NARA is an international non-profit professional association founded in 1976 who represents all human care licensing, including adult residential and assisted living, adult day care, child care, child welfare and program licensing for services related to mental illness, developmental disabilities and abuse of drugs or alcohol. Among our partners are providers, consumers and their families, regulators, advocates, concerned citizens, business and religious communities, policy-makers, universities, researchers, and allied professionals from the academic, technical and treatment disciplines. Good human care is essential for the nation's economic and social well-being. Families need child care and adult care for dependent family members who cannot stay at home alone. The number of children and vulnerable adults in out-of-home care is at an all-time high, and still growing. NARA provides guidance for their protection in an era of downsizing, regulatory reform, privatization and other challenges found in the human care and service industry. We are human service regulatory professionals, human service providers, university faculty, independent researchers and consultants, allied professionals from health, safety and legal disciplines, consumers and all others who share Our Vision: Consumer Protection Through Prevention