Daycare.com Forum

Daycare.com Forum (https://www.daycare.com/forum/index.php)
-   Daycare Center and Family Home Forum (https://www.daycare.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=2)
-   -   Unlicesned Daycare Info PLEASE! (https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9501)

mdjb_bryant 07-25-2009 08:42 PM

Unlicesned Daycare Info PLEASE!
 
I am starting an in home daycare. I am CPR certified, experienced, and have 2 children of my own. My question is if I keep one or two kids over the limit of what is required for an unlicensed daycare, does anyone know what they can do if I am turned in. I want to hire someone to come help once I reach my limit. Can you do that and be unlicensed. If not what happens if you do anyway. I have checked state requirements but nothing is listed about what happens if I am over my limit. And I mean seriously just one or two extra. I would never overwhelm myself and deny proper care for the children.

Chickenhauler 07-26-2009 12:25 AM

Originally Posted by mdjb_bryant:
I am starting an in home daycare. I am CPR certified, experienced, and have 2 children of my own. My question is if I keep one or two kids over the limit of what is required for an unlicensed daycare, does anyone know what they can do if I am turned in. I want to hire someone to come help once I reach my limit. Can you do that and be unlicensed. If not what happens if you do anyway. I have checked state requirements but nothing is listed about what happens if I am over my limit. And I mean seriously just one or two extra. I would never overwhelm myself and deny proper care for the children.

It really depends upon the state, county and what kind of mood the social worker is in....it can vary from a simple "You have to get licensed" order, to a cease and desist immediately, with the kids in your care being taken away by social services that instant, to fines and possible jail time, depending on the violations and the severity of them.

Ms.Sue 07-26-2009 11:13 AM

You need to business ethics and know the laws...
 
[quote=mdjb_bryant;13119]I am starting an in home daycare. I am CPR certified, experienced, and have 2 children of my own. My question is if I keep one or two kids over the limit of what is required for an unlicensed daycare, does anyone know what they can do if I am turned in.


First of all - you are really starting out on the wrong foot. It seems to me that your first order of business should not be to see "what i can get away with..?"
You should be focusing on your state requirements, health, safety, building codes, parking, emergency issues,
toys, equipment, expenses, budgets , insurance, and paying taxes.

seashell 07-27-2009 07:21 AM

[quote=Ms.Sue;13127]

Originally Posted by mdjb_bryant:
I am starting an in home daycare. I am CPR certified, experienced, and have 2 children of my own. My question is if I keep one or two kids over the limit of what is required for an unlicensed daycare, does anyone know what they can do if I am turned in.

Originally Posted by mdjb_bryant:


First of all - you are really starting out on the wrong foot. It seems to me that your first order of business should not be to see "what i can get away with..?"
You should be focusing on your state requirements, health, safety, building codes, parking, emergency issues,
toys, equipment, expenses, budgets , insurance, and paying taxes.


Miss Sue,

I don't mean to step out of line here, but honestly, I find your post quite offensive. Why would you asume that a provider who is not licensed does not provide a safe and healthy enviroment? This is not a new debate on this board and honestly, I think we all need to respect each others views and circumstances. Not every state requires a license. Licensed or not, this does not assume quality in care. There are just as many sub standard licensed programs as their are unlicensed programs. Having held a license for many years, I don't believe in the system and am now proud to say that I am unlicensed. Government seeks to control more and more of our lives every day. I believe this leads to blind faith. The general population believes that holding a license insures quality. We only need to watch the evening news or read the paper to see that this is not the case. Licensed centers are in the news every day for abuse and neglect. What ever happened to personal responsibility? Parents should be looking out for their childen's well being, not the government. This is truly a matter of responsible parenting. Parents are at the program twice a day, dropping off and picking up. It is the parent's responsibility to assess the enviroment at that time. Parents know their children best. They see every scratched knee, they know if their child is crying at drop off, they see them laughing and playing at pick up time. They see the condition of the room, the toys, the safty level of the children's areas.

This goes beyond daycare as well. My ex husband owned a bar and held a liqour license. He never followed the rules, nor did any of his competetors, because if all the rules were followed, the business would go under due to the shear cost. Underage drinking is a rampid problem in bars because they need the money and the fines they will pay for getting caught are less than the money they make off the kids that they are serving. I am not saying all licensed facilities bar, daycare, whoever ignore the rules. What I am saying is that the system does not work to offer protection and that the public believes comes with a license.

It is up to parents to use their own eyes and ears to determine the quality of the program. A license is just a piece of paper and does not guarentee quality. How often does licensing visit the program? How often do the parents visit the program?

Law or not, I am taking a stand against government control and the false sense of security it offers by saying no. Child care is between a parent and the provider, end of story.

