Additional Questions Asked

SOME QUESTIONS ASKED

BY POTENTIAL AFS HOST FAMILIES

In our 62nd year, AFS offers your family the opportunity to open your home and share a semester or a year with a teenager from one of more than 50 countries. Attending school and sharing your family life are two major activities of the AFS program. Below are answers to questions commonly asked by interested families.

1. WHAT KIND OF STUDENT WILL WE GET? CAN WE CHOOSE?

Experienced local volunteers together with skilled professional AFS staff, and YOU, will select a suitable young person who will be interested in you and your family’s way of life. Most students are between 16-18 yrs. Placements are based on your family’s interests and individual characteristics. During the interview and review process, AFS encourages you to express any special concerns and identify interests you would like to share with your student.

1. HOW WILL IT BENEFIT OUR FAMILY? Hosting involves everyone in the family. A new person in your family brings a fresh perspective to everyday life. It can open the eyes of children to a world beyond their backyard and school. It can reinforce their interest in foreign language and travel. It can also be fun to have a new sister or brother. Remember that your family has ways of doing things, which you probably take for granted. With an AFSer, you’ll learn that there is more than one way to look at the world. This will inevitably require adjustments on your part as well as the participants but host families report that the greater the level of acceptance on both sides, the greater the value of the experience for everyone.

1. ARE WE A SUITABLE FAMILY? AFS students have a wide range of interests and personalities. There is surely one who is compatible with your family. The most important family characteristics are flexibility, a sense of humor, a willingness to share your way of life with someone from a different culture and the openness to having a new “member” of the family.

1. DO AFSers NEED THEIR OWN ROOM? No, although AFS requires that each AFS student have his or her own bed. A large proportion of AFSers share a bedroom with their new brothers or sisters. These young people are selected for their adaptability, and have chosen the challenge of living abroad for a year with a new family.

1. WHERE WOULD THE AFSer GO TO SCHOOL? If you have teenagers, it might be the same high school they attend. If you are not sure, AFS will approach the nearest appropriate high school.

1. I’M A SINGLE PARENT. AM I STILL ELIGIBLE? Certainly. A growing number of single-parent families enjoy this experience of hosting an AFSer.

1. WHAT IF WE HAVE NO CHILDREN? For some AFSers, living in a family with no children is an advantage since it allows them to stand on their own two feet and be more independent. “I knew right away that it was up to me to make friends and find my way. It was really good for me”, a recent AFSers said about her placement with a childless couple.

1. WHAT IF WE HAVE YOUNG CHILDREN? If you have only young children, a new older brother or sister may be just right. In fact, some AFSers express a preference for placement with a young family.

1. WHAT IF WE DON’T GET ALONG? AFS volunteers are fully prepared to find another host family for a student, if the placement is not successful. Each year thousands of young people are placed in homes across the entire U.S.A. In a situation where the “chemistry” doesn’t seem right, volunteers can often help to resolve misunderstanding or problems. If a move is necessary, AFS places no blame or fault on either side. AFS accepts that a few changes may be made each year due to “chemistry”. Thus, it is important for placement purposes to be as complete and candid as possible in your application and interview.

1. DOES AFS PAY HOST FAMILIES?

AFS does not pay families to host students. AFS host families choose to open their homes not for financial gains but for the many rewards that hosting offers. Your family is entitled, however, to a modest $50.00 tax deduction for each month that the student lives in your home.

1. WHAT ARE HOST FAMILIES EXPECTED TO PROVIDE?

You supply love, moral support, comfort, and basic needs, just as you would for a child of your own. Outside of that, the cost to you depends upon a number of factors, including your family’s lifestyle and customary level of expenditure, and to feed a child three times a day, plus the minor increase in water and electricity to your household, and transportation to and from school. The student brings his or her own spending money, for their clothes, and their social life outside of family activities.

1. WHAT ABOUT MEDICAL COVERAGE?

AFS students come to you with their own medical coverage, and there is a 24-hour support line to deal with any medical emergencies. Dental and vision is not covered unless it is a medical emergency.

1. WHAT IF WE HAVE A VACATION PLANNED AND CANNOT ACCOMMODATE OUR HOSTED STUDENT?

AFS urges hosts to share as many family experiences as possible. If you already have plans that will not accommodate another person, your local volunteer will assist in making alternate arrangements for your student during the time you are away.

1. WHAT SUPPORT DOES AFS OFFER OUR FAMILY?

Apart from expanding your horizons, AFS provides local contacts that will help your family and the AFSer to get the most from your year together. Each student and family is assigned a liaison as a direct contact on a monthly basis for questions or concerns and to act as a kind of “Aunt” &/or “Uncle” to the student and family. In addition, there are regular orientations and events throughout the year which provide everyone with opportunities to meet others involved with AFS and who are enthusiastic about making a practical contribution to peace and international understanding.

“AFS-USA works towards a more just and peaceful world by providing international and intercultural learning experiences to individuals, families, school, and communities through a global volunteer partnership. “

AFS is a 501©3 not-for profit organization. Membership: Alliance for Intercultural Educational and Cultural Exchange; CSIET; National Charities Information Bureau For more information also see 1-800-AFS-INFO

updated by Greater Cleveland Area Team- AFS, Jan.2009, Local Contacts: East: Carol 216-283-8341, ; Krista 216-932-4081, , West: Nancy 440-234-3821