Cultural Care Au Pair

Reviews

• July 1, 2020
  "My children' mother uses this service. The male au pair watching my 10year old sons does not engage them. But worse, he takes it upon himself to harass and abuse me, the children's father. Recently, he initiated a situation that ended very badly, and was a horrible experience for my children,.by slamming a door in my face and then mocking me. He's doing this instead of engaging with my sons. I called Cultural Au Pair, and they refused to even speak with me, because I was not the name on the account. I explained the au pair was caring for why children, and that did not matter to them in the least. If you want to your children to be engaged and an au pair who does not create conflict, you should stay far fro this company. There are better companies for you to use."
  - MoJo1965
• June 10, 2020
  "Cultural Care is a bigger au pair agency in the USA. I have heard many stories of both failures and successes. I personally found my au pair host family through a smaller more intimate agency called Au Pair Butrfly. httpswww.aupairbutrfly.comenbeaupair I thought the experience was a lot more personal. "
  - Edwina
• May 8, 2018
  "I was excited for this experience seeing I had heard good things from a person that I know. So after reviewing all the applications that were eligible to take care of a child less than 2 years old and interviewing I chose a great au pair, or so I thought. Upon her arrival I find out that she has never changed a diaper even though I have reviewed this with her prior to arrival. It became obvious that she didn't know how to take care of any child. She left my child on the changing table by himself after being told not to, lit the stove burners that could be reached by my child, left pans on the stove with handles that could be reached by my child, put him In the crib with his sleep sack rather than putting him in it because he didn't want to put it on, let him feeling go up and down the stairs without paying attention despite being told he shouldn't do that yet because he is unstable. There are a lot more issues included. I ask the placement people at cultural au pair about her experience and apparently experience counts towards qualifications even if the child is solely under the roof of the same house. She never cared for a child on her own but was allowed to present herself as having experience. Please be aware of the danger surrounding using Cultural Care Au Pair!!!! They do not check the capabilities of their au pairs endangering your child and the. On top of that refuse to give a refund! You will lose thousands of dollars dealing with them. They could care less and find any excuse to keep your money. This experience isn't worth losing your child's life or severely injuring them. Please also keep in mind this person stole from me before she moved on to her next family in Milton, Mass. I can only pray their children aren't harmed. Please please don't use this agency. The only reason they remain in business is because of their business tactics and refusal to do what is right."
  - LSully
• April 25, 2018
  "Terrible agency They lie to get you on board The Au Pair application do not reflect the Ap Actual experience A large agency and a large scam The sales people or Lcc make commissions on each sales that ranges from 600 dollars per new family to 1500 They just want your money they don't care about quality and corporate Is the worst In order to shut people up or comment they will either Pay off or threaten to see you Stay away and look at other agencies Maybe smaller but that have morals"
  - Former family
• September 3, 2017
  "This agency is the worst. Honestly hire a nanny, you will be so thankful You did! Our Au pair was dangerous and a liar and I altered my LLC many times only to be pacified again and again. Then when everything came tumbling down and the higher ups at Cultural Care called, the literally tried to offer me 400 to sign a form releasing them of all responsibility. Then upped it when I would not sign to 800. No thanks I want more than that since my Au pair stayed in the US and didn't use the ticket back I paid for and we let her go early. No support from the company. They are all sweet on the phone then only Support the Au pairs. It's horrible."
  - Tiffkat2000
• November 30, 2016
  "I know experiences differ, but stay far away from Cultural Care Au Pair if you are looking for an au pair. At the very least, cut an au pair loose as soon as you know it is not working out. Get someone who is only interested in getting to America and hates working with kids and the agency will defend them up and down while they go off somewhere else or get out of their contract while you're stuck with yours, which is the most onesided legal document you'll ever encounter. I can't even begin to describe the amount of lost productivity and gained frustration this whole experience has cost us."
