[MamaS]

Looks like the "recession" has produced something new:

Chicago parents in crisis: Extended child care proves a godsend -- chicagotribune.com

What do you think?
It is scary to me to think about leaving my child with strangers, but DFCS is even scarier.

[Becki_in_IN]

I checked the website out. It seems like a good thing to me. I have always said the foster care system was broken and that the kids are the ones that are getting hurt, but this could be a good alternative to help people get on their feet before they get charged with abuse or neglect. I like the fact that there seems to be more of a timetable and the kids don't get dumped in care forever. I noticed that they recently opened an office in my area. If we didn't need the per diem money to care for another child, I would at least look into this.

[rm2000hg]

I think that this is a great idea. I used to say that if I ever won the lottery I would buy a great big house and let people who didn't have family or friends to help them or money to hire babysitters drop off their kids so that they wouldn't hurt them when they were overwhelmed.

The funny thing about my idea was that I came up with it when I was six or seven years old.