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Working parents who depend on the nation’s au pair program to provide care for their children can breathe a sigh of relief: After receiving over 10,000 public comments, the Biden-Harris administration announced that it’s backing off its attempt to overhaul the program and make it unviable to the thousands of families who participate.
While a victory, families who host au pairs should pause any celebrations. Though the rule has been delayed, the State Department plans to revisit its proposal and publish new, revised regulations in January 2025.
Under a Harris-Walz administration, new regulations could look eerily similar to those proposed under the Biden-Harris administration.
Established in 1986, the au pair program is an educational and cultural exchange program run through the State Department.
In exchange for providing flexible, in-home child care, au pairs get the opportunity to visit America for up to two years, develop their English, and enroll in educational opportunities.
According to recent reports, there are about 20,000 au pairs in the US today.
Despite acknowledging “broad satisfaction with the au pair program among current au pairs and alumni,” last fall the Biden-Harris administration proposed fundamental changes to the program that would make it unaffordable and unworkable for many host families.
The Biden-Harris administration claimed these updates were necessary “to ensure au pairs have similar protections as those afforded to domestic workers.”
But as one middle-class mother who’s participated in the au pair program since 2017 put it, “It is disheartening to see these proposed rules that could turn this program into a privilege only for high-income Americans.”
In one of her first rally speeches after replacing President Joe Biden at the top of the 2024 Democratic ticket, Vice President Kamala Harris claimed that “building up the middle class” and strengthening the “care economy” was one of her top priorities, which includes making child care more affordable.
Yet her administration’s proposal would’ve done the exact opposite for hard-working Americans, as one military family with three children wrote: “I know many military families that take advantage of the program because it provides the flexibility and stability necessary in military life that traditional childcare options cannot provide.”
Minimum wage laws are meant to ensure that American workers have enough money to pay for their living expenses. But au pairs are not domestic workers with typical living expenses.
They are participants in a voluntary exchange where host families cover the au pair’s housing, utilities, meals, car insurance, cell phones, and other miscellaneous items.
Families also pay program fees costing around $10,000 each year, which cover the au pair’s airfare, health insurance, and more.
Au pairs then receive a weekly stipend, meant to be pocket money for discretionary expenses, not reflecting the true benefits afforded to them.
In its misguided attempt to “strengthen labor protections for au pairs,” the Biden-Harris administration proposed to reduce the allowable working hours and double or even triple their pay, costing families an additional $10,000 to $20,000 each year.
For an administration with a track record of prioritizing the well-being of non-citizens over Americans, this proposal reflected more of that preference.
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Former President Donald Trump would be wise to capitalize on this contradiction, calling out Harris for attempting to gut a beloved child-care program that families have depended on for decades.
Moreover, Trump could do more than just permanently protect the program’s viability; he could move to expand it to include senior care.
An overwhelming majority of Americans (88%) want to grow old in their own home.
However, many senior citizens cannot live alone without support, such as help with light housework, meal preparation, and driving.
Enabling elderly Americans to age in place by expanding the au pair program to include senior care could help thousands of elderly Americans age in place at zero cost to American taxpayers.
Life for working parents is already hard enough.
For those of us with young children and aging parents to worry about, the au pair program is a unique, affordable solution.
I often refer to my current au pair from Brazil as my very own Mary Poppins.
Instead of threatening to take away my child care, politicians should give more families the opportunity to experience that magic.
Kelsey Bolar is the director of storytelling at Independent Women’s Forum (iwf.org).