  - Host Family
• May 2, 2016
  "Our family has had experience with two agencies, Expert Au Pair and Cultural Care. We had an excellent experience with Expert Au Pair, which I have addressed in another review. Cultural Care was fraught with problems that have direct impact on families and au pairs. Here is a summary of some of the problems. 1 They insist on having all conversations over the phone, regardless of the customers preference. This was initially difficult and annoying because of the time difference with their offices and my work schedule. However, it appeared more and more that this is a strategy the company uses to avoid putting anything in writing. 2 Our au pair came from a rematch situation. The au pair coordinator threatened her with having to leave and told her she would never rematcheven though we had already said we wanted her she learned about our family informally through our former au pair, her sisterwe were always VERY CLEAR about this. The agency kept insisting that she was breaking the rules by advertising for a new family before breaking it off with her old onewhich she never did. She was scared and confused. 3 When we switched to this agency, we were told, with great confidence, that they would match the second year discount of our prior agency. When it was time for the second year to begin, the person who gave us this information had left the company and we were left with their inflated prices. WE WOULD NOT HAVE SIGNED ON WITH CULTURAL CARE IF WE HAD KNOWN THIS. 4 The rules regarding attendance at au pair meetings were such that our au pair could not do the hours we planned out for her we were looking for a weekend au pair meetings were always on weekends. 5 The turnover at the company, in our experience, was suspiciously high. We rarely had the same contact for more than a couple of months. In summary, Expert Au Pair was far more professional and responsive and much less expensive. Business Owner Response Hello to perspective Vermont families who are looking for au pair childcare. I am the Local Child Care Consultant for Cultural Care Au Pair in Vermont and I just read the negative reviews and none of these are reviews from Vermont families! At least none of the families that I currently have, which is all of them! While I'm sad to hear about those horrible situations, I can tell you that the 29 families here in Vermont are not currently experiencing anything like any of those stories! I can only speak for myself, but the au pairs and families here in Vermont are taken care of on a regular basis and are highly valued. Please consider Cultural Care if you are looking for a child care experience that is customized to your family and very affordable, especially if you have more than one child in need of care. Call me for more information at 8023183969. Ginger Farineau, Local Care Consultant"
  - losangeles71
• March 10, 2016
  "Unfortunately, We had a bad experience for the most part. Our first aupair was horrible with young children. She did not comfort, hold or care for them. She was on her phone most of the time. She also said that the training in NY was a total joke. She learned nothing about childcare. Talking to the LCC didn't work as she really didn't care about our children's and families needs, but more about keeping the aupair in a home. Our second aupair was better. She was good with the kids, but still didn't truly understand what being an aupair was. The day she left I found out she was smoking in our home the entire year she lived here. When we found evidence she didn't take blame and put eyes on to our 15 year old son. Our youngest has RSV at less than a week old and has asthma now. I couldn't figure out where the smoke smell was coming from. It was very upsetting. I sent 2 emails to the LCC and the director with no response from either of them. From what our aupair told me, the agency does not allow the aupair to tell the truth on the application so she had no choice but to lie. Well, guess who got screwed! We paid SO much money and will NEVER go through this agency again. They do not care and do not do the necessary work to ensure quality care of your children."
  - Lappin
• January 24, 2016
  "Go look at reviews on Yelp. This is a scam organization run by people who care nothing for child safety. My au pair stole my car, crashed it, lied and didn't report to police or insurance then it was uncovered that she had ordered a fake ID with my last name attached to hers and was association with shady criminals she met online. Even worse was the treatment I received from Cultural Care and the shocking revelations I I covered about their highly unethical business practices including forcing dangerous rematch candidates onto unsuspecting families. "
  - LK
• January 19, 2016
  "Going through a nightmare at the moment with this company and my ex au pair. Au pair calme to us from South Africa and even after trying to do our due diligence during several interviews, completely missed the fact as we assumed surely cc will only allow folks with at least the minimum experience in childcare. This au pair had never ever done laundry in her life!!! Abandoned my kids on several occasions at home while she went out to hang out with a boyfriend. After the last episode prior to us confronting her she turns in resignation. I am seeking legal advice to make sure this scum bag is never in a position to take care of anyone's child her in the US. Cc is only interested in making profits and does not have my family 's I test at heart. The director Zita called me to advice me I will not be getting any refund and there is nothing they can do as we are past the 60 percent mark during which AP was with us. My mission now is to make sure as many people know about how careless this organization is and to do a thorough job on their due diligence because cc has no reason to look out for you once they have your"
  - triple treat
• January 11, 2016
  "Cultural Care Au Pair is a master at false advertising and negligence. They sell falsehoods to au pairs and families. They cannot retain local managers for long enough to provide adequate support The company been sued so many times that most of the staff effort goes to spin doctoring and legal defense. I dealt with au pairs that beat my child, left him asleep in a pool of vomit, trashed my house, made illegal recordings in my house, and refused to see doctors when they had faces covered with sores and Cultural Care did nothing but keep my money. Au Pair candidates are allowed to inflate their experience, collect fake references, and demand expensive perks as blackmail. STAY AWAY!"
