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permanentvacation 08:43 PM 09-09-2011
In Florida, at least, in Palm Coast, Florida (Flagler County), when I lived there a couple of years ago, you had 3 options. I can only assume the law is the same now - they don't usually change the laws too often. 1. You can babysit for one family at a time in your own home ( which means you can have one family worth of kids during the day, another family's kids in the evenings, another family's kids overnight, all 7 days/week. Yes, if a mother and father have 1 or 10 kids that really are all siblings, you can watch all 10 at a time because they are all from the same parents (just one family worth of kids). 2. You can be a registered daycare provider. To be a registered provider, you have to take the same daycare classes as a licensed provider and you are allowed the same ratios as a licensed provider but the licensing department never checks on you - unless you are reported for something. And you are not required to have a fence. 3. You can be a licensed provider. To be a licensed provider, you take the same daycare classes as a registered provider, are allowed the same ratios as a registered provider, but you must have a fenced in yard and the licensing department checks on you on a regular basis.

Here in Maryland, you can only babysit a non-related child in you home for - I get it messed up - either 20 hours a month or 20 hours per year. But basically, you are not legally allowed to watch not even one child in your own home who is not related to you on a consistant basis. Your only option for watching children in your home consistantly is to become a licensed provider. If you don't want to become a licensed provider but want to watch children, you are supposed to either be a nanny (consistant usually full-time caretaker in the child's home) or a babysitter which is more of non-consistant or part-time care in the child's home.
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