Liaison FAQs
From AFSWiki
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Frequently Asked Questions
This page details some frequently asked questions (FAQ) and their corresponding responses. |
Monthly Contact
- Monthly contact can be made via telephone, in person or at group events.
- By the end of each contact, you should know if the student is having any problems with their host family, their classes or in any other area. The same can be said for your contact with your host family.
- The person you’re communicating with should feel comfortable expressing concerns, if there are any. See Tips for being an effective Liaison handout.
Red flags
What are they? When should I contact my Support Coordinator? It is normal for both your student and your host family to experience an adjustment period while the two are getting to know each other. However, there are some red flags that you should bring to the attention of your Team Support Coordinator should you come across them:
- too much natural family/friend contact - if the contact is excessive and is causing tension between your student and his/her host family
- 1 call/email per month is recommended
- Lack of involvement/refusal to participate in host family activities.
- Lack of appreciation for host family efforts - if causing tension in the student/host family relationship.
- Student is not following his/her host family’s rules, is breaking curfew, or is not notifying the host family of /his/her activities and/or whereabouts.
- Student is struggling to pass his/her classes, is not completing assigned homework on time, or is missing school.
- Student breaks any of the 3 AFS Rules.
School expenses – Who pays?
- Class materials (i.e. calculators, notebooks, gym clothes, etc.) are the responsibility of your student. Some host families will generously agree to pay for these materials, but others can’t or won’t and it is not a requirement.
- Graduation expenses (i.e. yearbooks, cap and gown, end-of-year parties, etc.) are the responsibility of your student.
- Some local AFS chapters will pay for these items; be sure to ask your chapter if the topic is raised by either your student or his/her host family.
School contact?
How to introduce your student to his/her school:
- Your host family should do a walk through of your student’s school, with your student, before classes begin, so he/she can become familiar with the school layout and what will comprise his/her typical day (i.e. changing rooms for classes, using lockers to keep the majority of his/her books, lunch schedules, etc.).
- Your host family should introduce your student to how to use both his/her regular locker and gym locker. Stress that both need to be locked and that valuables should not be left in them.
- Make sure your host parents acquire a high school handbook and directory if they do not already have a child in high school. This handbook is very helpful should your parents need to contact the school for later concerns. Recommend to your host parents that they request a school calendar with necessary dates/information.
- It’s good for Liaisons to have this info as well!
What do I do if my student is struggling in school?
- If your student is struggling with his/her classes, some schools are willing to provide students with a tutor (i.e. usually a National Honor Society student who volunteer tutors). Also, your school might be willing to have each of your student’s teachers assign a classmate in each class that he/she can ask questions of, or ask for help with homework, etc. Another option is for teachers to provide alternative work assignments.
- It is important to maintain positive relationships with schools!
- Open communication is key!
- If your student is not completing required homework or is receiving poor grades due to lack of effort, or, alternatively, if your student is having unexcused absences at school, it is important to contact your Team Support Coordinator to inform him/her of your concerns.
- A student/host family meeting may be necessary to better understand the reasons for the poor academic performance.
- You and the host parents should be able to request academic information from the school.
- Ask your school about using ParentPortal or a similar online service.
Immunizations – What is needed?
If your student is missing required immunizations, his/her natural parents are responsible for paying any related medical expenses. AFS medical insurance, administrated by GMMI, does not cover immunizations, since students are supposed to arrive in the United States with all of their immunizations in order.
- Copies of each student’s immunization record can be obtained from the Regional Service Center if needed.
How will my student make friends?
- The easiest way for your student to form friendships is through school-related clubs or sports. Your host family can request a list of available school-related clubs and sports that your student might join.
- You or your host family should sit down with the student to go through this list to see what piques his/her interest.
- If your student finds it difficult to make friends at school:
- Recommend that your host family contact the school counselor for some ideas. Many counselors will be happy to set up peer tutoring relationships for your student, or arrange for a group of students that would be willing to sit with him/her at lunch or free periods.
- If your student seems fairly shy, it would be nice to do this prior to school starting so that your student knows some faces the first day of classes.
- Students can also make friends with their peers through non-school related clubs or sports. Some examples include community education classes or volunteering for local community organizations (i.e. animal shelters, local hospitals, ESL tutoring, etc.).
What if my student doesn’t have enough money?
Your student may not be very good at budgeting his/her money, and may spend a large amount of money upon arriving in the US, leaving him/her without appropriate money for the rest of the year. If this is a concern, contact your Team Support Coordinator.
- When students are not experienced with budgeting, your host family, with support from you and local chapter volunteers or Team volunteers, will need to help your student set up a budget. His/her expectations of what he/she can do throughout the year may need to be set according to what is affordable.
