Library: News Releases
OKLAHOMA CAPITOL -- The Oklahoma Department of Human Services Division of Child Care will host more than 400 international human care licensing professionals for the 15th Annual National Association of Regulatory Administration Licensing Seminar, Regulatory Research: Lighting Our Way to Greatness, Oct. 9-11.
“We’re proud and honored to have the opportunity to host the Licensing Seminar, as well as help NARA celebrate its 30th anniversary as a consumer protective organization,” said Mark Lewis, OKDHS Division of Child Care director. “All 170 OKDHS Division of Child Care staff members, as well as many of our partners, will participate in this one-of-a-kind conference dedicated to ensuring the health, safety and well-being of vulnerable children.”
The OKDHS Division of Child Care is tasked with ensuring Oklahoma’s children and their parents have access to licensed, affordable, high-quality child care. The division develops and administers licensing requirements for nearly 6,000 child care facilities statewide impacting approximately 150,000 children. These include child care centers, child care homes, part-time programs, school-age programs, residential child care facilities, children’s emergency shelters and child placing agencies.
Judy Collins, who retired as the statewide child care licensing coordinator with the OKDHS Division of Child Care in 1998, serves as NARA president.
“Nationally Oklahoma is a shining star in child care and residential licensing,” said Collins, who’s serving her second term as president. ”To have Oklahoma host the conference during NARA’s 30th anniversary is quite an honor. And I’m honored to be president during this time.”
OKDHS Director Howard H. Hendrick will kick off the three-day conference, held at the Sheraton Oklahoma City Hotel, which will feature tracks on legal issues, adult care, child care, child welfare and research topics.
Created in 1976, NARA advocates for improved human care licensing polices, rules, practices and staffing standards and disseminates information, conducts research and provides consultation and training to the staff of public licensing agencies and allied groups. For more information on NARA, go to http://www.naralicensing.org/.
For more information about the OKDHS Division of Child Care, go to www.okdhs.org
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