subject: Hey! You Can't Do That In My Neighborhood! [print this page] Then, Mrs. Snyder received a letter from the Michigan Department of Human Services warning her that she would be violating a law aimed at the operators of unlicensed day-care centers if she continued to do this.
"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 September 29, 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. The governors own spokesman even admitted that this law actually gets in the way of common sense.
Is this a big problem in the state of Michigan? It sounds more like a busy-body with too much time of his/her hands just wanted to make some noise and complain about this practice just because they dont agree with it. So what? They should mind their own business.
It certainly should have been obvious to everyone else in the neighborhood what she was doing. She was helping out her neighbors. Actually, we need more people like Mrs. Snyder, not fewer.
Good neighbors have been doing the same thing as Mrs. Snyder seemingly forever. And now, with the current state of the economy, its often necessary for both parents to be working for that paycheck to pay the bills, and this practice certainly enables many parents to do that.
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."
One state representative with some common sense is working to draft new legislation that would exempt situations like Snyders from coverage under Michigans 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. These kids are just waiting for the bus every morning. This is not a day care.
They say that it takes a whole village to raise a child, but I guess theres at least one person in Irving Township, MI., the one who called the state agency, who disagrees.
