CSIET Host Family Recruitment Standards

From AFSWiki

This article describes acceptable practices for recruiting host families. Special instructions for finding host families at time of arrival are also included in this article. For more general instructions and best practices of host family recruitment, please see: Finding host families.

There are very specific guidelines that we must follow when publicizing our need for host families. It is extremely important that we follow the Council on Standards for International Education Travel (CSIET) Standards when recruiting host families through publicity. The full text of the CSIET Standards can be found on their website at www.csiet.org.

Please review the media policy before working with the media. If you have any questions or want advice, contact the Marketing and Communications Department.

CSIET Standards

The organization shall NOT publicize the need for host families via any public media with announcements, notices, advertisements, etc, that:

• are not sufficiently in advance of the student’s arrival
• appeal to public pity or guilt
• imply in any way that a student will be denied participation if a host family is not found immediately
• identify photos of individual students and include an appeal for an immediate family.

Following are guidelines for public media advertisements:

• CSIET has found the following words or phrases to be unacceptable: Urgently Needed, Don’t let me be homeless, This is an emergency…
• CSIET has found the following words or phrases to be acceptable: Open your hearts and homes, Host a Foreign Exchange Student…
• It is permissible to use a picture of a student, a first name, age, country of origin and a composite or generic listing of interests in an advertisement in order to demonstrate the personal nature of the program and the types of interests that students have. It is not permissible to identify that specific student as needing a home, nor is it permissible to refer to a student’s athletic ability or accomplishments. Written waivers must be obtained for the use of any student photographs.

Please note that there are also guidelines for using student's pictures in bio books and on Team websites at Team Website Guidelines, the Policies section of the page.

Recruitment at (or near) Arrival

The best communication method at time of student arrival is by word of mouth. If using public media, the best approach is to state 'host families are always needed in our area' and then cultivate responses to get what you need now.

There are very specific guidelines that we must follow when publicizing our need for host families. It is extremely important that we follow the CSIET Standards when recruiting host families through publicity.

Please address any questions regarding media policies and standards to Marlene Baker in the Marketing and Communications Department.

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