Au pair program is a model for solving our child and elder care problems 

America has a caregiver problem. Democrats and Republicans both want the federal government to do something to help families struggling to afford the high costs of child care and elder care. The question, however, is how to help.  

How can the federal government expand the supply of child care in urban areas, where waiting lists are long, and in rural areas, where sparse populations make traditional day centers impractical? How can we provide assistance to seniors who need caregiving help without worsening deficits or straining existing underwater entitlement programs like Medicaid and Medicare — as Vice President Harris’s proposed elder care program would do?  

The State Department’s successful au pair program provides a model for how policymakers could make it easier for families to engage live-in help.  

Currently, the State Department facilitates live-in caregiving arrangements for people coming from outside of the country, who are between the ages of 18 and 26, as a cultural exchange program. Young foreign nationals spend a year or two in the U.S. living with an American family and providing that family with up to 45 hours of child care per week. In addition to room, board and other living expenses, host families pay au pairs about $1,800 a month. 

Independent Women’s Forum’s Kristin Shapiro has persuasively argued that the State Department should expand the scope of this program so that America’s senior citizens can engage caregivers in a similar relationship. Seniors, who are even more likely than families with children to have a spare bedroom, could also host an au pair and provide room, board and payment in return for services like driving them to medical appointments, making meals, running errands, and performing other household chores.   

Yet why should American caregivers of all ages be denied similar opportunities to get room and board as well as paid work?   

The Department of Labor should explore creating a similar program for American citizens and residents who want to work as caregivers to find host families under similar terms. The Department of Labor could designate sponsoring organizations, as the State Department does, to oversee these relationships and protect the interests of both workers and host families.  

Domestic caregivers would undergo similar vetting to ensure they are suitable and can safely live with families or the elderly. Host families or individuals would provide similar payments and in-kind support and follow similar rules for documenting hours worked to ensure caregivers have time off, are provided for, and are fairly compensated.

This may sound like a relationship that only wealthy families could afford, but given that regular day care for just one child can cost as much as $1,600 per month, families with multiple children may find such live-in domestic caregivers comparatively affordable. Additionally, this might appeal to working parents who would rather keep their child in their own home rather than at an off-site daycare facility, but cannot afford the $3,250, on average, monthly cost of hiring a nanny.  

And it’s not just the families that would benefit from this option; caregivers would as well.  

Fair Labor Standards Act regulations governing domestic workers can be burdensome and confusing. Employers are expected to document hours worked in a manner that’s difficult in the often gray world of caregiving, when a child may need five minutes of soothing in the middle of the night or help with a small task. The complexity of complying with regulations leads many families to engage babysitters or caregiving help outside of the official legal and regulatory context. That’s a risk for the employer, but also for workers who can end up without fair compensation or basic protections as well as no lasting employment relationship.

The American Caregiver program would create new options and opportunities for families and workers alike. Among those who might be interested in live-in work opportunities are recent legal immigrants who, like current State Department au pairs, would benefit from housing and help integrating into American culture.

It could also provide opportunities for higher education students to obtain housing and provide for themselves while working toward educational and other goals. Older women who are approaching retirement but feel financially insecure — a growing share of the population — may also be attracted to work opportunities that allow them to save on housing while preparing for retirement.

Congress has an opportunity to create a new paradigm for employment based on an existing, successful federal program. It would cost taxpayers close to nothing and create new, better, safer work opportunities for caregivers, while making it easier for families and seniors to get the help they need. This is an idea that should have bipartisan support.

Carrie Lukas is the president of Independent Women’s Forum. Heather Madden is the policy staff director at Independent Women’s Forum.