- If your student does not bring sufficient spending money to cover required expenses, contact your Team Support Coordinator
- AFS-USA can contact the sending country to request the natural family to send more money.
- There are times, however, when a natural family simply does not have any more money to send. If such is the case with your student, local chapter volunteers might be willing to fundraise for your student, or he/she can try and earn money by doing small jobs (i.e. babysitting, house and yard work, etc.).
What if my student doesn’t have enough clothes?
It’s possible that your student might not bring sufficient clothing, especially warm clothing (i.e. winter jacket, winter accessories, etc.). If this is the case, first check with your host family to see whether anyone in their extended family, or circle of friends or neighbors, has a jacket that your student might borrow.
- Some students purposely do not bring a lot of clothing so that they can buy new clothes in the US that are more American style-appropriate. Paying for such clothes would be the responsibility of your student.
- Contact your Chapter or Team volunteers if your student’s clothing needs are not being met.
What about vacations, trips and Independent Travel?
Independent Travel Guidelines can be found in your Liaison Handbook. Contact your Team Support Coordinator if you have questions about travel.
- Travel with host family is not considered Independent Travel
- Belo Tours ARE considered Independent Travel
- Students must have appropriate permission prior to booking any flights!
- School may not be missed for Independent Travel!
When is contact with natural family considered excessive?
Students are encouraged to speak, via phone, with their natural families and/or friends at home one time each month.
- Host families are allowed to set their own limits as long as contact with natural families and friends does not interfere with your student’s adjustment.
- Too much contact usually results in increased homesickness, and your student may not reach out to family, friends and volunteers here to form a support network or to seek culture-appropriate advice.
- Chat rooms and Instant Messaging are treated in the same manner as phone calls.
- E-mail: AFS recommends one weekly e-mail to natural family and friends back home. Daily e-mail should be discouraged.
- Your student cannot successfully maintain lives both in the U.S. and in his/her home country at the same time.
What about host family contact with natural families?
While AFS recommends that your host family introduce themselves to your student’s natural family, ongoing direct contact between the two families is highly discouraged. Should the two families maintain direct contact, they might disagree on how to handle problems, or they might misunderstand each other due to cultural or linguistic differences, causing difficulties in your student’s relationship with his/her host family.
How can I help my student and family work through communication problems?
Your student (or family) may not be very communicative, whether by culture or by personality. If this is the case, there are ways to promote better communication between students and families, including:
- Setting up weekly student/host family meetings to discuss what everyone is up to and what concerns your student might have about school, the family etc.;
- Writing down, and posting in a visible area, host family rules and expectations if your student seems to have a particularly difficult time remembering such things;
- Discussing problems during car rides, where your student isn’t forced to directly face the person he/she is speaking to;
- Having your student meet with a third party (i.e. liaison, local chapter volunteer, perhaps a school counselor).
- Having your student make a list of his/her concerns, so that he/she has more time to sit down and think out what he/she wants to say. It also helps a student who may be more comfortable communicating his/her words in writing, rather than out loud.
- Ask your Team Support Coordinator for additional ideas.
When is a move necessary?
Host family moves should be considered only after every effort has been made to maintain the student/host family relationship.
- Your student may request a host family move, but no effort has yet been made to address concerns. If this is the case, encourage your student to discuss his/her concerns with his/her host family.
- If your student is not comfortable doing this on his/her own, offer to meet with the student and family, or call your Team Support Coordinator for help.
- Explain to your student that if AFS does decide to move him/her
- Explain that it is AFS volunteers who will decide what makes an appropriate second host family for your student. Your student will not be able to dictate what kind of family he/she wants (i.e. number of children, economic background, racial profile, rural/urban, parents’ employment, etc
- It is important to note here that unless there is an immediate risk to your student’s safety, he/she will not be allowed to move until he/she has made a sincere effort to make things work with his/her current host family.
If both your student and your host family are requesting a move, and meetings have been held to try and resolve any existing problems, but have not resulted in success, then it’s appropriate to talk with the Team Support Coordinator about moving the student. Once the liaison and local chapter volunteers have agreed that a move will take place, possible ways to identify a new host family include:
- Ask your student if he/she has any friends or classmates that might be interested in hosting him/her.
- Ask your student’s school counselor to see if he/she has any ideas.
- Ask local AFS chapter volunteers for ideas of some host families they know who are interested in hosting your student.
- ***It is the local chapter’s responsibility, or the team’s responsibility, to find a new host family for your student, not your responsibility. However, there may be times when your Team Support Coordinator may request your help with the search.
My student is asking about AFS orientations/events. What are these?
AFS requires students and families to attend some orientations through the year. Other orientations may be optional.
- Contact their local AFS chapter volunteers for specific information about AFS-related events or activities.
