Does a daycare have to be liscensed?Does it matter

[Roberta]

As long as she claims the money on her taxes the IRS doesn't care if she's licensed. Not being licensed and watching unrelated children is illegal.

What happened to "the good ole days" when you paid your neighbor under the table to watch you child while you worked????

 

[Dymphna]

What happened to "the good ole days" when you paid your neighbor under the table to watch you child while you worked????

The neighbor let the kids out and the toddler ran into the street, while the baby was suffocating on the waterbed and the older kid were drowning in the pool and her husband turned out to be a convicted child abuser.

 

[ANG]

I 100% agree with GET LICENSED! It's not that difficult if you truly want to watch children. Dymphna is correct, contact the OCC about what steps you need to take.

Besides, why would most parents choose an unlicensed day care? That's just asking for trouble.

 

[dobeday1]

I am thinking of doing daycare..I need a job and my kids school schedules really require me to be home..I have four free hours from when one goes to when one is home. I was wondering,being a mother-which gives experience no class will teach - and also formerly being a nurse,so I don't need CPR,etc..do I HAVE to have a daycare license? Isn't it the parents call as to where they choose to leave their child? Can I just start my business and let the parents make an informed choice? I am really not familiar with the law on this one and am trying to go about it the right way,but these classes seem redundant and more geared to those without experience with children.

I use to do Family Daycare about 8 years ago. I was in it for 14-1/2 years. Yes, you absolutely have to have a license to do daycare. If you babysit children, the hours can not be more than 20 hours per month. But don't quote me on that. If you watch children and you do not have a license, you will be held liable for much more than you bargain for. Don't take any chances, get your childcare license.

As long as your CPR is current, then you will not be required to take it again. But with your license, you will have to have class hours, or credited hours.

 

[sockgirl77]

I use to do Family Daycare about 8 years ago. I was in it for 14-1/2 years. Yes, you absolutely have to have a license to do daycare. If you babysit children, the hours can not be more than 20 hours per month. But don't quote me on that. If you watch children and you do not have a license, you will be held liable for much more than you bargain for. Don't take any chances, get your childcare license.

As long as your CPR is current, then you will not be required to take it again. But with your license, you will have to have class hours, or credited hours.

Damn. Huntr1 should have posted that.

 

[chemommy25]

I have worked in a lot of daycares. the classes are not very expensive. its always good to have certifications, to make the parents of the children feel safe about leaving thier kids with you. after you get the first certifications you can gradually take classes at your own pace while you had the daycare. they have classes at the local colleges (CSM) that you can take for a few hours on a saturday, and then your done.

 

[itsbob]

The neighbor let the kids out and the toddler ran into the street, while the baby was suffocating on the waterbed and the older kid were drowning in the pool and her husband turned out to be a convicted child abuser.

Funny, all the licensing, and registration, nothing has changed.

 

[Dymphna]

Funny, all the licensing, and registration, nothing has changed.

I'm sure that whatever job you have requires some sort of training. You are taught rules and procedures and any laws that may be applicable. Does every single person in your job follow every single procedure/rule/law or do they try to get away with short cuts? Overall, do the vast majority of the people follow the rules and do the job right? Do the ones taking short cuts get caught when things blow up in their face or even sometimes when things are fine, but are done incorrectly? Do those who get caught in a major violation, whether or not bad things resulted, get fired?

Would you advocate doing away with all regulations and procedures for your job just because some people cheat and get away with it? Would you advocate hiring someone for your job who is told that none of the rules apply to them and unless they majorly eff up, no one cares what they do and the boss won't even check up on them unless there is a disaster?

 

[toppick08]

I'm sure that whatever job you have requires some sort of training. You are taught rules and procedures and any laws that may be applicable. Does every single person in your job follow every single procedure/rule/law or do they try to get away with short cuts? Overall, do the vast majority of the people follow the rules and do the job right? Do the ones taking short cuts get caught when things blow up in their face or even sometimes when things are fine, but are done incorrectly? Do those who get caught in a major violation, whether or not bad things resulted, get fired?

Would you advocate doing away with all regulations and procedures for your job just because some people cheat and get away with it? Would you advocate hiring someone for your job who is told that none of the rules apply to them and unless they majorly eff up, no one cares what they do and the boss won't even check up on them unless there is a disaster?

He sounds like a union man to me........:shrug:....so it don't matter...

 

[TimAllen]

How am I not liable if someone's child gets hurt if I am licensed? Aren't I still responsible? And am I way off base here...can I make a decent income doing this - is there a demand?

My wife is starting a Daycare out of the house, she wanted to stay home with our new daughter so I said go for it. I think the difference between just babysitting and doing the home daycare has to ultimately do with the number of children you are allowed to watch the ages of the children, you have to have a certain amount / hours of training, SIDS, CPR, Background Check, Fire Marshall inspection, home daycare imspection, water tested, physical, you have to have age appropriate toys, cots for kids to take naps, etc. It is not illegal to babysit family members children, if you advertise and expect to make a living from it then you would need to be licensed.

 

[Roberta]

Funny, all the licensing, and registration, nothing has changed.

That was my point.

 

[huntr1]

My wife is starting a Daycare out of the house, she wanted to stay home with our new daughter so I said go for it. I think the difference between just babysitting and doing the home daycare has to ultimately do with the number of children you are allowed to watch the ages of the children, you have to have a certain amount / hours of training, SIDS, CPR, Background Check, Fire Marshall inspection, home daycare imspection, water tested, physical, you have to have age appropriate toys, cots for kids to take naps, etc. It is not illegal to babysit family members children, if you advertise and expect to make a living from it then you would need to be licensed.

Man is it ever a good thing that that had not already been posted.

If you watch a non-family member child for more than 20 hours a month in your home, you have to be licensed.

I use to do Family Daycare about 8 years ago. I was in it for 14-1/2 years. Yes, you absolutely have to have a license to do daycare. If you babysit children, the hours can not be more than 20 hours per month. But don't quote me on that. If you watch children and you do not have a license, you will be held liable for much more than you bargain for. Don't take any chances, get your childcare license.

As long as your CPR is current, then you will not be required to take it again. But with your license, you will have to have class hours, or credited hours.

Damn. Huntr1 should have posted that.

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.

 

[TimAllen]

Man is it ever a good thing that that had not already been posted.

 

[huntr1]

 

[TimAllen]

I didnt see that someone had posted so in depth about the process.