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August 07, 2006

Volunteers of the Nanny Industry: INA & APNA

I remember attending a meeting, probably in 1986, in or near New York City, of domestic placement agency owners in the Metro area. It was hosted by HANRA, the Household and Nurses Registry Association, then the only US trade group for household staffing. HANRA was about 25 years old.

At that meeting I was struck by the difference between the concerns of the older, city-based members, all long-established, and those of our group, all from the suburbs.…

At that meeting I was struck by the difference between the concerns of the older, city-based members, all long-established, and those of our group, all from the suburbs. The old-line agencies typically charged at least half of their placement fee to the nanny, who then reimbursed it in installments from pay. In contrast, we felt that all fees should be plaid by the employer. They spoke of “our girls” and the “flexibility” required by “our clients,” i.e., employers and parents, while we talked of “nannies” and fair pay.” My impression was that, while the older agencies courted employers as clients, they saw nanny candidates almost as merchandise. Even though nannies paid half the fee, they got no respect, and agents seemed concerned far more with placement numbers than with what we now call human resources. They had a product to sell and valued only those able to buy.

In contrast, we suburban agency owners were idealists in our focus on fair pay and hours. We talked – it seemed endlessly – about the differences between a “nanny,” who would focus on child care alone, and the traditional candidate, who was called a “housekeeper” but was expected to care for both house and children.

It was this awareness of a difference between "nannies" and "housekeepers" that ushered in a new industry, American nanny placement. For years we had to define the term “nanny,” but eventually the media caught on, and the idea of nannies as professional caregivers took hold. By 1992 fully four national organizations represented nannies in one way or another, pressing for improved working conditions, professional recognition, and standard benefits. The first was the American Council of Nanny Schools (ACNS), formed by nanny educators, or “trainers” as they were initially called, followed in 1985 by the International Nanny Association (INA) – agency owners, educators and nannies working together – and then by the National Association of Nannies (NAN) and the Association of Professional Nanny Agencies (APNA), both breakaways from INA.

Effectively only INA and APNA remain today as national organizations of many members. These still almost wholly volunteer groups have promoted fair pay, tax compliance, paid benefits, and reasonable work schedules for the nannies they place and, by extension, for all. The members of both organizations are business-oriented innovators representing the nation’s leading agencies.

At their worst, agencies had historically lined up their job candidates – immigrants, orphans, adolescents – on wooden benches, parading potential “employers” by to view all and pick as they chose. For this the nanny had a fee taken from nearly nonexistent wages – like a company store that left workers perpetually in debt. In fact, before the mid-Eighties – before Baby Boomers, women’s rights, consciousness-raising et al, – child care in America was off the books, done at home, untaxed, and bereft of benefits. Live-in caregivers, who were mostly illegal immigrants, were unpaid (they got free room and board!), too often treated like indentured servants who slaved for families that did not appreciate them. Eighteen-year-old Midwestern girls fared no better in the fast-paced and unfamiliar suburbs. Afraid of being “put out on the street,” they accepted considerable abuse rather than complain of poor working conditions. I met more than one family that expected a nanny to appreciate a cramped attic room with rough floors and truly ragged blankets, where she would be on call 24/7. As for the live-out nanny, she could still be told, “We don’t need you today [i.e., no pay]. Come tomorrow,” or “We need you on Christmas, regular pay.”

In the late 1980’s the new generation of agencies struck back for nannies, first by charging the entire fee to the employer. Through that decade and the next, pay went from a base of $150/week (for 50 - 70 hours) to $200 and, as nannies, urged on by NAN, took the initiative, with increasing speed, to truly professional pay for nannies with very demanding jobs – with parents divorcing, in dual households with split custody, with several children of differing ages all to be chauffeured to separate private schools and a plethora of after-school activities.

In the ‘90’s agencies began also to request, and then to require, that employers offer significant benefits – in writing. Contracts ranged from one page to many, addressing work schedule and duties, employment taxes, health insurance, car access, paid vacations, holidays, sick days and even personal days-off, as well as termination notice. These changes gained speed and currency through the consciousness-raising efforts of agency owners, primarily the leaders of INA.

At the same time, all parties to nanny placement are savvier. Nannies can honestly present as highly qualified career professionals, with impressive resumes, checkable references and educational credentials to justify their expectations. Having watched all the (now favorable) television shows about nannies, they are probably more willing to state their needs directly or spot a job that won’t work out. Similarly, parents who have heard the risks of bargain hunting (or experienced them directly) probably pay better. And reputable agencies refuse to place questionable applicants. They look for demonstrable maturity, solid credentials, and a long work history.

Mothers going off to work at well-paid careers have supported a burgeoning crop of agencies, as mothers who have once employed a nanny themselves come to feel that they understand the process and open their own doors for business. But growth has never been exponential because the mortality – the burnout rate – is always so high. It turns out that finding good parent-substitutes for other folks is more challenge than most business owners can endure.

It’s interesting, then, to note that so many of the early leaders of INA and APNA have stayed the course and now have substantial operations with sturdy six-figure incomes. These are the 50-75 agency owners, mostly women, who assemble annually for INA and APNA conferences. They remain the volunteer backbone – enlightened self-interest at work – of an industry that continues to develop, and in its own way, to expand, offering services to nannies and to families eager to hire or be hired or to start agencies themselves. The atmosphere at conferences is lively and collegial, with much sharing of information and excellent workshops full of open discussion.

To learn more about INA and APNA and their products and services, visit their Websites: http://www.nanny.org for INA and http://www.theapna.com for APNA (now also called NAPNA) or Google for the National Association of Nanny Placement Agencies – their site has undergone changes. Both offer directories of member agencies with links to individual agency Websites plus publications and on-line-resource libraries.

Questions for you

Have used placement agencies in the past,and if so, what was you experience?

Were you aware of INA and APNA? Have you used their agencies? If so, what differences do you see between their members and the non-member agencies you've encountered?

If you live in an area where INA and APNA have no member agencies, consider checking out their standards and using them to help you choose among resources that are available to you.

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