved childcare option and opportunity for young people from around the world to visit the United States.
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