State Asks Mich. Mom To Stop Babysitting Neighbors

[Family Ties Forever!]

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State To Mom: Stop Baby-Sitting Neighbors
James Prichard, Associated Press Writer

Posted: Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Updated: 5:56 pm CDT September 29, 2009

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.

"The worst part of this whole thing, with the state of the economy ... two parents have to work," said Cowan, a corporate sales representative with a 5-year-old son and 11-month-old daughter. "When you throw in the fact that the state is getting involved, it gives women a hard time for going back to work.

"I applaud the lady who takes in her neighbors' kids while they're waiting for the bus. She's enabling her peers to go to work and get a paycheck. The state should be thankful for that."

Amy Maciaszek, 42, of McHenry, Ill., who works in direct sales, said she believes the state agency was "trying to be overprotective."

"I think it does take a village and that's the best way," said Maciaszek, who has a 6-year-old boy and twin 3-year-old daughters. "Unfortunately you do have to be careful about that. These mothers are trying to do the right thing."

Associated Press writers Randi Goldberg Berris and David Runk in Detroit and Kathy Barks Hoffman in Lansing, Mich., contributed to this report.

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[phoebe7165]

The agency was responding to a neighbor's complaint.

Gee, why am I not surprised? Why can't people just mind their own business and keep their big mouths shut?

Now I can see if this woman was abusing the kids, but apparently she wasn't. It looked like she was taking good care of them. So what was the problem?

This is Michigan. Fine, this up-coming winter, I hope this "complaining neighbor" is happy when those poor kids are outside in the freezing cold, waiting for their bus, instead of being in this lady's warm house.

[Liza]

I'm impressed with Jennifer Granholm's involvement. She's not my favorite governer Michigan ever had, but it looks like she's stepping up to the plate to right this wrong.

[MickeyMac]

Originally Posted by Liza

I'm impressed with Jennifer Granholm's involvement. She's not my favorite governer Michigan ever had, but it looks like she's stepping up to the plate to right this wrong.

No comment about Jennifer Granholm.

[Liza]

Originally Posted by MickeyMac

No comment about Jennifer Granholm.

Hey, I'm a Michigander too I'd never call myself a fan of hers, but she did seem to be doing the right thing in this instance.

[catlover79]

What a mess.

[Chocoholic]

Pedophiles and drug dealers roam the streets and people are worried about a woman who makes sure her neighbors' children have a safe place to wait for the bus? Common sense dies a little more each day

[70s show watcher]

when i was in grade school there was a mother of some school children who did something simallir to what this mother was doing i e made sure we all got on the bus ok made sure there were no fights among the kids etc and all the other parents appricited the help boy times have sure changed since 1981 now that same lady in this day and age might be fined or hauled away for doing a good deed

[Doodyville10019]

Originally Posted by phoebe7165

The agency was responding to a neighbor's complaint.

Gee, why am I not surprised? Why can't people just mind their own business and keep their big mouths shut?

Now I can see if this woman was abusing the kids, but apparently she wasn't. It looked like she was taking good care of them. So what was the problem?

This is Michigan. Fine, this up-coming winter, I hope this "complaining neighbor" is happy when those poor kids are outside in the freezing cold, waiting for their bus, instead of being in this lady's warm house.

I can assure, you, if it was ME they complained about and I found out who the neighbor was that complained, I would harrass that person so badly that they would be forced to sell their house so fast they would not know what happened!

[Marvo301]

Well you know the old saying, "no good deed goes unpunished". Sadly it's been proven true once again.

[OH Nuts!]

Originally Posted by Chocoholic

Pedophiles and drug dealers roam the streets and people are worried about a woman who makes sure her neighbors' children have a safe place to wait for the bus? Common sense dies a little more each day

Hello! You are so right on except I would say Common Sense is dying A LOT MORE each and every day and this situation proves it!

[Janice]