Oh the stress of this is driving me crazy going back and forth. I can not decide if it is worth the hassle of all that comes with process of getting licensed. The expense of it also I'm not sure I would show any profit at all this year if we started it now. I already am full with the 5 I keep 5 days a week full time. I also have my nephew (YES HE IS RELATED) come 2 or 3 days a week, my sister-in-law cleans houses M-W-F. I still follow all the rules and operate as if I am licensed. I had back ground check done and drug screening for student teaching last year. But I would have to pay for all this again and for my husband also. He's been offered a new job that has our income more then cushioned and I believe that is why I'm highly considering staying not licensed so I don't ever have to have more then 5 kids. That kinda a max for my own sanity.

Has anyone been in a similar situation or benefits or pros or cons I'm not considering.

Thanks

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Maybe I don't understand this but if you have 5 FT and your nephew PT, aren't you over the limit for legal unlicensed care?

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If I could be legally unlicensed ad make enough money to pay my bills, I would. Just to avoid the extra hoops and having to deal with inspections.

Of course, in my state, that isn't even an option. Everyone has to be licensed unless you are only caring for family members.

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Related children do not count in the ratio, I could have 4 of my own children too, well I do, but they are all over 11 So they don't count in ratio either. Although if they had friends over that were under 14 they would count... Odd rules

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If you don't need or want to watch more children and can legally run unlicensed with the amount you have - then I see no benefit in getting licensed for you.

What state are you in?

I will say - there are lots of grants available to cover start up costs, classes, trainings, toys etc. I love grants - I apply/get 2-3 a year. They are awesome.

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Indiana

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If I could be unlicensed and legal I would. In my state it's not even expensive or difficult to be licensed. Given the fact that bureaucrats (licensing officials) are often petty, arcane and difficult to deal with, I'd just rather not have to do it.

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In my state, I can have 4 without licensing. I have been at capacity for over a year now and looked into licensing. The next level would have allowed 5-8 children. I honestly couldn't see myself keeping more than 5 or 6 and then our process (the fire department aspect) has age group limits based on how many steps there are between the front door and the road and the slope of my driveway. Based on my setup, I would've been limited to a lot of older kids and I choose to stick with children under 5. I took a 4 hour course to learn all about it. Another issue for me was that my dog wouldn't be allowed in the space at all (per the health and environmental people). That's not an option. It bothered me how there were 3 different departments with 3 different sets of standards and I would've had to follow the most stringent, so basically everything would be micromanaged. I just didn't like how much choice and flexibility I would lose when it was all said and done. That was my decision. I'd rather be content with less than miserable with more.

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I don't know how many children licensed providers are allowed to care for in your state but given what you've said, I assume it's more than 5. I wanted to point out that getting licensed doesn't mean you have to care for the maximum number of kids allowed. If you were to become licensed, you could still stick with your own self determined max of 5 kids; getting licensed won't change that.

Based on what you've shared, if I were in your situation and had the option to remain legally unlicensed, that's what I would do. If you had said licensed providers are more in demand in your area, that you're having trouble filling spots as a result of not being licensed and that you need the income, I'd suggest getting licensed to see if it gives you an edge but it sounds as though you're doing fine without a license. "Why fix it if it ain't broke?"

I'm curious, though....you say the stress of making this decision is driving you crazy and you've listed only reasons to remain unlicensed. You haven't mentioned your reasons for becoming licensed. You must see some merit to it or the decision wouldn't be driving you so crazy. What is it that is making you feel you need to think about becoming licensed?

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I would be able to care for up to 10 mixed age infant to 6 but would be limited to 3 under 16 months. Unlicensed no age restrictions just no more then 5 unrelated children at a time. It would let me add drop in and part time care that is needed in our area. No one is legally licensed in my rural town. Except head start. But I have found in the last few months I don't care for having part time kids (my nephew is so unscheduled bc or having 3 caregivers ). If licensed I could more easily have voucher payments (although LLE can also but all licensing hoops are required so if i do one may as well the other same goes wirh food program ). Being the only home provider licensed would give me another edge up on others, but I feel my degree does that anyways.

I have looked for grants in indiana and they have some more education for getting a CDA but I already have 15K in student loans from my bachelor degree lol.

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