Illinois - Au Pair in America

State Information

Au Pair in America in Illinois

Regional Update | Driving in Illinois | Education in Illinois | Tourist Information

Regional Update

Regional Presence:
Au Pair in America has 17 Community Counselors in a 5 state area, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Kansas and Missouri. Approximately 400 families are serviced throughout the region. There is a wide range of experiences available to Au Pairs who come to this region as our Northern states provide many possibilities to explore the great outdoors as well as offering a wide range of other cultural benefits. Au Pairs placed in Illinois will avail themselves of the benefits of living close to the third largest city in the United States and have access to excellent transportation hubs for travel to all destinations in the United States.

Quarterly Message:
January 2010
Counselors throughout the region that includes Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Indiana, Kansas and Missouri will hold monthly cluster meetings and when lots of good conversations will take place over hot chocolate and coffee!

The winter months in our region give au pairs the opportunity to experience outdoor winter sports! For many au pairs it is their first time to ski, ice skate, toboggan and sled and there are lots of ‘thrills and spills’ as they practice and enjoy themselves.

Some of the winter weather is just too cold to be outdoors and counselors throughout the region plan indoor events and offer au pairs the opportunity to purchase tickets for theater, ice hockey and basketball games. Au Pairs will learn about Super Bowl Sunday and Groundhog Day!

Au Pair clusters will celebrate Valentine’s Day and counselors will have a lot of fun with au pairs teaching them the American way of celebrating this holiday!

At the beginning of the New Year au pairs will begin their Spring Semester classes and will look forward to all that is ahead. Many au pairs will plan a Sun Trek trip and explore exciting destinations in the US in the safety of a well organized tour company. Planning a trip can help to chase away the winter blues!

The quarterly childcare discussions focus on fun indoor activities to do with the children during the cold winter months. Advice and support is also given to the au pairs about caring for a sick child at home and the serious topic of safe driving in bad road conditions is also discussed.

Throughout the year, au pairs are offered an American Red Cross Scholarship to become certified in Infant/Child CPR and Community First Aid and Safety. This is part of the ongoing training that Au Pair in America offers to all Au Pairs.

Regional Representative:

Pat Jacob has been a Community Counselor since 1987 and actively recruited host families in the Chicago area to the new idea of hosting an Au Pair. The program became an instant success in the area and Pat has since hired many additional counselors as part of the Chicago team. She currently supervises a cluster in the western suburbs of Chicago.

In 1994 Pat was the first Regional Representative appointed to the program for a 5 state Midwest area. In these capacity Pat interviews, trains and supports the area counselors, realigns cluster boundaries and supports marketing efforts in the region. She also arranges and facilitates formal and informal meetings for the region's counselors.

In 1998 Pat also assumed the position of Field Training Consultant and works closely with head office management staff to coordinate on-going field training opportunities. Pat authors training materials and leads the new counselor training session at the annual Community Counselor Conference.

Raised and educated in Dublin, Ireland with a background in business studies she has lived in Europe and traveled extensively. As a result she feels she has a much greater understanding of the challenges involved in cross-cultural exchanges. Pat is the mother of a married son in Boston and a daughter in Chicago.

Driving Information for Au Pairs

Visit the Illinois Services for Motorists website for information about driving in Illinois.

Educational Information for Au Pairs

The information listed here is your starting point to fulfilling the education requirement. Your community counselor will have the most popular and affordable choices in your area.

The schools listed here are not all reasonable options. Ask your community counselor for the schools closest to you.
Continuing Education (also Adult Education or Lifelong Learning) classes are generally the most affordable options for au pairs.
Review the cost, class schedule, and transportation needed for the classes you are interested in with your host family. You need to be responsible about selecting courses that meet at times that will not conflict with your work schedule. Take into consideration the time it will take to travel between home and the campus. Your host family must approve your plans.
Host families reimburse tuition costs and costs of related materials (books and supplies) up to $500 ($1000 for EduCare) for you to complete your six semester hours (12 for EduCare), or the equivalent. You are responsible for all payments for tuition, fees, books and materials that exceed the host family’s contribution. Education money is not paid to you in cash if you do not use the complete amount.
For more detailed information about the education requirement and education in the US, click here to see the ABCs of Education.

College of DuPage
http://www.cod.edu/

College of Lake County
http://www.clcillinois.edu/

Daley College
http://daley.ccc.edu/

Elgin Community College
http://www.elgin.edu/homepage.aspx

Harold Washington College
http://hwc.ccc.edu/

Harper College
http://goforward.harpercollege.edu/page.cfm?p=1

Joliet Junior College
http://www.jjc.edu/new/

Kishwaukee College
http://kish.cc.il.us/

Malcolm X College
http://malcolmx.ccc.edu

McHenry County College
http://www.mchenry.edu/

Moraine Valley Community College
http://www.morainevalley.edu/

Oakton Community College
http://www.oakton.edu/