Veronica Balderas Iglesias

Every year, some 20,000 young adults come to the U.S. on special visas to work as an au pair, caring for pre-school children in the home. Most of the time things work out fine. But when problems do arise, someone has to enforce the rules. Au pairs and critics say the State Department and au pair recruiting agencies are failing to oversee the system. Vero Balderas Iglesias reports in Part 3 of "The Perils of Au Pairs."

Full-time day care for two pre-school children in the U.S. can cost $35,000 a year or more. A live-in nanny can cost even more. High prices like those are why thousands of parents turn to the State Department’s au pair program, where young foreigners provide low-cost live-in care in what is called a “cultural exchange.” But not everyone thinks it’s a fair trade, as Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports in Part 2 of her series, “The Perils of Au Pairs.”

In much of the world, child care is a family duty. But in the U.S., parents often work hectic jobs and need to hire someone for the job. An increasingly popular choice: au pairs – young foreigners who live in the home and watch the children, all for the chance to sample life in the USA. Some 20,000 come each year -- but as Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports in Part 1 of her series, “The Perils of Au Pairs," not everyone gets the cultural experience they are promised.

Hundreds of activists blocked major intersections across the nation’s capital Monday, demanding immediate government action on climate change. The action came as world leaders met Monday in New York for a United Nations summit on climate change. Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports.

A leading Puerto Rican official is appealing for the U.S.