Did you know that if you live in Michigan, and you have a very good friendship with your neighbor and her children, and you tell your neighbor you will be happy for the children to come to your house after school to stay until she gets home from work, you're breaking the law after four weeks? This state has an ordinance that you cannot care for children unrelated to you more than four weeks out of the year unless you are a licensed daycare provider.
What does that do to the teenage babysitter? And to people like Lisa Snyder. Lisa graciously offered to help out three of her neighbors. They had to leave for work before the school bus arrived for their children. Lisa told them she'd let the children come to her house to wait for the bus. Days later, she received a letter from the Michigan Department of Human Services warning her she was violating the law. One of my questions is how the DHS knew Lisa was caring for these children.
Another question I have concerns who lobbied for this law. Think it might have been the day care owners of the state? Michigan DHS needs to mind its own business.
"State slaps mother's helping hand." The Dallas Morning News; September 30, 2009; p. 5A.
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