Add Reply
Add Comment As A Guest
Close Topic OptionsState To Mom: Stop Baby-sitting Neighbors' Kids
- Politics, Business, Civil, History - Posted: 4th Oct, 2009 - 2:04am
Posts: 4 - Views: 1375
State To Mom: Stop Baby-sitting Neighbors' Kids
What do you think about this case? Do you think she should get a license or do you think the law is wrong?
QUOTE IRVING TOWNSHIP, Mich. - Each day before the school bus comes to pick up the neighborhood's children, Lisa Snyder did a favor for three of her fellow moms, welcoming their children into her home for about an hour before they left for school.
Regulators who oversee child care, however, don't see it as charity. Days after the start of the new school year, Snyder received a letter from the Michigan Department of Human Services warning her that if she continued, she'd be violating a law aimed at the operators of unlicensed day care centers.
"I was freaked out. I was blown away," she said. "I got on the phone immediately, called my husband, then I called all the girls" - that is, the mothers whose kids she watches - "every one of them."
Snyder's predicament has led to a debate in Michigan about whether a law that says no one may care for unrelated children in their home for more than four weeks each calendar year unless they are licensed day-care providers needs to be changed. It also has irked parents who say they depend on such friendly offers to help them balance work and family.
On Tuesday, agency Director Ismael Ahmed said good neighbors should be allowed to help each other ensure their children are safe. Gov. Jennifer Granholm instructed Ahmed to work with the state Legislature to change the law, he said.
"Being a good neighbor means helping your neighbors who are in need," Ahmed said in a written statement. "This could be as simple as providing a cup of sugar, monitoring their house while they're on vacation or making sure their children are safe while they wait for the school bus."
Snyder learned that the agency was responding to a neighbor's complaint.
Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said the agency was following standard procedure in its response. "But we feel this (law) really gets in the way of common sense," Boyd said.
"We want to protect kids, but the law needs to be reasonable," she said. "When the governor learned of this, she acted quickly and called the director personally to ask him to intervene."
State Rep. Brian Calley, R-Portland, said he was working to draft legislation that would exempt situations like Snyder's from coverage under Michigan's current day care regulations.
The bill will make it clear that people who aren't in business as day care providers don't need to be licensed, Calley said.
"These are just kids that wait for the bus every morning," he said. "This is not a day care."
Snyder, 35, lives in a rural subdivision in Barry County's Irving Township about 25 miles southeast of Grand Rapids. Her tidy, comfortable three-bedroom home is a designated school bus stop. The three neighbor children she watched - plus Snyder's first-grader, Grace - attend school about six miles away in Middleville.
Snyder said she started watching the other children this school year to help her friends; they often baby-sit for each other during evenings and weekends.
After receiving the state agency's letter, she said she called the agency and tried to explain that she wasn't running a day care center or accepting money from her friends.
Under state law, no one may care for unrelated children in their home for more than four weeks each calendar year unless they are licensed day-care providers. Snyder said she stopped watching the other children immediately after receiving the letter, which was well within the four-week period.
"I've lived in this community for 35 years and everyone I know has done some form of this," said Francie Brummel, 42, who would drop off her second-grade son, Colson, before heading to her job as deputy treasurer of the nearby city of Hastings.
Other moms say they regularly deal with similar situations.
Amy Cowan, 34, of Grosse Pointe Farms, a Detroit suburb, said she often takes turns with her sister, neighbor and friend watching each other's children...
Regulators who oversee child care, however, don't see it as charity. Days after the start of the new school year, Snyder received a letter from the Michigan Department of Human Services warning her that if she continued, she'd be violating a law aimed at the operators of unlicensed day care centers.
"I was freaked out. I was blown away," she said. "I got on the phone immediately, called my husband, then I called all the girls" - that is, the mothers whose kids she watches - "every one of them."
Snyder's predicament has led to a debate in Michigan about whether a law that says no one may care for unrelated children in their home for more than four weeks each calendar year unless they are licensed day-care providers needs to be changed. It also has irked parents who say they depend on such friendly offers to help them balance work and family.
On Tuesday, agency Director Ismael Ahmed said good neighbors should be allowed to help each other ensure their children are safe. Gov. Jennifer Granholm instructed Ahmed to work with the state Legislature to change the law, he said.
