Form A follow-ups
From AFSWiki
The process described on this page has been replaced by Hosting Lead Management Process as of early 2009.
One of the many steps in finding a host family, and one that's appropriate for relatively new volunteers, is calling Form A contacts.
The Info Center gets info on families interested in hosting from several avenues, and these usually result in a completed Form A containing basic information about the family. To follow up, we want to find out whether the family is really appropriate to be an AFS host family, in which case we want to help them complete a Host Family Application, or whether we should close down this lead. Many of these potential families have misconceptions about hosting, live in areas that do not have school openings, etc. But, there are golden families in there too! The trick is sorting out the keepers from the rest. This is an excellent short and easy volunteer job, that hopefully will get some new volunteers interested in volunteering on the hosting side.
If you have volunteered for this task, you'll need a source of Form A information. Ask your Team Hosting Coordinator or your Team Volunteer Coordinator to help get you hooked up. Then you are ready to make phone calls. The calls typically are best made evenings and weekends. While many of the Form A leads are sent directly to local coordinators, many of these calls could be made by anyone. A call typically might take about 20 minutes on average- and some may be much less. Some families will have changed their minds, and those take a minute or less, once they are on the line. Your job is to answer basic questions as necessary and determine the Form A status: hot prospect, NO, maybe next year, etc.
We are also looking for information relevant to matching the family with a student and a high school: what interests does the family have? What school are they attached to? Is there another school close by that might be a possibility if the first school is closed? Also, we want to share vital info with the family- AFS does not pay families, what the family is expected to provide, etc. Try to STRETCH the family's choice of kids ("we only want a Norwegian pigeon racer who loves sushi and basket weaving" is a challenge). We all know that the best matches are based on personality and interests, so let's start early trying to open the family up.
An excellent Form A caller would be a returnee or former/current host parent or liaison who likes to make calls and can answer basic questions about AFS. It can take a little perserverance to get some families on the phone, so patience is a help. But really, anyone who can spare a bit of time, this would be ideal for them- quick and easy. We also need people who will seriously attempt to complete these calls quickly- some schools have deadlines as early as 1 April this year. This is not another job for volunteers who are too busy to move quickly. This would be an excellent taste-test of volunteering for AFS, or ideal for someone with kids, or a difficult schedule.
What a Form A caller is NOT expected to do:
these new volunteers don't have to "close a sale" or match a particular student to a family. Any given student may already be in review by a family, or may not fit our schools often rigid requirements. This can lead to angry, hurt feelings, and be a big problem with families who feel they have been cheated. Complicated questions can also be passed on, too.
Once you've determined the status, get back with the person who provided you the leads. If families are good candidates, the next step is for the Team Hosting Coordinator to assign an interviewer and select a couple of students who might suit the family and school.