  - JFusco
• September 18, 2015
  "Had high hopes for this program. Was looking forward to the cultural exchange with our Italian au pair with my husbands living abroad experience in Italy. But it was five weeks of me babysitting double the children. My load was not lifted but rather tripled. Horrible placement process. I think the only two questions in their screening process is Do you want to go to america? Can you stand hanging out with kids? That was our experience with our au pair. Absolutely no child care skills. After four weeks both us and the au pair did not find it a good fit. She said she was not aware that she would be watching the child for so long. She watched her for five hours while I was at school and she was scheduled for ten. ALSO MAKE SURE TO ASK ABOUT ALL THE HIDDEN COSTS. You will be required to pay for phone, vehicle, ins of vehicle, gas, setting them up i.e. shampoo, conditioner, face wash, lotion, tissues, towels, weather appropriate clothing, bedroom setting, driving them to get their social security number, drivers license, bank set up, drivers test diet exceptions organic or soy, dairy free yogurt Extremely frustrated that this was not shared prior to the au pairs arrival. Very tricky being a mom and in school full time. Also you get to find all these agencies and places yourself and take time out of your day all while you are paying the au pair. And the best part is when you discover its not a good fit you must continue to pay for two to three weeks for everything while she goes into transition. Seems if the au pair is reckless causing danger to your child any common sense company would have that employee removed immediately due to liability. It was also very comforting to know that my au pair was headed to a family who previously let their au pair go due to three traffic violations and two accidents. Did Cultural Care send her home? Of course not. They simply paired her with a family that needed less driving. Utilizing their resources rather than the care and concern of the host families. Save yourself and find something else. And get ready for a nice headache when you try and get out of the program. Do not trust cultural care or its employees. "
  - Katimballs
• September 17, 2015
  "I have been using the Cultural Care Au Pair Agency for 3 years now. We have had a great experience with them and with all of our Au Pairs. The experience has been positive for my family and children. I would say that the agency is not perfect, but they are good and supportive. They will listen to you if you make a stink about something. When it comes to searching for your au pair it is up to you who you choose, so you must do your due diligence when you interview girls. We interview our finalists at least three times. I did all my my searching and choosing of girls to interview. Do not depend on the matching specialist that you get. I believe that aspect of the program, is useless. If I have issuesquestions, I email our local care coordinator and the program director. All in All, we are happy with the agency."
  - VTMommy12
• August 22, 2015
  "Please do yourself a favor and do the research on this horrific agency. From your local coordinator to the director of the east coast, the worst customer service of any company. Read all reviews thoroughly, I wish I had, they are all true. I did not do enough due diligence, I only hope you will prior to engaging in any business with this company. I filed complaints with the company about the au pair lack of interest in the children, unsafe circumstances, taking time off when she deemed appropriate, they did NOTHING except remove her, send her to another home to get more money for ccap, refuse to provide a replacement, even though I found a suitable one and then keep the rest of the fees without providing services. It is called robbery, no contract condones this type of business and I am astonished that the agency is still in business, If I could they would have 0 stars, worse than that and this agency provides child care, there are zero regulations in this industry so please use a reputable one. I even asked them not to put my information on anything associated with this au pair's next move they put my full information against my instructions, which I am pretty sure is also illegal, posting my personal information against my advice not to online or otherwise they were trying to make it seem as though she weren''t half as bad as the agency knew, if you could only see the look on the face of the local coordinator in my home at the horrible performance of this ap you would be horrified at this agency, then did they send her home??? nope to another family, disgraceful and horrible. Now you know why they had to change their name and why horrible things have happened under their care. Choose carefully, they DO NOT CARE."
