A mom in Michigan is under fire because state regulators say she is violating childcare law there. Each morning, the woman’s neighbors bring their children to her house for care before the bus arrives. Then the woman takes all the children to the bus stop. But the state says that because she is not licensed, and the care is ongoing for more than four weeks (Michigan’s statute), she is breaking the law.

According to Susan Wilkins, the executive director for Arizona’s Association for Supportive Child Care, the Michigan woman may also be breaking the law in Arizona, but it’s a fine line.

In Arizona you cannot care for more than four children (who are not your own) at any point in time without being regulated if you’re receiving compensation for that care, Wilkins said. And compensation may be the “exchange of goods or services,” such as a “you watch my kids, I’ll watch yours,” situation.

“If she’s doing it for absolutely no money, she would probably be exempt,” Wilkins said. “But that would be a fine line.”

The laws are in place, she said, for the safety of the children. That’s why there are regulations, she said.

“If you have five children in your home and you’re caring for them in your home every morning, what safety do you have in place? Are you doing anything with curriculum for the kids or are they watching television? Are you giving them a snack? There’s all kinds of things to consider,” she said.

Group home care licensing is required for anyone who cares for between five and 10 children (not their own), she said. That is set up by the Arizona Department of Health Services’ Office of Child Care Licensing.