"Being a good neighbor means helping your neighbors who are in need," Ahmed said in a written statement. "This could be as simple as providing a cup of sugar, monitoring their house while they're on vacation or making sure their children are safe while they wait for the school bus."
Snyder learned that the agency was responding to a neighbor's complaint.
Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said the agency was following standard procedure in its response. "But we feel this (law) really gets in the way of common sense," Boyd said.
"We want to protect kids, but the law needs to be reasonable," she said. "When the governor learned of this, she acted quickly and called the director personally to ask him to intervene."
State Rep. Brian Calley, R-Portland, said he was working to draft legislation that would exempt situations like Snyder's from coverage under Michigan's current day care regulations.
The bill will make it clear that people who aren't in business as day care providers don't need to be licensed, Calley said.
"These are just kids that wait for the bus every morning," he said. "This is not a day care."
Snyder, 35, lives in a rural subdivision in Barry County's Irving Township about 25 miles southeast of Grand Rapids. Her tidy, comfortable three-bedroom home is a designated school bus stop. The three neighbor children she watched - plus Snyder's first-grader, Grace - attend school about six miles away in Middleville.
Snyder said she started watching the other children this school year to help her friends; they often baby-sit for each other during evenings and weekends.
After receiving the state agency's letter, she said she called the agency and tried to explain that she wasn't running a day care center or accepting money from her friends.
Under state law, no one may care for unrelated children in their home for more than four weeks each calendar year unless they are licensed day-care providers. Snyder said she stopped watching the other children immediately after receiving the letter, which was well within the four-week period.
"I've lived in this community for 35 years and everyone I know has done some form of this," said Francie Brummel, 42, who would drop off her second-grade son, Colson, before heading to her job as deputy treasurer of the nearby city of Hastings.
Other moms say they regularly deal with similar situations.
Amy Cowan, 34, of Grosse Pointe Farms, a Detroit suburb, said she often takes turns with her sister, neighbor and friend watching each other's children...
International Level: International Guru / Political Participation: 1089 
100%
Sponsored Links:
Kids Neighbors Baby-sitting Stop Mom State
Wow it sounds ridiculous. We have so many kids being abused in the hands of parents and other relatives as I type this and social services has time to send this letter to this lady?
International Level: Specialist / Political Participation: 43 4.3%
Post Date: 3rd Oct, 2009 - 2:34pm / Post ID: #
State To Mom: Stop Baby-sitting Neighbors' Kids History & Civil Business Politics
This is a case where I think the laws of the land are unreasonable. She is clearly not a day care because she is not profiting from this. The fact that the kids are just waiting in a safe home under adult supervision for the school bus. As a parent I would have wanted my kids to wait for the bus in a safe location. Since there was nothing like that for them I took them to school and picked them up. I feel the law here is trying to make kids feel unsafe as they stand at a bus stop for a hour or in a house where there is no adult to make sure they get off to school.
Kids Neighbors Baby-sitting Stop Mom State
This is a classic example of why people are changing so much these days. When the law prevents anyone from assisting a friend or a neighbour, it is very sad. Apparently, the neighbour who reported the lady, obviously has a grudge against the poor lady or maybe, she felt that the kids were making too much noise. All I can see is, this lady is a shining example of how there are good people out there who do not mind looking out for others. It is so sad when she received this letter and even worse that the neighbour apparently accused her of having a day care centre without a licence. It is painfully obvious, that the neighbour who lodged the complaint does not have any kids or perhaps has too much time on her hands to think about something so devious.
QUOTE Wow it sounds ridiculous. We have so many kids being abused in the hands of parents and other relatives as I type this and social services has time to send this letter to this lady?
I couldn't help but laugh at this comment. You are absolutely right!
I think they should have investigated the complaint before issuing the letter. If they came to the lady's house, they would have seen where the bus stop was and why the kids come to her house to wait for the bus. I suppose the State would prefer the kids to be unsupervised rather than be safe at someone's home.
International Level: New Activist / Political Participation: 14 1.4%
TOPIC: State To Mom: Stop Baby-sitting Neighbors' Kids