  - MomyNY
• February 24, 2015
  "I was an Au Pair with Cultural Care 12 years ago and by chance I came upon this website. I started reading the comments I must say I don't think is as bad but I can also understand the Families that are complaining. I think the bottom line and the most important thing is that those type of programs lack the proper screening and a trial period not only for the families but the Au Pairs too. My first match was a Family from Cape Cod area that painted such a beautiful picture about them that I felt like I would be stupid not to choose them. I had wonderful references both from School and also families that I worked with. I have been studying English since I was 6 years old and I knew the language would not be a problem. I am also a very tolerant since my both parents are handicapped and I grew up between people with disabilities.... The family was supposed to be extremely organized and self reliant and that was a must with 5 kids for me. They said that I would be responsible for just kids only, no cooking required plus tidying up after them. Well, When I finally arrived, I was very happy to be there after a whirlwind week and jet lag and all those things that happen when you travel across the Big Pond. The family was nice but I guess you need to also understand that there is always an adaptation period for both , not only the Family but the Au Pair too.They had me on a boot camp routine within 24h after my arrival without even letting me feel welcomed. That can really put you in a depressing mood plus all those new thins that I was supposed to be responsible for that were never discussed in a first place. I switch Families after 4 weeks. I know that Family blamed me that I was not a GOOD Au Pair but I believe that the Family was just not match and was not properly prepared to welcome a live in help. They were new to the program and they expected a Mary Poppins but I was not her. The Family that I transferred to was a God Send . As a matter of fact , after all those years I am very close to them and as they are to all the girls that they welcomed to their Home. There were some bad matches unfortunately that they experienced but those were replaced with girls that fit great. I can only say from Experience that the Families need to be very clear about what the want and before they make the decision to follow the program, talk to somebody who has been a part of it. As I person that was invited to a stranger's house , I did not expect to be babied but still wanted to be welcomed and I think this was what my second Family did. I can also totally understand the families that suffered through nightmares with the Au Pair that were just simply horrible. I strongly suggest for both Au Pair and the Family to take the matching process a bit more serious and beyond what the agency does. Talk a lot, ask those uncomfortable questions about the Family position but also the Au Pair position. Set rules from the beginning and be very clear about what you want . Go point by point about the requirements and what you expect and I know it will not a guarantee the perfect match but I might save you getting match by the agency with somebody that is not for you. I know it can work. Hope this helps"
  - MMaggieb83by
• January 29, 2015
  "This is a terrible agency. They are based in Boston and if you don't kiss the butt of the people who work there when they are totally unhelpful and it's pretty obvious they could care less, then they make up an excuse to not work with you. I was told I could get an au pair from them, and then after I was upset with how I was treated on the phone by themhow un helpful, inept, and bad they are on the phoneas in they don't know how to talk to clientsI was told they wouldn't work with me. The CEO is in Sweden, but the Boston office which is the main locationis a joke! They are so unhelpful and couldn't care less about their clients. If you Google this company for reviews, and you can also look at a parent website called Berkley Parents Networkthere are a lot of parent reviews as to how this used to be a good company but the management now is terrible. That was my experience. Rude, inept people. Don't know how they have a job there actually. There are other agencies that have better reviews like Great Au Pair and Au Pair Care."
  - Simone Bosco
• January 29, 2015
  "Had Au Pair quit after 8 weeks. They couldn't provide replacement in timely fashion since it was the holidays. Of course they said You should always have a backup plan. That is why we used this service!!! She also made it sound as I should have been able to know the Au pair was going to leave premature to go back to college, as I should have asked that in the interview. I couldn't believe it somehow came back on me. Not sure what they actually do. Not to mention it is like pulling teeth for anyone to even call you back. So make sure you have plenty of time to be persistent. So even though the Au pair left after 8 weeks they would not reimburse 40 of the upfront program fees. Pathetic. Of course they come back as they are not their employee's blah blah blah, but at the end of the day they could care less as they have your and you won't see it again. After a little more research found out that the au pairs have to pay a hefty fee to even get in their system 1500 and then they get less than 200 per week. For 45 hours per week that is below minimum wage, pretty sad and almost wouldn't sound like being legal, but it is. So after a scramble to find a replacement once she said they didn't want to put just a Warm Body in my home when she was referring to their candidate pool of Au Pairs I knew I was done. Anyone to think of people in that manner, especially since that is the only way it makes their company , very sad. Other companies out there, I would recommend going to them first."
