Upcoming NARA WebinarsNARA provides its members and the general public access to webinars covering topics in human care regulation.May 21, 2026 Webinar: The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption: An Update for Licensing Staff Since the number of intercountry adoption agencies is relatively small, licensing staff may find that they are not familiar enough with how the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption governs adoption practice in the United States. This webinar will present a brief history of the Hague Convention and US implementation, an overview of the Hague requirements that are most important for licensing staff to understand, changes to US regulations in the past two years, how licensors can reconcile differences between local and federal requirements, and flags that can alert licensing staff to unethical practices. Presented by: Etta Lappen Davis Etta has worked in human services for several decades. As principal of Etsky Consulting, she provides services to child welfare organizations throughout the United States, and was a court-appointed expert on the Roe v. Staples consent decree case in Ohio. Etta is a 2009 Angel in Adoption™️. Widely regarded as an expert in Hague Accreditation and Approval for intercountry adoption service providers, Etta served as Council on Accreditation’s Hague consultant and trainer, and worked closely with the State Department in the early years of implementation of the Convention in the United States. She was a contract consultant for Child Welfare League of America, where she worked on writing their Standards of Excellence for Residential Services, Practice Guidelines for Behavior Support and Training, and was the primary architect of CWLA’s National Blueprint for Excellence in Child Welfare. She was also a member of CWLA’s teams conducting child fatality and critical incident reviews in Florida, Virginia, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. As a part-time Clinical and Practice Manager at the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families for 10 years, Etta worked on the Commissioner’s team to address policy issues, critical incidents, permanency services, and a variety of special projects. As a Licensing Specialist in Massachusetts, Etta licensed public and non-governmental organizations providing residential, shelter, and foster care/adoption placement services, investigated complaints and serious incidents, helped to write and shape policy, and fostered cooperative relationships between licensors and licensees. Etta has served on numerous non-profit Boards, has volunteered as a facilitator of a team assisting unemployed and underemployed people in Central MA, and with a team working to support families resettling in the United States and seeking asylum. Etta is delighted to serve as a current member of NARA’s Governance Committee and its Child Welfare Task Force. Please join us! _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________December 11, 2025 Webinar:In The Licensing Study webinar, you will learn about what's new in the world of childcare licensing and how things have evolved or stayed the same. Discussion will include updated statistics, significant impacts, such as covid, as well as current trends to meet the ever-changing demands of childcare. Please come and join us as we share, listen, and learn. Deborah Russo Deborah (Debby) Russo is an active member, Past-President and multi-year board member of NARA, as well as serving on the professional development and governance committees. She is currently a consultant working on credential training and the NARA licensing study. Ms. Russo holds a Bachelor degree from the University of Miami majoring in Speech Pathology and Education. Ms. Russo is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®) and has worked on the development of the national Model Foster Home Standards; revisions to NARA’s Best Practices Guide; is co-author of some of NARA’s white papers as well as a curriculum subject matter expert. Ms. Russo retired from the Florida Department of Children and Families with over twenty years of experience in the regulatory arena. Her duties required extensive knowledge in rule development, legislative implementation, government efficiencies, and accreditation as well as the various programs within Child Care Licensing, Background Screening, Adult Services and the statewide abuse hotline.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ November 5, 2025 Webinar:
In the Change Management Basics webinar, you will learn about Change Management - what it is and why an agency might use it. You will hear about different models of change management and see various scenarios for applying it. You will understand the benefits in using change management methodologies; you will see how to increase the chances for successful change leading to better outcomes, productivity, and long-term success, including continuous quality assurance. You will learn the difference between change management and project management and the importance of both. Finally, you will learn a bit about how to mitigate resistance to change. Ann Radcliffe Ann Radcliffe is a retired Washington state employee with a background in early childhood and elementary education. She taught grade school for six years, then changed her focus to early childhood. She was employed at Child Care Resource and Referral in Wisconsin for four years, managing the childcare substitute program. Ann moved to Washington in 2005 where she was a Director of an Early Learning Opportunities Act grant for Puget Sound Educational Service District. She became interested in organizational change and attended Gonzaga University online for her Masters in Organizational Leadership, graduating in 2010. After working a year for Head Start in Tacoma, Washington, she worked for the WA State Department of Early Learning (DEL) as a childcare Licensing Analyst. DEL merged with two other state agencies in 2018 to become the WA State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF). Her role at DCYF changed a few times in the last several years; she was blessed to work with great supervisors, teammates, and colleagues along the way. She retired at the end of February this past year, and now enjoys hobbies such as hiking, riding with her husband on his motorcycle, baking, and reading. Ann hopes to spend more time visiting her six grandchildren who live in Wyoming, Arizona, and South Dakota. She highly recommends retirement! NARA is looking for webinar presenters. If you have a topic you'd like to present to our members, please contact us at [email protected] for details. NARA's Webinar ArchiveAll webinars are archived and available for purchase for members and non-members. Check out the recordings here. Webinar Refund and Credit PolicyWebinar registration fees are due at the time of registration. In order to be eligible for refund, the written request must be received at least five (5) business days prior to the day the webinar is scheduled to occur. All refunds will be subject to a processing charge of $15.00 (US Funds). Late cancellations are not refundable, but attendance may be transferred to a colleague who is eligible at the same fee rate based on membership status if done at least one (1) business day prior to the scheduled webinar. No-shows will not be eligible for refund or transfer.
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