Frequently Asked Questions

How is this different than working with an agency?

Welcome Home is not an Au Pair agency, nor is it affiliated with any agency. We work with all agencies (a much broader pool) to find your best fit Au Pair. We also act as your agent working FOR YOU. We are only successful if YOU are successful. We do not benefit from rematches. Our incentives are fully aligned with yours. Our fee is in addition to the fee you will pay an agency once a match is made official.

Is your service really worth the money?

Absolutely! As a Finance MBA, I love this question. In pure $$$ - Agency extension fees are around $1-$2K less for a 12 mos extension vs. first time family fees. That alone pays for the service giving you much better odds of extension - never mind the pain, stress, and time cost of a potential rematch before your first year ends. Ask any host parent the true cost of a rematch - it's far more than $ that is lost and (we believe) highly avoidable! 

Is something wrong with our family that we can't find a match on our own?

Absolutely not! The truth is there is an Au Pair out there for every family, and a family for every Au Pair. But it takes a lot of time and skill to sort through the thousands of profiles on both sides and zero in on great matches. That is what we are here for. That said, there are surely families that command a more challenging search due to their criteria - and we can walk you through how to address this during our consultations.

What if I am already registered with an agency?

That's fine! We can work to find Au Pairs from a specific agency or broaden your search if you are open to registering with multiple agencies. 

Do you log into my agency account?

If you'd like!- We conduct our searches primarily through social media channels where a much broader pool of motivated Au Pairs are eager to engage with us, in addition to tapping into our own Au Pair community and referrals. If you are already registered with an agency, we can also leverage the agency portal as an additional channel. However, we will never pretend to be you or share your personal information until you personally meet an Au Pair during your own interview with them (unless you'd prefer us to disclose before hand).

How long does it take to match with an Au Pair?

If you are planning far in advance, the process can take 4-6 mos from start of search to Au Pair arrival. We aim to match Au Pairs within 1 month of search or less and the remaining time is spent obtaining visas and working through the agency processes. 

Exactly when do we pay for Matching Services? 

Payment is invoiced when the match is mutual between the Au Pair and the host family.

Do you provide a refund for rematches?

We do everything we can to avoid a rematch. We want all of our customers to be thrilled with their experience with us. While we do not have a formal refund policy, we will do our best to rectify any situation that arises. Ask our customers and they can attest to this!

Do you charge Au Pairs?

Absolutely not!

We welcome highly qualified Au Pairs into our community free of charge. While there is no fee, we do require all Welcome Home Au Pairs to complete a thorough vetting process, provide supporting materials, and respond in a timely and professional manner.

What value does Welcome Home provide Au Pairs?

First and foremost - access to our amazing host families who are willing to put extra time, effort, and investment into ensuring a great match. This is exactly what so many Au Pairs seek in their own searches - but find difficult to find on their own. 

We also provide a deep level of support for Au Pairs that are finding it difficult to find their best match family for a variety of reasons - limited LCC support, small agencies, minimal experience conducting interviews, etc.

What happens if I find my own Au Pair?

Your success is our success. We only get paid if our service matches you with an Au Pair that you deem a great match. 

We do not encourage families to conduct their own searches in parallel to our search - so as not to confuse candidates and to ensure full family engagement during our Welcome Home search process. However, we will never force a family to select an Au Pair they are uncomfortable with. We want you to be THRILLED with your selection, and if we are unable to find your match - by all means, we encourage families to search themselves after our search is complete.

Why Welcome Home?

We are uniquely positioned to be able to treat every client's search as our full time job. When we take on clients, we clear our schedules to fully invest our calendars and experience into each search. With this approach, we are able to assess a broad set of options quickly and effectively, with rigorous vetting processes and the ability to move quickly against exciting options. We aspire to match clients with exceptional fits within weeks, not months. We put ourselves in your shoes and treat each search as our own. We know your time is valuable and childcare can't always wait!