  - Michigan2015
• January 15, 2015
  "Please stay away from this agency and from aupair in america. This whole program is a hoax. It is a way for unscreened girls to come to the US work illegally and get married. In fact most of them have this agenda. It is a huge loop hole in immigration. we have a 25 year old polish woman who is horrific. she complains about cleaning up after the kids. she yells at the children and is depressed all the time. Unfortunately she has matched now with another family who didnt even bother to check her biggest reference ME. i wonder what was told to the family. Believe me in the end they cost more because they are living with you and you barely get any money back."
  - mary4
• January 1, 2014
  "I wouldn't recommend this agency to my worst enemy. I've had one problem after another with both the au pair and the agency. Some of the issues with the au pair where major issues concerning the safety and wellbeing of my child. The training that they provide lacks a ton!!! The au pair let my 7 yr old go to the store alone, chastised him for having a bed wetting accident, refused to help him with his homework, and even mocked and made fun of him for asking for help with his school work. The LCC the supposed counselor who is supposed to act as the middle man and be the support to the family and au pair and available for emergencies was worthless. I would contact her about major issues and she would respond days later telling me she was too busy. Once, when the au pair just didn't come home for his shift, the LCC told me that sometimes au pairs do crazy things and that was it! After all the problems I had, I finally had enough and decided to end my relationship with the au pair and agency. The agency was actually recommending the au pair for placement with another family!! And this was even after the au pair said, during our exit meeting, that the reason he doesn't do all of his responsibilities in regards to caring for my son is because, he just doesn't feel like it. After the official decision to let him go, I was required to allow him to stay in my home for 2 weeks while the agency worked on finding him another family, or made arrangements for him to go home if no family could be found, and during that 2 weeks no one from the agency would speak to me, return my calls, or tell me what was going on in regards to him leaving. My au pair was told that he would be picked up today which is New Years Day and has heard nothing about a time or anything else. I called the LCC you know, that supposed emergency contact person who is refusing to call me back said so in a text and told me that she is unavailable for the entire day but to have a Happy New Year. On top of all of that, they are refusing to refund any of my money and have promised to send me a break down of the charges that would supposedly prove why I'm not entitled to a refund, but have failed to send it. If this review prevents just one family from going through everything I've had to go through, it was well worth writing."
  - MarieH
• August 4, 2012
  "I found there was a lawsuit in Florida where the mother stated that CC told her she had to take the AP who was in rematch transition here in the USA or else she would not have an AP which is what Terry Bell told me, like word for word. Ironically Terry is not my placement manager again. In my situation I chose an au pair in rematch. Neither family has an issue w the AP. The AP never has driven in snow or heavy rain I did not need an AP to drive. The previous HF would of liked the AP to stay longer while they looked for another AP. I was trying to get renovations done at the time. I CALLED the previous HF family and they stated they never said they would could not drive my AP to the airport midweek and I explained that I never demanded the AP come ASAP. The rush forced me to bring in workers on a Saturday last minute I paid extra when the rush was unnecessary. My LCC left me hanging over a month when I asked about how CC handled my AP's placement by lying to two families. I called Abby Gambil and left voicemails. Abby spoke with me once and said she would resolve it. Turns out after over three months of trying to get that one situation resolved where I never got a response to phone calls or emails after the ONE live phone call w Abby, who no longer is with CC. The situation still is not resolved bc CC says I did not escalate the issue in a timely matter HOW is it my fault that CC has 2 employees who did nothing for me and now have left the company? Yes my LCC has quit too! We have had continuing issues w CC. I followed protocol to qualify for many additional discounts as a repeat family 525, reapplying early 350, doing an early match placement 175 prior to my current au pair leaving. First the new placement manager never read the TWO emails I sent her with my list of minimum English level required, driving skills, age minimum, education level, and preferred country. I had numerous candidates sent to my account that did not fall close to the list. I was getting early calls 530 AM to 8AM which are unacceptable given I had a young infant when I