Additional Information for Outbound Student Parent(s)
Parent of an Outbound -- He/she/they is about to embark, now what?
- Students have to make many decisions on their own during the year, decisions they may not have had to deal with before. The host family and host Rotary club will, to some degree, assume a parental role but your student will likely have more independence and choices to make than in the past.
Safety
The Rotary Youth Exchange Program is one of the safest Youth Exchange programs in the world and because we work with Rotarians at the local club level, great care is taken to ensure the safety of students.
Students are required to sign an agreement to avoid activities that could lead to dangerous situations such as driving, drinking or drug usage. They are counseled before leaving their home country on how to best manage themselves in the foreign culture. In addition, Rotary District 5360 has a Sexual Abuse and Harassment policy and procedure designed to protect every student that is in the care of our Rotary clubs. Similar policies and procedures are required for our international partners.
The Youth Exchange program also monitors situations in our partner countries. When countries are determined to be high-risk areas, they are taken off the exchange country list.
Cost
Rotary’s Long-Term Youth Exchange Program is much less expensive than other exchange programs. It is organized and administered by volunteer Rotarians and their families, working through local Rotary clubs, Rotary districts, and regional groups. As volunteers, they screen applicants, select the students, prepare them, and arrange for host families, school admission, etc. Host families are selected on the basis of quality, not because they are compensated but because they have a passion for the program.
Because the program is staffed by volunteers, Rotary is able to make youth exchange opportunities accessible to young people of all backgrounds and economic means. In some cases there may be funding available to help defray those exchange costs that are normally borne by the parents. Talk to your local Rotary Club about your individual situation.
Most exchanges cost the family between $7,000 to $10,000, it really depends upon the country, and any optional trips or activities that are chosen. (Stats Canada - it is generally estimated that raising a child costs $10,000 - $15,000 per year until the age of 18).
- An administrative fee of $3,500 covers the costs of application processing, orientations, language learning module and other administrative costs
- Family pays for transportation ($1,000 to $1,800), medical/travel insurance ($950 approximately), Visa expenses, ($100-1,000) provide an emergency fund ($500), and provide incidental spending money for gifts, souvenirs, recreation, and clothing.
- Additional costs for such items as special school trips, extracurricular activities or optional extensive sightseeing trips, clothing and extra spending money are the responsibility of the family and can increase costs substantially.
- The cost of room and board is covered by the host Rotary club and host families.
- The hosting club will provide a monthly allowance to the student (generally about $100 / month) they deem adequate for their area.
- It is estimated that if the student paid for all the expenses for a cultural/study year in another country it would cost up to $25,000, or more.