Lily 07-28-2009 06:59 AM

I agree that the state should not be involved
 
I agree with the poster who said the state should not stick their nose in. Daycare should be between parent and provider. If there is a problem, that is what DCF is for. I think this is especially true with home daycare. It is no one's business what we do in our own homes. A license doesn't ensure children are safe or well cared for, observant parenting does!

Unregistered 08-05-2009 09:28 PM

Originally Posted by mdjb_bryant:
I am starting an in home daycare. I am CPR certified, experienced, and have 2 children of my own. My question is if I keep one or two kids over the limit of what is required for an unlicensed daycare, does anyone know what they can do if I am turned in. I want to hire someone to come help once I reach my limit. Can you do that and be unlicensed. If not what happens if you do anyway. I have checked state requirements but nothing is listed about what happens if I am over my limit. And I mean seriously just one or two extra. I would never overwhelm myself and deny proper care for the children.

To answer your question (instead of bashing you), your main concern is IRS. If your parents are claiming their payments to you as a tax deduction, and you are not reporting them as income, you leave yourself open to IRS audits. If you DO claim your income, and they see that you are not licensed... you leave yourself open to audits.

Yes, you can hire a helper. Same thing with them though, if they claim income and you dont claim expense... there is risk. AND if you and he/she DOES claim income/expense when you dont have a license... there is risk.

In addition, what you are doing is illegal. To take income and not report it, or report the income as a service fee without having a license, is plain illegal. If you get audited you will be in trouble. As someone above mentioned, the action is up to your state and county regulators. however, you will probably get a slap on the hand and told to get a license.

P.S. Its easy to license.... save yourself the headache at tax time and get it done.

seashell 08-06-2009 01:07 PM

Originally Posted by Unregistered:
To answer your question (instead of bashing you), your main concern is IRS. If your parents are claiming their payments to you as a tax deduction, and you are not reporting them as income, you leave yourself open to IRS audits. If you DO claim your income, and they see that you are not licensed... you leave yourself open to audits.

Yes, you can hire a helper. Same thing with them though, if they claim income and you dont claim expense... there is risk. AND if you and he/she DOES claim income/expense when you dont have a license... there is risk.

In addition, what you are doing is illegal. To take income and not report it, or report the income as a service fee without having a license, is plain illegal. If you get audited you will be in trouble. As someone above mentioned, the action is up to your state and county regulators. however, you will probably get a slap on the hand and told to get a license.

P.S. Its easy to license.... save yourself the headache at tax time and get it done.


Im confused . . . where in this post does it state she did not intend to pay taxes? Did I miss the fine print?

sweetcinna 08-07-2009 05:12 AM

Don't stress.......
 
Listen, my advice to you is to do your homework........Read up on what is required in a license center and hold yourself to that standard and don't break any rules. Here in the state i live in you have 5 no related children in your care and anymore than that you HAVE to be licensed, they will fine you 100 per child that your over, per day all the way back to when you took the child on. So for me, I never take in more than 5 children. As far as filing taxes, it was said on here before.....Daycares pay little to no taxes.....so do file your taxes...Don't cheat yourself out of a return. And if you don't have a tax ID #, use your SSN#. Either work. Set yourself up like a licensed center, don't cheat yourself!
FYI: I'm not licensed, and have never been.....I have had DHS in my house on a few occasions (bitter parents) and have never been shut down, as a matter of fact i did recieve awsome comments......Like, "This place is cleaner and smells better than most centers i've been in."

Unregistered 11-22-2009 07:06 PM

Can I get some help from people who are unlicensed
 
WHen I file my taxes can i deduct things if so what?

Chickenhauler 11-24-2009 03:50 PM

Originally Posted by Unregistered:
WHen I file my taxes can i deduct things if so what?

Yes, alot of stuff, but it has alot to do with formula's regarding the total square footage of your home compared to the square footage used in daycare (%) then a percentage of that for the hours that daycare children are present compared to the hours in the year (a % of a %).

Then you have things like food, toys, furniture and carpets (may have to do a depreciation schedule on these), cleaning supplies, etc etc.


Honestly, your best bet would be to ask other providers in your area who they have prepare their taxes. Look for a CPA who specializes in small business operated from the home, and has experience in daycare's, foster care, etc.

A good CPA can save you in taxes their fee and then some.

jen 11-25-2009 06:26 AM

Originally Posted by Unregistered:
To answer your question (instead of bashing you), your main concern is IRS. If your parents are claiming their payments to you as a tax deduction, and you are not reporting them as income, you leave yourself open to IRS audits. If you DO claim your income, and they see that you are not licensed... you leave yourself open to audits.

