The Guv’s Got Some Common Sense
Posted by Brandon | Filed under uncategorized
A couple weeks ago we wrote about the Michigan Department of Human Services’ bizarre decision to go after Lisa Snyder of Middleville for watching a few neighbors’ kids as they waited for their school bus for fifteen to forty minutes. DHS decided to send her a letter demanding that she get a daycare license or cease watching the kids.
Snyder’s situation led to a debate in Lansing over a law that says that no one may care for unrelated children in their home for more than four weeks per calendar year unless they have a daycare provider license. Wha? Can’t be neighborly and help out so someone can keep their job in an economy with an unemployment rate of over 15%!?
Governor Granholm’s on it! Find out how, after the jump . . .
Granholm recently ordered DHS Director Ismael Ahmed to work with the state legislature to change the law so that good neighbors would be allowed to help each other ensure their children are safe before or after school.
Being a good neighbor means helping your neighbors who are in need. This could be as simple as providing a cup of sugar, monitoring their house while they’re on vacation or making sure their children are safe while they wait for the school bus. –DHS Director Ahmed
Don’t forget, though, this is the same DHS that was defending its bizarre decision to threaten one of those good neighbors just a couple of weeks ago.
[W]e feel this [law] really gets in the way of common sense. We want to protect kids, but the law needs to be reasonable. When the governor learned of this, she acted quickly and called the [DHS] personally to ask him to intervene. –Liz Boyd, Granholm Spokeswoman
State Representative Brian Calley, R-Portland, is working to draft legislation that would exempt people like Snyder from Michigan’s current daycare regulations.
As one of Snyder’s neighbor’s said, “I think it does take a village and that’s the best way.”
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Tags: department of uncommon sense, governor granholm, michigan, politics
2 Responses to “The Guv’s Got Some Common Sense”
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Shirley Says:
October 19th, 2009 at 8:21 amNice to see some quick responsiveness from state officials. It would be nice once in awhile if this happened without a bunch of publicity and they just did the right thing. Like telling those kookey neighbors to quit tattling on somebody watching those kids.
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Sam Says:
October 19th, 2009 at 11:12 amThis poor woman who appears to be so skilled has bad timing. What an awful time to be a governor with the economy, etc. Glad that she keeps plugging away, though!
