Anyone know the maryland babysitting laws?

[smarie1011]

Hey! I am new to the southern Maryland area! I am looking into opening a in home day care. I have found tons of information bout doing this but, I can't find where it says how many children you can baby sit without having a license? I was just wondering if anyone here might know the answer! How many children can you watch without having a license and how old do you have to be to babysit! Thanks a ton!

Mrs. Russell

 

[wineo]

Hey! I am new to the southern Maryland area! I am looking into opening a in home day care. I have found tons of information bout doing this but, I can't find where it says how many children you can baby sit without having a license? I was just wondering if anyone here might know the answer! How many children can you watch without having a license and how old do you have to be to babysit! Thanks a ton!

Mrs. Russell

Call Child Care Administration in Leon or go to the networkofcare.org website

 

[theArtistFormerlyKnownAs]

If you are babysitting even 1 kid in your own home without a license, you are most likely breaking the law (there is a limit on the number of hours you can babysit in your own home w/o a license per month...I believe it is 20 hours)
If you babysit in the child's home, then you can do it without a license

 

[MMDad]

Wirelessly posted (Change we can believe in!: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; IEMobile 7.7) 320x240; VZW; Motorola-Q9c; Windows Mobile 6.0 Standard)

If you are babysitting even 1 kid in your own home without a license, you are most likely breaking the law (there is a limit on the number of hours you can babysit in your own home w/o a license per month...I believe it is 20 hours)
If you babysit in the child's home, then you can do it without a license

Once again you are injecting your ignorance into a grownup tread. Idiot.

 

[huntr1]

Wirelessly posted (Change we can believe in!: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; IEMobile 7.7) 320x240; VZW; Motorola-Q9c; Windows Mobile 6.0 Standard)



Once again you are injecting your ignorance into a grownup tread. Idiot.

This time he's right.

To watch a child that is not related to you, in your home, in excess of 20 hours a month, you must be licensed.

Most you can watch is 8 at one time.

No more than 2 under the age of 2.

Do a search on Childcare Connection on here and you will find a link to the licensing agency.

 

[awpitt]

This time he's right.

To watch a child that is not related to you, in your home, in excess of 20 hours a month, you must be licensed.

Most you can watch is 8 at one time.

No more than 2 under the age of 2.

Do a search on Childcare Connection on here and you will find a link to the licensing agency.

Actually, the most you can be approved for is 8. There's no guarantee that you'll be approved for that many. Things like house size, yard size, type of car you have, number of kids you have of your own, etc. all factor into the number of daycare kids you get approval for.

 

[RareBreed]

Speaking as a parent with kids in day-care, once your potential clients hear that you aren't licensed, they probably won't want you to be their day-care provider. I know I wouldn't.

 

[huntr1]

Actually, the most you can be approved for is 8. There's no guarantee that you'll be approved for that many. Things like house size, yard size, type of car you have, number of kids you have of your own, etc. all factor into the number of daycare kids you get approval for.

As the husband of a licensed provider, I know that. However, I was trying to keep it simple. What I posted was acurate. No need to get into specifics with the OP on this when the rough brushstrokes of the rules will do for now.

 

[bluesmom31]

Speaking as a parent with kids in day-care, once your potential clients hear that you aren't licensed, they probably won't want you to be their day-care provider. I know I wouldn't.

My children, ages 19 and 17 were cared for by a non-licensed sitter when the were younger. While I know this was awhile ago, and things have changed drastically, but just because a sitter is licensed doesn't mean they will treat your child any better. I would not have traded the sitter I had for anyone. My children were loved and cared for as if they were her own.

 

[huntr1]

My children, ages 19 and 17 were cared for by a non-licensed sitter when the were younger. While I know this was awhile ago, and things have changed drastically, but just because a sitter is licensed doesn't mean they will treat your child any better. I would not have traded the sitter I had for anyone. My children were loved and cared for as if they were her own.

Just because they are licensed, or not, does not mean they will be better than any other person you choose to pay to watch your children. Having a license, or not, does not mean that you will not do a wonderful job of watching children. With that being said...

Here's my thoughts on licensed vs. unlicensed providers:
As easy as it is to get licensed, and as non-invasive as the process is to keep the license, why would somebody NOT want to be licensed? What are they hiding? There has GOT to be a reason somebody chooses to run an illegal (unlicensed) child care business. To me knowing they are licensed gives me a bit of piece of mind since they, and anyone living in the house over the age of 18, has been fingerprinted and background checked.

 

[Dymphna]

Legal definition of "babysitting" in Maryland is 1. caring for the child in the child's home. 2. Caring for a related child, regardless of location or 3. Caring for a child on an "occasional" basis, with "occasional" being defined as less than 20 hours per month.

You must be 13 years old to be a "babysitter" as defined by the above.

Now, sounds like what you want to be is a "Family Childcare Provider" which is caring for unrelated children in your home on more than an "occasional" basis.

In Maryland, even ONE child under these circumstances requires being registered with the State.

Region 10 - Southern Maryland Office

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]1st Step - Attend Family Day Care Orientation. Family Day Care Orientations are held monthly at local libraries. There is no charge and you do not have to register to attend. Please be prompt, stay through the entire three-hour session, and do not bring children to the orientation. You will receive an application packet and an explanation of the application process.[/FONT]

(Click the link in the quote for dates/times/locations)

 

[Dymphna]

My children, ages 19 and 17 were cared for by a non-licensed sitter when the were younger. While I know this was awhile ago, and things have changed drastically, but just because a sitter is licensed doesn't mean they will treat your child any better. I would not have traded the sitter I had for anyone. My children were loved and cared for as if they were her own.

