YFU Handbooks 2015 Family Handbook (Study Abroad) | Page 25

an issue to the attention of your child’s YFU Area Rep or host
family overseas before it becomes a problem.

WHEN YOUR NEED HELP
Seeking help locally is always the best first step. If you or
your child have concerns that you would like to discuss
with YFU, there are trained and experienced volunteer and
support staff in place to help. For your child, it will be a YFU
volunteer or staff member living in or near their community
in the host country. Your child will meet and receive the
contact information for this person upon arrival in the host
country. Your child can also contact the host country’s
National Office. S/he will receive this contact information
in the Welcome Letter and again upon arrival in the host
country.
As a natural parent, your contact will be your Support
Services Manager. You will get their contact information a
few days before your child leaves.
In an urgent situation, you should call Emergency Hotline at
1.800.424.3691.

story. Encourage your child not to give up too easily, and try
to have an open conversation with her/his host family, just
as you would expect them to do in your home.
Generally there are many conversations between the
student, host family and Area Representatives in an effort
to problem-solve before deciding to change families. If
your child does not take the time to let YFU help her/him
recognize the reasons for the situation, similar problems are
likely to occur with the new host family.
If there are no ways to resolve the problems, YFU will work
on finding your child a new host family. It is important to
remember that your child has not failed if they do not get
along with their host family.
If a change of host families is necessary, YFU will take the
steps to find a new host family. YFU asks you and your child
to please be patient! It is important that your child does not
act without the approval of the YFU office in his/her host
country. The screening of host families and the placement
process can take time. YFU is responsible for your child's
well-being and we will do our best to support your child
in difficult situations. If your child is moved to a new
host family, both s/he and the new family will be in close
communication with the local YFU Area Representative for
transitional support.

CHANGING HOST FAMILIES
Teens may too quickly ask for a change of families when
there is a conflict rather than working through the situation.
A change of host families is, principally, not a solution
to problems; it is rather an emergency exit out of an
uncomfortable situation.
It is normal that problems arise when people live together
who have never seen each other and are supposed to be
a family. As a parent you want to protect your child. When
your child is venting to you about problems, it can be hard
at times to remember that there is another side to every

VISITING YOUR CHILD
YFU does not encourage natural family visits. Often, parent
visits create difficult situations for the student and host
family because they interrupt the adjustment process. Being
exposed to people from the home country and then trying to
integrate family members from home and the host country
creates extremely complex and usually confusing challenges
for the student. Heightened struggles with homesickness
tend to arise during and immediately following a family visit.
If, after talking with your child and your Support Services
Manager, you decide to visit your child, the SSM will help
you determine the least disruptive time to visit - generally
during the second half of a student’s exchange. Before
planning the trip, you must complete the applicable forms
that officially inform your child’s host family and the YFU
offices in the host country. The US Procedures that YFU has
put in place for parents to visit their child while on exchange
are:
1) Contact your SSM to communicate your plans.
2) The SSM will notify the YFU National Office in the host
country.
3) The host family will be notified of your plans.

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