The IRS isn't going to be taking the time to figure out how many kids she has and what the State laws are in her State regarding licensure. Not being licensed will not open you up to an audit...

But of course, always, always claim your income and expenses.

laundryduchess@yahoo.com 11-25-2009 08:33 AM

My advice
 
If you honestly what to know what you can "get away with" or what the penalties for are when you DO BREAK THE LAW then BIG RED FLAG goes off in my eyes.
If you dont want to be licenced, fine. Don't be. Keep within the limits defined in your state and be the wonderful happy safe loving provider of your dreams. You have to claim EVERY DIME of income anyway. Licensed or not.
BUT,......
if you are asking,.. hey can I take on as many kids as I feel comfortable with no matter the laws in my state and provide unlicensed care? Oh and WHEN I get caught what can they do to me? If your worried about that, maybe you should stick within the laws in your state.

Whether you AGREE or not. As long as you live in the state you do you are required to abide by the laws of that state. If you don't agree to the rules,..either Move somewhere that has none or at least ones you agree to or change them. Don't break them.

I really couldnt give a flippity flop if someone is licensed or not,.. Don't care why or why not you agree with the laws. What your beliefs are as to 'big brother involvement'. BUT,.. should you choose to break the law,.. no matter if you agree with that law,... you should be prepared to deal with the flack from others. Including your peers and the authorities.

Personally,... I HATE some of the rules I have to follow. BUT,.. I follow them because they are law. Just as you wouldnt drink and drive or rob a bank, you shouldnt break the laws about numbers and ratios. And for anyone who wants to slam me for comparing drunk driving to being an unlicensed over the ratio limit provider,.. go ahead. I think MORE HARM comes from people taking on too many things than they can competently handle. I dont mean you personally cant handle 8 or 10 or 15 kids,... and on a good day I think alot can,..

but let me tell you a story. A true to life Honest to God even that happened. I AM licensed,.. I had 7 kids. (licensed for 10 plus 3 school agers) My neighbor lived beside me for 11 years providing unlicensed care. for 11 of those years,.. it was uneventful. She always had more than the 5 kids you are allowed. But I never turned her in, not my business, not my issue and the parents seemed happy. Kids seemed happy. On that fateful day,.. I was out front with my 7. She started Screaming at me,.... HELP!!!! my house is on fire,.. I need you to catch kids and keep them for me,... OK, of course toss them over the fence,.. so I started catching,.... running them back and forth to my front yard that was fenced. After the last one was safely in the gate and the fire dept arrived I had 21. Lets do that math,.... 21 -7 = 14. She had 14 kids in her home, unlicensed. She had for years uneventfully. and it was not until this day that she had an emergency and couldnt handle those 14 kids. By the way,.. one of the boys was treated for burns to his chest and arms from playing with a lighter he found and started the fire with while she was changing a babies diaper. I thank the Lord for things happening the way they did. Now, I ask you could you HONESTLY handle that situation? After 20 years I know I couldnt. Even having the experience I have with not only my own 4 kids but witht he daycare. Because up until that moment she thought she had things in control. She was closed down immediately, state came in filed charges, and proscecuted her. I dont know what they charged her monetarily,... but She has since lost her home to foreclosure because no money , no house. I know she was on criminal charges,... because of not being licensed. The Boys parents sued her for damages and neglect. She lost it all. Because she made a simple mistake one afternoon changing a diaper....

I ask you,.. please be careful. Please remember this story. Its hard sometimes saying to ourselves,.. oh it will be ok, whats one more? I could really pay my bills off faster if only I had one more,... The state needs to stay out of my business, the parents trust me why cant the state? The laws are there for a reason,.. if you dont like them,,, change them, make them different,.. but dont go out in the beginning searching for what you can get away with and how hard will you be puniched if you get caught. Just my opinion,.. and well,.. you know what they say about opinions,.....

peace, Happy Turkey Day and be thankful for what all of us have.....

Unregistered 11-25-2009 09:32 AM

The states have laws/rules for a reason, the kids safety. I'm not saying that you would provide bad care if you were over your limit however if I didn't know you and knew the laws of the state of how many children you were allowed to have and visited your home for potential daycare I would be concerned if you're not follwing the "rules" of the state and wonder what other things you could be doing or not doing then I would be worried about the safety of my child, so if I didn't know you then I probablly would not take my child to your home, i'm not the type that would turn someone in I would just turn away unless of course I actually saw something bad going on. I am a daycare provider but I stick within my states rules but I do know daycare providers who do go beyond what they are suppose to have, and these providers as much as I like them as a person their homes are definetly somewhat out of control at times and again I'm not saying that happens in all over the limit homes but when you have more kids than allowed it's harder to have a handle on situations. For me the state limits are too many than I can handle.


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 09:13 AM.