Diane Timms, 33, and her husband Brian, 37, are both physicians, and their careers don’t allow for normal work hours. It was difficult for them to find a daycare that would accommodate their unusual hours. When they lived in Connecticut, they had a live-in nanny who didn’t “work out,” as Timms put it.

That’s when Timms decided she would give AuPair Care a try.

AuPair Care is a program in which student-age males and females, although it’s mostly females, come to the United States to learn about our country’s culture and take college credits in exchange for up to 45 hours of daycare for the family they live with.

The students range in age from 18-26 years old, and hail from about 40 different countries, according to Erin Schmitt, area director for AuPair Care in Atlantic and Cape May counties.

Students in Schmitt’s coverage area come from Mexico, Brazil, Columbia, Germany, South Africa and the United Kingdom. Seven families in the region participate in the program, and two of them are from Galloway Township, including the Timms.

“We’re looking to grow,” said Schmitt, who noted that in North Jersey, there are areas in which 60-70 families participate in the program.

All students undergo a background check. They also have the ability to speak English, and have previous childcare experience.

The average cost of hosting an au pair is about $343 per week, according to Schmitt. This includes all costs from the initial application to the au pair’s weekly stipend, divided by 52 weeks in the year.

Families have the chance to interview prospective students before agreeing to let them live with them. A background check is also done on all the families, to ensure that the home is capable of supporting a student, including providing a private room for the au pair.

The au pair is required to take six credits of education, most of which comes at a community college or via weekend adult education. Schmitt said the au pairs usually take English as a Second Language in addition to one other course.

They usually live with the family for one year, and no longer than two years.

The price for hosting an au pair is comparable to sending a child to daycare, and the hours are flexible, both of which were selling points for Schmitt.

“I just never thought it would be something I could do,” said Schmitt, who has four children and used to work for a law firm. “ … Not everyone can fit into the mold of a daycare’s hours. With au pair, you don’t have to be done by 6 o’clock, and even if mom and dad work 9-5 and just want a date night, they can take one without worrying. And it’s cost-effective.”

“My concern was not having enough space,” said Timms, who has two children. “Having an au pair in our home is more flexible than sending our kids to daycare. The au pair people came to our house and said it was just fine.”

The Timms’ current au pair, Lizanne Smit, is from South Africa, and she is the third au pair the Timms have housed since they decided to enroll in the program. Their fourth different au pair is coming in January.

Smit is their second au pair from South Africa. They have also had au pairs from Turkey and Germany.

Any initial concerns Timms had about leaving her children with a student from another country didn’t last long.

“Even if she was only around for a few days, she was in the house and around the family, we were able to get a sense of how she interacted with our son,” said Timms, who said every au pair her family has housed has been female.

At the time they housed their first au pair, the Timms only had a son. Their son, Zachary, is now 3 and a half years old, and they have a 16-month-old daughter, Grace.

And now all four of their au pairs feel like family.

“You get attached to them,” Timms said. “ … It’s comforting to get to know someone so well. It’s worked out well for us for many years.

“It’s amazing the how different things are, small things you don’t even think about. They’re amazed by Thanksgiving and Halloween.  They’ve never had pumpkin pie.”

She said they’ve kept in close contact with au pairs they’ve had in the past who have moved on.

“It’s like having a younger sister who lives with you.”