Exchange student organization searching for host families

Finding host families for international students has become a lengthy and time-consuming process for some Monroe County exchange organizations. Each year, the foundation works to place between 450 and 500 students in American homes. \n"We constantly advertise to find interested families," said Mirinda Stratton of the Student Travel School Foundation Regional Office for Indiana. "We keep looking and lining up families in advance for future exchange students. It is a struggle to find people who are willing to open up their homes to an international student.\nThe Youth for Understanding International Exchange organization works year-round to recruit and select host families for international students. \n"We normally have about 3,000 students in the United States every school year, and we place all of them. We do not deny accepted students the wonderful opportunity," District office Coordinator Sandy Cox said. "We advertise year round with public service announcements, newspaper articles and presentations at schools to find families to host students."\nSTC works on placing students starting in November and work through July, before classes begin. \n Some families have concerns about housing students. Fear of the unknown and the responsibility of caring for someone else's child are among the top concerns for host parents. \n Families also worry about the relationship they will have with the student. Other concerns for some families include handling a situation incorrectly or in a manner different from the student's parents. \n Bloomington resident Claudia Scott, who is a six-time host-mother, still has the same concerns as first-time hosts when she houses students. Scott worries that exchange students will not get along well with her family. She currently hosts two international students.\n"We are a black family, so we have been concerned that (the exchange students) would not accept us," Scott said. "Lots of exchange students have a fixed idea of a black American family from what they have seen on TV. After a while, they think we are pretty cool."\nParents have no need to be intimidated by such issues, Stratton said.\n As with numerous other exchange organizations, placement of students in a family is based upon compatibility. Compatibility is determined through the informational forms the families and students fill out.\n By the time students return to their home countries at the end of the school year, many host families realize the stranger who came into their household in August was nothing more than another teenager experiencing and feeling the same things as American teenagers, Cox said.\nSecondary concerns include the monetary costs of an additional child and any health problems that may occur.\nMonetary obligations should not be a concern, Stratton said. Students participating in exchanges through these organizations study in the U.S. with full health insurance as well as personal spending money for athletic fees, school fees and other personal items. Host parents are only obliged to provide their exchange student with a room, food and emotional care.\nAfter housing an exchange student, many families cherish the experiences and knowledge they gained during their time as a host family. Scott cherishes her children from around the world.\n"I have these kids all over the world, and they still keep in contact with me," Scott said. "They contact me and tell me they use something they learned from me or my family in their life every day." \nStratton has housed several students of her own and is most surprised at how her 8-year-old son has developed. \n"We have hosted three students from Thailand, and others from Spain and France," Stratton said. "My son's Thai is pretty good, while his Spanish and French are good"