The Importance of Being a Liaison

From AFSWiki

In just a few short weeks, a new group of hosted students will be arriving into the US. As we focus our attention on finalizing the recruitment of host families, it is just as important to identify and train Liaisons for the incoming students. If you are interested in being a liaison for one of the incoming students or know someone who is interested in being a [liaison], please contact Sarah Krile for more information and she will get you connected.

Liaisons are key to the success of AFS participants and the AFS support network by providing ongoing community friendship and support for AFS students and their host families. They serve as the "first responder" in the communication network connecting with the local AFS volunteer leadership and staff to provide participant support. The most important attributes for a Liaison to possess are:

• a genuine regard for people of all ages,
• the ability to listen and to be objective,
• the desire to learn about other cultures.

Given the Milwaukee Team's success in compliance and satisfied liaisons, we interviewed the Team Chair, Karen Nelson, and the Team Support Coordinator and former Liaison Coordinator, Deb Maly. Deb had the following to say about liaisons: "I feel the liaison role is the single most important role in AFS. Liaisons are in a position to solidify and save family placements through their caring attention to concerns big and small. It is very important that we recruit and maintain dedicated volunteers for this role. A volunteer who is willing to give their time, support, and talents to build and maintain relationships, as well as, maintain compliance for our team. In my opinion, liaisons rock!"

In addition to maintaining regular (at least once a month) contact with the student and host family, liaisons are required to document these monthly contacts in Global Link, so as to ensure our compliance with CSIET standards and US Department of State regulations governing exchange programs.

The Milwaukee Chair, Karen Nelson, describes liaisons as being "worth their weight in gold" and adds, "In the past year liaisons have become invaluable in meeting the Dept of State compliance regulations. Meeting the families and students monthly, contacting the schools and being the front line on travel plans - liaisons did it all with superb direction from our Support Coord. Milwaukee once again had 100% compliance in meeting hosting paperwork criteria for student moves and monthly contact for all 45 students and families. All of this was facilitated with communication and assistance from the liaisons."

There are three mandatory online training modules that all prospective liaisons must complete in the AFS-USA Online Learning Center before they can be assigned to a student. The Department of State Mandated Training Modules consist of the Hosting and Support Affiliations (HSA) Training and the US Department of State (DoS) Training & Certification. In addition, liaisons are required to complete the Liaison Training module. In addition to the required online training modules, many teams offer in-person training for liaisons.

A couple of weeks ago, an incentive was announced, in the hopes of encouraging teams to assign liaisons to students earlier than in years' past. Details about the incentive can be found here: [1].