If you care for children in YOUR home, the children are not related to you and you care for any child more than 20 hours a month, you are required by law to be registered/licensed by the State. That registration requires your CPR and First Aid certifications be up to date, that you have a certain number of hours of child care training (new law effective July 2008 is 18 hrs to start, 12 hours per year to maintain) It is illegal to advertise that you do child care in your home if you don't have a license. Your home owners insurance won't cover it if you aren't licensed, so if a child gets hurt, not only will you be prosecuted for providing illegal care, but possibly child endangerment if there is the least little thing wrong, but your home owners will drop you and leave you to pay the child's medical bills out of your pocket, along with anything else those parents sue you for because suddenly they will deny all knowledge that what you are doing was illegal.
If you have income, even illegal income, you must claim it with the IRS, but then they know you are doing something illegal and can prove it. If you don't claim it, THAT's illegal and they will get you on tax evasion. So it's a Catch-22. Also, by operating a child care center legally, you can claim all sorts of tax deductions no one but child care providers can claim...if you are operating on a small scale, you probably won't have to pay much, if any taxes on your income.
The state defines babysitting as in the child's home, or care by relatives or "occasional" care which is further defined as less than 20 hours per month. Licensed providers are limited to 8 children, however any of their own children under age 6 count against that 8. Charles County zoning laws limit the number to 6, not 8. Only 2 of those children (including the provider's own) can be under the age of 2. If you are on well water, it must be tested every 2 years. Public water is assumed to have been tested at the treatment facility. The fire marshal must also inspect your home for fire hazards and to make sure you have an escape plan in place. You must also conduct monthly fire drills and keep a record of them.
Forget CSM. At least for now. Call the Office of Child Care at 301-475-3770 and ask them about an orientation class. That's your first step. Once you've decided to start the process, join one of the local Daycare associations. Charles, Calvert and St. Mary's each have one. You can cross county lines for that if you wish. They all offer classes that are covered by your annual membership fee of $20 - $25. St. Mary's Hospital Health Connections offers child care providers free CPR and First Aid certification...some conditions apply. Call them at 301-475-6019 for details. You can also contact the Southern Maryland Childcare Resource Center for training and support services at 301-290-0040. You can search a database for training classes here:
Maryland Committee for Children
You can checkout online child care training here:
Child Care Distance Learning School - Care Courses; Training for CDA (Child Development Associate) Online training is a little more expensive, but more convenient for most people.
CSM does offer some good courses, but they aren't always the best for just starting out. They also offer them for a reduced fee, but that is because of a grant for child care providers. I don't know if you have to already have a license to qualify for the reduced fee.