There are good and bad people who are licensed and good and bad people who aren't, however, if you are not licensed, 1. You are breaking the law. What kind of an example is that to set for the children? 2. You could be subject to a fine. It's cheaper just to follow the law. 3. If your home owners insurance finds out about it, the will drop you faster than you can blink. 4. Should an accident happen to one of the children, the parent's will suddenly claim ignorance that what you were doing was illegal, they will claim all sorts of things were going on, that may or may not have been and since you never had a state inspection by an unbias 3rd party, it will be strictly your word against the word of the poor distraught parent with the injured child and you can kiss your house goodbye because the insurance dropped you and you can't afford the settlement when you lose the law suit.

 

[Dymphna]

Sorry forgot one....

5. If you are unlicensed, you cannot claim all the tax deductions available to child care providers on your state taxes (although you can still claim them on federal) and it could cost you a LOT of money in extra taxes.

 

[awpitt]

Just because they are licensed, or not, does not mean they will be better than any other person you choose to pay to watch your children. Having a license, or not, does not mean that you will not do a wonderful job of watching children. With that being said...

Here's my thoughts on licensed vs. unlicensed providers:
As easy as it is to get licensed, and as non-invasive as the process is to keep the license, why would somebody NOT want to be licensed? What are they hiding? There has GOT to be a reason somebody chooses to run an illegal (unlicensed) child care business. To me knowing they are licensed gives me a bit of piece of mind since they, and anyone living in the house over the age of 18, has been fingerprinted and background checked.

Exactly. All other things being equal, I would think a responsible parent wouldn't even consider placing their children with an unlicensed provider. I saw a news piece a few years back where the focus was if I parent knowingly places their children in an unlicensed daycare and something happens to the child(ren), the parent could be in trouble along with the unlicensed provider. I think it fell into the area of child neglect.

 

[huntr1]

Sorry forgot one....

5. If you are unlicensed, you cannot claim all the tax deductions available to child care providers on your state taxes (although you can still claim them on federal) and it could cost you a LOT of money in extra taxes.

And a parent cannot write off their childcare expenses if they use an unlicensed provider since they won't have a tax ID number.

 

[Dymphna]

Exactly. All other things being equal, I would think a responsible parent wouldn't even consider placing their children with an unlicensed provider. I saw a news piece a few years back where the focus was if I parent knowingly places their children in an unlicensed daycare and something happens to the child(ren), the parent could be in trouble along with the unlicensed provider. I think it fell into the area of child neglect.

I believe you are correct, that's why I said, if something happens the parents will suddenly claim ignorance of the law...which given the huge differences from state to state on this subject, it is easily believable.

As a child care provider, I have interviewed parents who were in a custody dispute and one of the criteria looked at was the child care arrangements. The child was in an unlicensed care situation and the court saw that as evidence that the parent wasn't caring for the child properly and ordered them to find licensed care.

 

[Dymphna]

And a parent cannot write off their childcare expenses if they use an unlicensed provider since they won't have a tax ID number.

Actually, they can still write it off for federal....the tax ID number in a sole proprietorship business can be the social security number (although with all the ID theft going around who'd want to do that).

The reason these things can be written off federal taxes, even though it's an illegal situation is that the rules are radically different from state to state and the fed rules need to be the same for everyone...

for example, in Virginia, it is legal to watch up to 5 children without a license. In Tennessee, you can't watch up to 8 kids. Some states base it on the number of families in care regardless of the number of children.

 

[huntr1]

Actually, they can still write it off for federal....the tax ID number in a sole proprietorship business can be the social security number (although with all the ID theft going around who'd want to do that).

The reason these things can be written off federal taxes, even though it's an illegal situation is that the rules are radically different from state to state and the fed rules need to be the same for everyone...

for example, in Virginia, it is legal to watch up to 5 children without a license. In Tennessee, you can't watch up to 8 kids. Some states base it on the number of families in care regardless of the number of children.

OK, I am wrong. I can live with that.

 

[cattitude]

Actually, they can still write it off for federal....the tax ID number in a sole proprietorship business can be the social security number (although with all the ID theft going around who'd want to do that).

The reason these things can be written off federal taxes, even though it's an illegal situation is that the rules are radically different from state to state and the fed rules need to be the same for everyone...

for example, in Virginia, it is legal to watch up to 5 children without a license. In Tennessee, you can't watch up to 8 kids. Some states base it on the number of families in care regardless of the number of children.

Back in the day... my children were not with licensed daycare providers and they were excellent people. My youngest had issues and had to be on an apnea monitor for 8 months. I couldn't find anyone to watch him..nobody wanted that responsibility except one woman who was willing to learn about his needs.

You could claim child care on the taxes back in the stone age too..all you needed was the SSN of the caregiver.

As far as setting a bad example for the kids by not being licensed, I doubt that many children are aware of what being licensed (or not) even means.

 

[sockgirl77]

Does not really matter what anyone says. I'd be willing to be that this lady still opens an unlicensed daycare in her home.