Thread: Ugh! So annoyed

So... I get a call from my babysitter today and apparently the DCFS people are saying I have to give my son the Hep B vaccine. That it is required by law for childcare. Seriously... I am required to inject something into my kids. Wonderful... Big brother at it's finest.

I'm not quite sure what your situation is, but is it possible for you to do a private home care? I don't require my families to be up on shots, it's their business not mine.

What state are you in? Most states require the same thing for daycares that they require for public schools, and most states allow an exemption for religious/philsophical beliefs for public schools.

We just started our son in a preschool in September. He didn't have the one and hasn't had any vaccines at all. We did a religious exemption, had it notarized and that was all there was to it. No one even blinked an eye.

How does one go about getting an exemption? My sitter is a private in home daycare, but she is licensed and so regulated through DCFS. I am in Illinois.

Originally Posted by Spacers

What state are you in? Most states require the same thing for daycares that they require for public schools, and most states allow an exemption for religious/philsophical beliefs for public schools.

Yup this

Originally Posted by Mom2ThreeKiddos

How does one go about getting an exemption? My sitter is a private in home daycare, but she is licensed and so regulated through DCFS. I am in Illinois.

*Lurker*
It can be tough to find out what paperwork they need to have on hand, and it varies from state to state. I had to jump through some hoops to figure out what I needed to do to get the religious exemption, but once I figured out what they needed, it was easy. As a starting place, I would do two things. First, inform the daycare that you are claiming religious exemption and ask them what forms they need to have on file to prove this. They may or may not know, but it's a start. Secondly, call your pediatrician and ask if they know what forms you need to fill out, because in some states it has to be signed by the pediatrician. Also, if you can find someone in your area who has claimed religious exemption and can walk you through the process, that is extremely helpful.

For my daughter, I had to notify her doctor and have him check the religious exemption box on her health form and sign off on it. Then I had to write a short letter to the preschool informing them that I was claiming religious exemption and siting the state law that allows it. I found a sample letter online and used that as a guideline.

The hardest part is figuring out what paperwork you need to do. Actually doing it is usually pretty easy. Sometimes the schools/daycares are uninformed and will try to tell you that you can't claim exemption- it's not true, you just might have to do a little digging to find the info for it. Good luck!

Christy, this is the best I could find ...

http://www.vaclib.org/exempt/illinois.htm
write to IDPH (or HRS) for their exemption forms. Can also be a written form.
(Illinois Dept of Public Health or Human Resource Services)

If they give you trouble, I'd call IDPH, ask them what you need to do and go from there. HTH

Thanks everyone!

Vax are generally "required" but that is also why they provide exemptions. Illnios does have exemptions for religious beliefs.. I looked into it when I almost moved there this past year. Not sure how to go about doing that.. Here I just had to write a letter stating why DD wasn't up to date on her shots in which i just put "due to religious reasons" and FYI no one can say that it is false. You don't have to belong to a particular religious group or anything. Just that your beliefs make it wrong to give shots.. ie. God made us perfect and therefore altering that perfect state at birth by giving shots is against god's plan. or something like that.

What exactly is DCFS?