Tag Archives: State Department

The Au Pair Education Requirement

Au pairs are required to complete 6 credits or 8 CEUs or 72 or more hours.

EduCare Companions are required to complete 12 credits or 16 CEUs or 144 or more hours.

You may take credit or non-credit classes from an accredited college. Look on the right side of this page under “Education Options” for accredited schools in our cluster area. If you want to take a class at a school not listed here on my blog, please check with me first to make sure it is accredited. Otherwise, it would not count toward your education requirement.

Your host family will pay an education allowance to assist you in completing your education requirement. Au Pairs education allowance – $500, EduCare education allowance – $1000

There are ways to get your credits for just your education allowance, but it will not give you a lot of choices. Normally au pairs will contribute some of their own money ($200+) towards their education.

The APIA Advantage UCLA Course is the only State Dept. approved class with an online component. No other online classes are accepted.

Note: Au pairs should only take one weekend course for their education requirement. Using only weekend courses to meet your education requirement could result in the denial of your extension application (should you decide to extend.)

State Department Reception Honoring the 25th Anniversary of Legal Au Pairs in the U.S. & Au Pair in America

Click here to view the full program

Click here to view the full program

I was excited to take part in a very special celebration yesterday at the U.S. State Department. It was a reception honoring the 25th anniversary of the legal au pair program in the U.S. and Au Pair in America, the first au pair agency.

In 1986, The American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS) received designation from the State Department to sponsor a two year pilot au pair program and Au Pair in America was born.

Twenty-five years later and we have placed more than 87,000 au pairs from more than 60 countries worldwide with host families in 43 states.

APIA Director, Ruth Ferry (Asst. Sec. of State, Anne Stock & AIFS CEO, Bill Gertz)

Alexandra with her host mom, Donna.  Teresa with her host mom, Julie & I. I was very pleased theses au pairs and host moms from our cluster were able to attend this special event.

Asst. Sec. of State, Ann Stock.

Asst. Secretary of State, Anne Stock (Sen. Chris Dodd & AIFS CEO, Bill Gertz)

Au Pair in America Celebrates 25 Years!

Au Pair in America was established in 1986 as the first federally approved au pair program in the United States.  We have established high standards of excellence, partnering with the U.S. government, international partners, our U.S. field network, AIFS staff and orientation team to provide a quality cross-cultural experience for over 87,000 au pairs from around the world and thousands of American families.  Join us in celebration…

APIA pic