Good Neighbor Threatened by State

She'd be in trouble in NY STate, too. Need a child care permit, x number of hours of classes, a fire extinguisher, practice fire drills, smoke alarm, so many square feet per child, guest book for any guests to sign in and on and on such as activities, materials for the kids, home inspections, etc. States have gotten crazy.

Of course this is the height of absurdity. It is just another example of what happens when there is too much government regulation and interference and the complete abandonment of any common sense whatsoever. It is the exact definition of the meanings of "the letter of the law kills; the spirit gives life". If the "law" was intended for the protection of children, that's one thing, but when it is misapplied through lack of wisdom and common sense, even the purpose of the law is defeated. I understand that a neighbor complained, but, obviously do not know her motivation. The agency could have made a simple phone call to ascertain the circumstances, before issuing a threatening "cease and desist" order. Because our nation is now under such big government intrusion into the lives of its citizens this seems all the more frightening. People informing on each other without cause, as BHO would like, can be so harmful. I am NOT talking about abuse or anything like it. We lose sight of our humanity when bureaucracy takes the place of common sense and personal relationship. The good news is that some in Michigan's government undertook to rectify the situation; that doesn't happen very often these days. All too often innocent people are needlessly harmed because of the lack of wisdom and good judgment that is supposed to be inherent in those who should be responsible to exercise them. Think of all the time and money wasted, not to mention harm to the families involved, especially the children that a responsible and nice neighbor was "going the extra mile" to care for and keep safe.

I think it is totally absurd! Why do they want to pick on people that are just trying to be nice. They should just leave people alone. It isn't like she had a whole house full of kids all day long.

Society will treat a person any way they can if they know they can get away with it and I think that she should take them to court and fight for her rights as a person.

I saw that one on the news this morning and was thinking of starting a discussion myself. I think it's a moronic example of government over regulation of things that ought to be left alone.

We've got a similar situation going on here in the UK. Two female cops (yes, that says cops) are looking after each others kids when one is on shift and the other one isn't. They've been told they have to register as childminders in order to do this. I can understand that there needs to be some safeguards over where kids are left but we're actually talking about a cop leaving her kid with another cop not some stranger. It seems to me that the powers in grey suits are doing anything and eveything to harrass ordinary folks whilst real criminals are left alone. Nuts!

I saw an interview on television with this woman, the moms of the children she watched and the legislator who is trying to help her get this mess straightened out. Out of the goodness of her heart, she watched and sheltered these children while they waited for the bus with NO MONEY involved, just friend to friend. If that had been the case when I was a child, my mom would have been in jail. She gave rides and watched my school friends and helped to start the Helping Hand program in our city. Yes, this was in the 50's and early 60's, when neighbors were not afraid and more than willing to help each other. This Michigan woman does not know who called, but they verified that it was a busy body neighbor. For heavens sake, What Have We Become? In this day and age, when we see creeps kidnapping and murdering children, I think this woman is not only sheltering these kids from the elements but from the weirdos that wander the street. She deserves to be honored, not threatened by the government. Just as a side note, didn't President Obama ask the citizens of the country to join in and volunteer to help each other in one of his presidential speeches recently? Perhaps he should get involved and make a statement for the benefit of this lady.

Everywhere you look state intervention in how we raise our kids...everywhere, and, unfortunately, we've asked for it.

[b]Why the H-E-double hockey sticks does the state even CARE?! Anyway, they should butt out. Good grief! Sigh, once again the buttinsky state pokes it's (censored) nose under the camel's tent, just so "no good deed goes unpunished." I hope she tells them where to go! Grrr! Oh, wait, saying that means I'm now on record with them for being a "low-level terrorist." Not that it'll make ME shut up. }^P Maggiepie "WHERE'S THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE?"[/b]

Here we have yet another case of the government needing to exert unnecessary control over citizens. One of the first things that strikes me about this story is, how did they find out about it? Some busybody had to have called and reported her. Otherwise, how would they even know? So that's the first thing that irks me. But I have to mention the law. At first glance one would have to say it's a stupid law, but I can see why the law was enacted. They wanted to stop people from setting up an unregulated day care center. The spirit of the law has children's welfare in mind. So now we get to the second thing that really irks me. These people at the Michigan Department of Human Services are totally clueless. Obviously, this woman isn't setting up a day care center. They probably didn't even bother to check it out before they sent her the threatening notice either. This woman who watches the kids for a while as a favor to her friends and neighbors and to keep the kids safe before the bus comes, is NOT what the law was created for. As I read further in the story, I saw that indeed some busybody neighbor did call and report her. I also read that, thankfully, logic and common sense will prevail. The Governor got involved and called the head of the agency who agreed that the law should be changed so it doesn't interfere with people helping each other out. They actually made logical statements like the law "really gets in the way of common sense" and "we want to protect kids, but the law needs to be reasonable." I'm encouraged to see that more sensible heads will prevail over the mindless bureaucrats that sent out the notice in the first place. Hopefully a happy ending.