Your Community Counselor and your "Cluster"

Community Counselor

Within 48 hours of your arrival in your host family's home your Community Counselor will be in touch with you and within two weeks of your arrival she or he will meet with you and your host family. The Community Counselor is Au Pair in America's local representative and is there to provide information and guidance to all members of the cluster.

During the year your Community Counselor will plan a monthly meeting or activity for you and the other Au Pairs and EduCare Companions in your cluster to attend. These are opportunities to meet socially with other participants, share your experiences, talk about any concerns and have some fun! Your Community Counselor will also help you to select and register for educational courses.

A Three-Way Relationship

Your host family and you will be in communication with the local Au Pair in America representative, your Community Counselor.

Each of you has key roles in the relationship:

Your host parents will be hosting you as their Au Pair or EduCare companion, training you and monitoring your care of their children. They will provide you with room and board, and accept and treat you as a member of the family.
You, the Au Pair or EduCare Companion, are expected to care for the children under the guidance of the hosting parents and develop an understanding of the United States and its culture.
Your Community Counselor can help you get to know your new community and will monitor the activities of your exchange relationship to ensure they are in keeping with the intent of program. He/she will help to maintain a balanced relationship between you and your host family.

Contact & Communication

To establish a successful three-way relationship it is important to keep communication open between all three parties.

You and your host family will talk daily; you can expect to be in touch with your Community Counselor as follows:

Within 48 hours of arrival:
your Community Counselor will contact you by telephone or personal visit to ensure that you have arrived safely and have begun to settle into your new routine. If you are participating on the EduCare program, your Community Counselor and host family will also assist you with choosing your courses and registering at you chosen college.
After 2 weeks:
your Community Counselor will arrange to meet with you and your host parents.

This is an opportunity for him/her to:
- observe your relationship with your host family
- speak with both of you about your training period
- review your educational needs
- establish how well you are coping with your childcare duties and responsibilities and life in the United States
- allow you and your host family to air any concerns and issues you may have
- review your "on duty" schedule and have both you and your host family sign an agreement to that effect

Monthly Contact:
Your Community Counselor will arrange a cluster meeting or activity once per month. You are expected to attend these as, in addition to giving you the chance to speak with your Community Counselor, these meetings will give you the opportunity to:
- meet other Au Pairs and EduCare Companions
- discuss issues that you will face over the course of the year
- participate in interesting activities
- update and develop your knowledge of childcare

Your Community Counselor will also be contacting your host parents once a month, usually by telephone.

Your Community Counselor is available to speak to you at times other than those outlined above, when needed. He/she will let you know when they are usually available, plus how to deal with issues and emergencies at other times.

Your Community Counselor will not be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You must be sensitive to what is a true emergency rather than a concern which, although it may be important to you, is not an emergency. Appropriate time frames for responding to messages must also be considered.

Remember: our Connecticut (US) office has a 24 hour free phone line if you are unable to contact your Counselor - or another Counselor covering for his/her duties - in an emergency.

Your Cluster

By becoming an Au Pair or EduCare Companion with Au Pair in America you become part of a cluster, a group of other Au Pairs and EduCare Companions within a community. The cluster, under the guidance of the Community Counselor, acts as a support system for the group of Au Pairs and EduCare Companions and their host families. Some clusters are small and other clusters are large.