recommitted to CC. My placement manger, Allyson, could not tell me even one of my requirements during a live phone conversation because it was obvious she never read my emails. I found my future au pair completely on my own which was EXTREMELY time consuming. When the invoice came it ONLY reflected my repeat family discount. Again many phone calls and emails BUT no direct response. It was only after the prospective AP stated that she did not go to the US Embassy bc I was leaving CC then SUDDENLY everyone was calling me. Then during the phone call I was told that CC was sorry I did qualify for the 525 350 BUT NOT the 175 bc I failed to call Allyson back I had matched officially position accepted acknowledged by CC on 75 not by 72. I explained an email is solid communication and will hold up in court much more strongly than the hearsay of a undocumented verbal phone call. I did not commit to CC and said I needed to really think about continuing with an agency that has caused us all so much grief. Suddenly later that day, I get a voice mail which clearly says that my prospective AP has her VISA AND FLIGHT BOOKED so if I don't commit they will place her with another family. I called the AP she stated she did not have the VISA since she NEVER went to the US embassy. There are additional issues but I don't have the time at this moment to go into more detail."
  - AG123456
• July 29, 2009
  "Cultural Care has been very helpful finding the right fit for our family. Our Au pair Nicole has quickly become a member of the family. She helps me with laundry, driving the kids around, and planning activities on these long summer days."
  - BShaw
• February 18, 2009
  "Cultural Care provided me with an au pair who treated my 1 yearold daughter very poorly. She was neglectful and too busy taking care of her own eBay activities. We were her fifth family in a 10 month period, something that Cultural Care didn't reveal at the time of the matching process, even when I asked for it. They instead recycled her over and over. When confronted with this, Cultural Care never admitted that this information was not provided, but they still refused to provide it. Leftovers from this au pair departure parking tickets from a previous home, notices of illegal downloading and bank letters regarding overdraft balances. Worst of all a child that suddenly became wary of all strangers."
  - Disgusted Parent
• February 4, 2009
  "For our family, this childcare option has been a wonderful solution for its flexibility. Over the years, we have been able to find two wonderful Aupairs from South America who have been caring, and a wonderful addition to our family. "
  - ellabecl
• December 17, 2008
  "This was the first year that I was used an au pair. After having one I don't think I could ever go back to not having one. Having an extra set of hands around has been so great and has relieved me of so much stress. Its been almost a year since we welcomed Laura into our home and since then she has become part of the family. We are already making to plans to visit her in Panama next year! Not having to have a set schedule or not having to worry about missing a day of work if one of the kids got sick has been a life saver! Cultural Care was very pleasant to work with, they helped us through the whole process and the staff was always very helpful and knowledgable. I receommend them to everyone I can! "
  - Megamomma
• August 2, 2008
  "An au pair is a great option for a busy family. Cultural Care offers lots of local support for both host families and their au pairs, with an extensive network here in Vermont. We had our first experience with a German au pair last winter. It was a good not perfect match, and we are looking forward to hosting a new au pair this fall. There were many positives for us having help at home, including very flexible schedules making it possible to get to that 6 am workout, easy snow days, and a date night for the parents each week. The kids enjoyed having a big sister at home and looked forward to their night out with her as well. There are downsides to having livein help such as hidden costs the additional car or cell phone, meals, gas money in VT, etc..., making room for another person in your home, and the overly social priorities of some of the au pairs... but when all is said and done it can be a real help. Being specific in your application and knowing what your needs are, and clearly communicating them to your potential au pair from the start, helps a great deal in finding the right fit."
  - andrea
• March 20, 2008
  "Cultural Care helped us find our wonderful Mexican au pair. I have four children aged 72 and they absolutely LOVE our au pair. We think of her as a member of our family and she treats my children as if they were her family. This program has allowed us to have flexible, reliable, responsible childcare while introducing our children to another culture. I highly recommend this program. Now that our au pair's year is almost over we are very sad to see her go but are excited to welcome our next au pair to our family."
  - nan

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