AFS volunteers are instrumental in providing a quality exchange and work together at many levels to ensure that students and host families receive the support vital to a successful experience.
Although support for AFS participants and host families is provided through a community of volunteers as well as the national office, the AFS Liaison is their primary contact.
The primary role of the Liaison is to maintain regular contact with their assigned AFS student and host family, providing support and information and assisting in problem-solving when the need arises. They facilitate discussion between the student and the host family and identify potential challenges early when they can be solved easily and before they become deeper misunderstandings which are more difficult to resolve.
Effective Liaisons are objective but caring. They make themselves available to the student and host family and are attentive and supportive listeners.
The AFS Liaison helps create opportunities for AFS students and host families to work toward achieving the AFS Learning Objectives. The Liaison works and consults closely with their Team’s support leadership such as AFS Support Coordinator and/or Associate Support Coordinator as needed and in cases of more serious support challenges and situations.
To read more about this role, please visit Student Family Liaison Role Description.
Resources
For more information about how liaisons document monthly contacts, visit this page: Log Contacts & Visits.