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Host Family Incidental Allowance Fund
As a host family for a YES or FLEX student, the scholarship provides an additional $300 of funding for each YES and FLEX student, called an Incidentals Allowance; this allowance is intended to help host families cover the additional costs associated with their YES/FLEX student’s participation in school and community life. The funding amount for the year-long and semester YES and FLEX is the same.
Host parents must submit their expenses and receipts to AFS-USA in order to be reimbursed; the allowance is not paid out in advance to host families. Students are not allowed to submit for reimbursement of these funds.
Examples of allowable host family expenses are:
- Activity/school participation fees
- Gym or school sports uniforms/equipment
- School event fees
- School supplies
- Weather specific clothing/shoes
- Yearbooks
Examples of expenses that are not allowable are:
- Mobile phones or laptops
- Clothing that is not weather specific
- Jewelry
- Gifts for student’s family members
- Student meals
- Vacation related expenses
- Electronics
As mentioned above, the host family is responsible for submitting their receipts to AFS-USA for reimbursement. We encourage you to submit your expenses as they are incurred rather than wait until the end of the year for reimbursement. Details on how to submit for reimbursement can be found at the bottom of this page.
Also, please note that this allowance is not renewed should a student move to a new host family. For example, if a host family welcomes a YES/FLEX student to your home mid-way through the year, please contact your AFS Liaison to find out what funds remain in their Incidental Fund.
Immunizations
In some FLEX and YES countries vaccines are not administered to people over a certain age; Therefore, some students will require these vaccinations upon arrival in the host community in the U.S. If a student is required by their host school to obtain additional immunizations upon arrival in his or her host community or school, the volunteers or host family should arrange for the student to be immunized. If authorization from natural parents is required, contact your YES Participant Support Specialist or FLEX Specialist for assistance.
AFS will reimburse host families for immunization-related expenses incurred by their YES or FLEX student if they are required by the school system, and will not be taken out of the $300 Host Family Incidentals Allowance. Documentation from the school must be submitted for reimbursement.
COVID and Flu Shots are not covered unless the school provides documentation that these are required for enrollment. Host families that prefer their student to have the COVID and/or Flu vaccine may submit this expense to be covered from Host Family Incidentals. These reimbursements will be deducted from the general $300 Incidental Allowance available to the Host Family.
Details on how to submit for reimbursement can be found at the bottom of this page.
Glasses and Sport Physicals
There are Sponsored Programs funds available for host families to cover glasses and sports physicals for YES and FLEX students.
The scholarship only covers glasses if a student’s previous glasses are lost or damaged, or if glasses are suddenly deemed needed when the student hasn’t had them before. Sponsored Programs can cover these costs up to $100 for frames/lenses and up to $100 for an eye exam (if a student doesn't already have a prescription). We ask that students/host families use less expensive options such as Cohen or Costco for exams and consider ordering frames on Zenni.
These are covered through a participant emergency medical fund, and will not be taken out of the $300 Host Family Incidentals Allowance. Details on how to submit for reimbursement can be found at the bottom of this page.
If there are any medical expenses that are not the above, please contact your Support and Learning
Department Specialists to see if they are covered by the insurance.
Submitting for Reimbursement
To submit for reimbursement, please fill out this form.
If you have any questions about a reimbursement you've already submitted, please email SPExpenses@afsusa.org
Please make sure the following requirements are met when submitting the receipts.
- Clear, not blurry images
- The image must include the date and the business name
- If the receipt has multiple items, please highlight the items you want to get reimbursed (separate
from personal purchases) - If you are requesting reimbursement for school expenses and you did not receive a receipt, please
ask the school for an invoice.