Last month, I hosted a teenager, Justin from Melbourne. He said he does not have a kangaroo as a pet and laughed -- he was so happy and innocent and excited to be with my family. Sadly, I agreed to host him because I was afraid for him and the thousands of precious children who are on their way to my beloved USA. Justin's experience will not be what many students will find. They will be shoved into hotels, told to babysit 4 little children 5 years and under, sleep in garages and worst of all, sexually abused. I cannot host them all but there are sexual predators just waiting for some of these children because the U.S. State Department says that criminal checks are not necessary. Being American and all, that is unacceptable. I have a file 2 inches thick with letters begging to change the law. How about some help from you? Write to Condoleezza Rice at the U.S. State Dept. and ask her to implement child protection measures for your children not just our American children. Anyone -- anyone -- anyone that claims they support foreign exchange students programs but refuse to support these better protections does not have your children's best interests at heart. How do I know about these students? They looked into my eyes and begged for help. My 3 children looked at me and I knew I could not tell them it was someone else's problem and turn away.

Having been an exchange student myself, I know how vulnerable exchange students can be. But since the mandatory police checks of host families is unlikely to happen in the near future (not in the US nor as far as I know anywhere, including Australia), I suggest parents instead choose exchange organisations carefully. There are excellent non-profit organisations out there which not only try the best they can to get to know prospective host families, but also provide continuous support for the exchange student throughout the year. Going on exchange is fantastic and I appeal to parents not to deny such a great opportunity to interested teenagers - the appropriate organisation will look after your child appropriately.

Hmmm... 'interesting' article mainly for the subtext.

Namely,

1. the world is a scarey place full of child sex predators... all of whom are men.
2. the world needs more surveillance and better computer databases... as if that ever stopped crime and committed criminals. "When man builds a better mouse trap, nature produces bigger mice."
3. that old chestnut of 'the childs best interests'.. as if sending a child to a strange family, capable of who knows what, in a foriegn land is 'best' for them, and
4. it didn't take long to paint men as child raping dirty peadophiles... which seems to be the thinly veiled focus of the article.

Its never ceases to amaze me what people can get away with espousing and doing in the name of 'protecting' some group in society. Little more than preying on the vulnerabilities of those people in order to push one's ideological and socio-political agenda.

Well done.

After reading the appalling nature of this article, I am a little lost for words ! I had no idea the wretchedness and sickenness these teens have to endure at the hands of these sociopaths who ply their trade under the guise of helping out exchange students. We were very tempted to accept a Foreign student in our home one time, but because of the complications e.g cultural shock, language, freedom and other imagined phobias, we declined. What I cant understand, the Authorities abrogating their responsibilities - then the parents, then the Schools, then FBI, then NYLPD, then the groups charged with monitoring the pederast, the list goes on..yet we consciously send our beloved kids overseas for a better Education, at what price ? The expense in trauma is just too much to bear.

I personally was an exchange student on the border of Canada and the US. While I can only commend my host family and the host families I knew. Out of fifty exchange students hosted during the 99-00 year, not one child in our program reported any sexual abuse. However I did know of a student, from a different program, who returned home and did report sexual abuse. Programs need to have strict and thorough screening processes not only of the outbound students, but also of the host families. These programs are big business, and do have the resources to background check families.
Student Exchanges, ran by reputable programs are in the best interests of children. It is now 5 years since I returned to Australia and I grew more in the 11 months of my exchange as a person than any other 11 month period of my life. I look back on my exchange with fond memories and nostalgia. I am still in contact with my host family and the friends I met while on exchange. I would also recommend any child interested to participate in a program.

No access process is left unexplored by paedophiles in the United States of America or anywhere else.