(FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS)
AFS is a non-profit organization that seeks to promote world peace one person at a time. AFS coordinates international exchanges for high school students and teachers in over fifty countries. AFS has a strong support infrastructure made up of local chapters, Area Teams, Regional, and National offices.
An AFS local chapter is a structured group of volunteers in a school community who implement the AFS programs in that community by hosting and sending participants on AFS programs, and who work together to assure that the principles and standards of AFS are upheld.
An AFS Area Team is a structured group of volunteers in a specific geographical location who manage the operations of the local chapters.
A district is a geographical region of the state. As an example, Arkansas is divided into six (6) of these districts; they include the following: Northwest, Northeast, Southwest, Southeast, Metro, and Central. A representative from each of these districts sits on the Area Leadership Team and they vote on issues that concern the local chapters in their respective district.
Review the "Contact Us" section of this site for the Coordinators that have the information you require.
All kinds of families can be hosts. AFS's criteria for hosting is a secure, flexible, interested household of people genuinely interested in sharing their lives with a teenager, providing that young person with love and support, and learning about the world and its people.
AFS does not pay families to host students. AFS host families choose to open their homes not for financial gains, but for the unforgettable rewards that accure from sharing with a young person from another culture. Families are entitled, however, to a modest $50 tax deduction for each month the student lives in their home.
You supply love, moral support, comfort and basic needs, just as you would for a child of your own. The cost depends upon a number of factors. A major cost factor is your family's lifestyle and level of expenditure. The student will bring his/her own spending money.
AFS only requires that each student has his or her own bed. A large proportion of AFS students share a bedroom with their new siblings.
AFS students have their own medical coverage. There is a 24 hour support line to deal with medical emergences. Because AFS is the student's offical sponsor, the student is in the USA on a J-1 high school visa. The student's natural family remains his or her legal guardians under this arrangement.
You will wish it were longer when the time comes to say good-bye! Year Program students stay for approximately 11 months; semester students for 6 months. Recognizing that some families are not able to make such a long term commitment, it is possible to host for 3 months or a semester. Regardless of how long you host, most AFS students and families become "family for life."
Most students arrive in early August, although there is a small group of students from Southern Hemisphere countries who arrive in January, most for a semester. You receive an approximate arrival date with confirmation of your placement from AFS, and more specific information nearer the arrival time.
AFS students attend your local high school. Your local chapter volunteers will be happy to assist you in making these arrangements.
AFS prides itself on being able to offer local support to both the student and the family. This help is provided by three different groups of volunteers. First, each student/family is assigned a liaison or advisor. This person will visit monthly with all of the family members and the student to offer them a chance to talk to someone outside of the family about a possible problem. Secondly, the student is assigned an Aunt/Uncle. These volunteers help the family out by providing an opportunity for them to take a break for a couple of hours or over a weekend. The volunteer will pick up the student and take them to a movie, out to eat, or invite them over for the weekend. The third support person is the Program Support Coordinator. This volunteer acts as a counselor. It is their job to settle difficulties that crop up between the student and their host family or other students.
No hitchhiking;
No driving;
No drugs – using, buying or selling.
The purpose of these rules is to protect the participants – thus AFS will be very strict and any student found to have infringed these rules will be sent home immediately.
The cost of medical insurance is included in the price of the program. AFS covers all medical care and repatriation if necessary, but not medical care after the return of the participant or dental care or eyeglasses. For more details ask your AFS contact.
In as much as possible, AFS will request permission from the parents or legal representative before any surgical intervention is carried out, if and when necessary, for the health of the participant. Parents are requested to fill out a permission form ahead of time authorizing emergency care in case of
an accident or serious illness.
Yes, with prior permission from AFS and parents /legal representative. But the participant must be accompanied.
AFS is against the idea. Experience has shown that it is not a good idea. A year-long experience requires a certain frame of mind – you have to be able to be away from your family. If the student goes home in the middle, it would require a further adjustment upon return, for a second time.
For the same reasons AFS does not encourage visits of friends or relatives but it is the host country which decides whether or not to give permission.
We reimburse all partial payments except the registration fee. But if the student refuses the family AFS finds them, we do not guarantee to find another one.
Any additional expense will be paid by the participant.
AFS bears no responsibility for such a case but each student will be carefully prepared so that they are informed of the specific laws of each host country.
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