Karen S. Relstab

Karen S. Relstab

Local Childcare Coordinator

Cultural Care Au Pair

251 Adler Drive

Libertyville, IL 60048

Telephone 847-680-3794

Email karen.relstab@lcc.culturalcare.com

Personal website http://krelstab.aupairnews.com

I have been a resident of Lake County, Illinois for my entire life. I grew up in Antioch and move to Libertyville in 1986. My first career was in telecommunications. I worked for AT&T for 32 years in sales, supporting multinational accounts.  My husband Bob and I are empty nesters. Bob still works for AT&T as an Area Director in Chicago. Our son Matt attended Columbia College in Chicago. He currently lives and works in Chicago as a sound technician at the Intercontinental Hotel.

In June 2004, I became a Local Childcare Coordinator (LCC) for Cultural Care Au Pair supporting families and au pairs in Lake County. I work full time for Cultural Care out of my home office in Libertyville. I became a LCC to use my sales/support business experience and to learn more about the world and different cultures.  In 2004, my group consisted of six families and, over the years, has grown to an average of 30 families each year.  Over the last five years I have worked with over a hundred au pairs, many of whom I still am in contact with via email and Facebook in their home countries in Latin America, South America, Europe, and Australia and South Africa.  My role as a LCC has expanded my view of the world far beyond my expectations. Although the majority of my au pairs have been female, I have been fortunate to have as many as four male au pairs in my group at a time.

 My days are filled with meetings, telephone calls, and emails to the families and au pairs in my group. The au pairs currently in my group represent the countries of Germany, Colombia, Mexico, Sweden, Thailand, Russia, Austria, Panama, Brazil, Chile, and Poland. There are four male au pairs Alex from Brazil, Antonio from Mexico, Christian from Germany, and Christopher from Sweden.

  I also spend time in my community helping families find flexible, affordable, and quality childcare through the Cultural Care Au Pair program. I host monthly meetings for the au pairs assigned to me. We go bowling, participate in charity events, visit the local fire and police department for safety presentations, host a car wash event at the local Ace Hardware, walk in local parades, and sometimes just go for coffee or pizza.

 The last two years I have personally organized the Cultural Care Au Pair Chicago Area Scavenger Hunt in downtown Chicago at Millennium Park the third Saturday of September. This event involves over 200 au pairs and 20 LCCs.  The au pairs have to search for answers and items in the downtown area for three hours. They learn about the city and its history and have an opportunity to win some wonderful prizes.

 In these difficult economic times, more mothers are working. New moms are remaining in the workforce and at-home mothers who had decided to put their careers on hold are having to return to work. The demand for quality and affordable childcare has increased and I am able to help families in my community find a childcare solution that fits their needs. The cost of our program is about $320 a week per family, not per child. Au pairs can provide up to 45 hours per week of childcare which works out to be less than $7.50 per hour, regardless of how many children you have.

 I am also very lucky to be able to offer my host families a Peace of Mind guarantee that protects my host family in three ways:

 1) Price guarantee

Cultural Care has committed to keep program costs stable for the entirety of 2009

 2) Program continuation guarantee

If a parent suffers an involuntary job loss, we will offer the family the standard contractual refund and allow them to keep their au pair until the end of her program term.

 3) Financial safeguard guarantee

If a family is forced to withdraw from the program as a result of an involuntary job loss, Cultural Care will refund the unused portion of their program fees.

 I am very lucky to have found a second career that I truly enjoy and feel so passionate about. I look forward to each day and what challenges and opportunities will come my way.