"Not a cultural exchange at all "

My experience wasn’t too bad, but the program is not a cultural exchange (in the most of the cases). The most of the families are looking to get low cost child care and they actually admit it is cheaper to have an au pair instead of having a nanny or babysitter, and that’s the main reason they “get” and au pair, but not because they are interested on having a cultural exchange 😅
No matter how good is your relationship with your HF or HK, you’ll be always a worker for them, don’t forget that 😅 so it’s better if you don’t have too much expectations

"Experience as an Au Pair"

I’m an Au Pair from Cultural Care and from the beginning they bothered me with calls and emails. During the time in the US I still got unnecessary emails.
The paying is bad but I think that’s the Au Pair program in general.
The flights home which you can choose are horrible!!! It would be so much easier if you would just book your own flight on Expedia/booking/etc….the flights which you can choose doesn’t make any sense also they charge you because of everything…Cultural Care just wants the money and that’s it! They are so expensive and still just want money…I can’t recommend this Agency!

If you want to do an Au Pair year what is really fun if you have a good family, choose a different agency.

"My Experience with Cultural Care Au Pair"

After going through two rematches due to poor conditions with my host families, my experience with Cultural Care has been bittersweet. During my second rematch, the only option they provided was staying at an LCC’s house under terrible conditions—lack of safety, poor hygiene, unsanitary living spaces, and very limited food. For an agency that claims to prioritize the well-being of Au Pairs, this was extremely disappointing.

Additionally, the platform needs major improvements. Right now, Au Pairs can only interview with three families at a time, which still significantly limits our chances of finding a suitable match. Allowing at least five interviews would give us more opportunities to make better-informed decisions and avoid bad experiences.

Another critical issue is the unfair pay structure. I currently live in California, one of the most expensive states in the U.S., and I am paid the bare minimum allowed by the program. Meanwhile, Au Pairs with other agencies receive up to three times my salary while working fewer hours because those agencies apply state labor laws regarding hourly childcare pay. Cultural Care should follow the same regulations to ensure fair compensation in states where childcare workers are legally entitled to hourly wages.

Most importantly, the agency must ensure that host families comply with program rules. My first host family made me work beyond the legal hours and care for children who were not part of the program. In my second placement, I reported that they forced me to work 20-hour shifts, yet Cultural Care still allowed them to remain in the program. Worse, they let this family leave a negative review on my profile, which was completely unfair given the circumstances.

Although my current host family has been a better experience, Cultural Care has a long way to go in protecting Au Pairs and ensuring they are placed in safe, fair, and respectful environments. I hope they listen to Au Pairs’ concerns and take action to implement these necessary changes.

"Au pairs need more rights. "

I did not have a bad experience as an au pair but if it was bad, the agency wouldn’t have done anything for me. After the host dad yelled at me for the 2nd time due his anger issues, the lcc said in front of me and the host family that I couldn’t do a rematch. I asked why and she just said “it’s just not a good reason”. After that o left the program. The host familly took it personal. We should evaluate the people who hires a person who is traveling so far more. You come from so far away and 80% of the times (or even more) you find yourself treated like the worst piece of art just because they think they own you. And the agency of course will be on the side of who pays more.

"Its great time IF YOU HAVE A GREAT…"

Its great time IF YOU HAVE A GREAT FAMILY.
The program needs more rules for the HF like they have them with the AuPairs.
AuPairs PAY for this, is not a favor they are making for them, they need nor respect and backup!
The salary NEEDS a raise ASAP! Even tho they family provide stuff is an Abuse get paid FOUR DOLLAR PER HOUR! ($4dl x hr) working with one of the most important ways that is with humans.

My experience has ben AMAZING but onlu because of my positivism and the great family i have, not because of the agency.

"I had a good experience"

I had a good experience, however I feel this is NOT a cultural exchange. The host families just want a low cost child care. Working 45 hours a week just for $200 isn’t enough in this economy. (I know we don’t pay for food or other things, but sometimes we have to pay for our own gas and personal stuff) if I had the chance to do the program again I will never do it. Again, this is not a cultural exchange, the families only wants low cost child care

"Horrible program, please end!"

Its a bad program in general, needs to have more filters for the families since A LOT of families are in this program just to have someone cheap working all day, no because they even care for the person who’s living with them, the amount of hours that we work are RIDICULOUS and you can see it even in facebook groups of host families that sometimes people ask for the benefits to host an aupair and they say, if you want housekeeper plus nanny get a aupair , the payment its RIDICULOUS you CAN NOT do anything with 200-250 dlls more in areas like NY, CT, NJ because even sometimes we gotta pay for the gas of the car that you use with the kids , the only good thing about this program are my friends, and not, rematch isnt easily because you have to face the families and no one tell you the fear that you feel in that moment so sometimes you just have to live whit this…
I dont recommend no one to do it, and if i have to it will be just for the travels (that are not a lot since our payment , unless are with the family and no one tell you how its traveling/working) and the friends that you can make

"Unfair program "

The program is too heavy, long hours shift, sometimes you don’t have time to yourself, super low stipend specially if you live in an expensive city, (with the part that some of you work with 3 kids!!!)
HF literally just care that is a lowcost nanny that also works as a house keeper bc thats how u sell it with your “light cleaning” promise, it could all be worth it if its stipend was fair, they should charge per kid/ per hour or something fair for the two parts!!

"Great idea, HORRIBLE execution"

The general idea of the program is fantastic. Unfortunately, we can't live off promises and sweet dreams.
The majority of the families have an AP for the low-cost childcare, therefore the whole experience quickly turns a nightmare.
Schedules are hardly respected, all of a sudden you're chores list grows and grows and have nothing to do with kids tasks, the disrespect and low effort to communicate properly, the allowance compared to all the work were required to do is not fair.
We don't leave the comfort of our homes to go to a new country and live with a family that will put restrictions on the food you can eat from their house.

Join this program if you know how to speak up for yourself, if you know how to establish clear, oportun and healthy limits. Otherwise, it'll be chaos.

"Tolle Erfahrung"

Ich hatte ein super tolles Jahr mit CCAP und würde die Organisation jedem von vollstem Herzen empfehlen!