Shamra Boel-Studt’s expertise centers on residential and out-of-home care for high-acuity, system-involved youth, with a focus on quality, effectiveness, and evidence-based practice. Her work examines how child-serving systems and policy environments shape behavioral health access, placement decisions, and outcomes. She specializes in the development and theory-driven evaluation of quality standards and uses applied, mixed-methods approaches, with an emphasis on lived experience, to drive system improvement and practice innovation. In 2022, she founded the Institute for Quality Children’s Services (IQCS), which advances the quality of care for children and families through research, evaluation, and system partnership. The IQCS works with state, national, and international partners to develop and implement quality standards, support continuous quality improvement, and translate evidence into practice and policy across residential, foster care, and community-based systems.

Jonathan Huefner has a Ph.D. in Organizational Social Psychology and more than 39 years of experience conducting research in a wide range of contexts. Strengths include psychometrics, research methodology, statistical analysis, and reporting and presentations. He has spent the last 21 years conducting research at Boys Town. His current research focuses on quality standards for children and adolescent residential care, negative peer contagion in residential care settings, residential care advocacy, psychotropic medication use with at-risk children, family involvement and youth outcomes, and return on investment related to residential outcomes.

Robynn Baker, AND, is a former nurse who started in the medical surgical field but found her passion working in the correctional system. While employed at the local county jail, Robynn enjoyed working with a special-needs interdisciplinary team where she became aware of the lack of resources needed for the most vulnerable populations and the difficulty in navigating the system in order to acquire the resources for those in need.

Robynn has a more personal understanding of the need for early intervention and has seen firsthand the positive aspects of pediatric residential care. Her son Dylan suffered a traumatic brain injury when he was 3 years old and was left with a large cognitive deficit, physical impairments, is medically fragile, and has very aggressive behaviors. Robynn made the agonizing decision to commit her son for emergency inpatient services, which became the beginning of a long and frustrating journey. Dylan is now thriving in a group home with a more structured environment and has a professional team available 24-7 to meet his needs. In providing her personal knowledge and experience, Robynn is hoping to help de-stigmatize the need for and make it easier to obtain pediatric residential services for those who desperately need it.

Amy Greenwald, MA, has over 20 years of experience in the juvenile justice and child welfare system in Florida. Amy holds degrees from the University of Florida and the University of Central Florida. She has years of field experience as well as a robust career in policy development, training, best practices, and research at the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. Her work has centered on statewide implementation of evidence-based practices. Amy also has personal experience as a proud mother of her daughter, who was adopted through the child welfare system.

Kortney Clinton, PhD, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker and researcher whose work focuses on youth behavioral health across public and private systems, including schools, juvenile justice (DJJ), child welfare, residential care, and community-based settings. Her expertise centers on workforce development, program design, and implementation strategies for systems serving high-acuity and system-involved youth.

Dr. Clinton’s work examines how systems can more effectively support youth with complex behavioral health needs through research-informed practice, policy translation, and workforce development. Her experience includes clinical practice, research, program evaluation, and applied consulting focused on improving care for system-involved youth. She has examined the needs of crossover youth and youth impacted by commercial sexual exploitation, with attention to how fragmented systems and workforce strain affect outcomes.

Her work emphasizes moving practice to policy by identifying what works in real-world settings and supporting the development of effective, usable tools that can be implemented and sustained across systems. She is particularly focused on bridging research and implementation to inform policy decisions that lead to long-term, system-level change.

Briana Parlor, MS, EdS, is a Training Specialist with the Institute for Quality Children’s Services at Florida State University. She brings experience in curriculum development, trauma-informed training, and research-aligned professional development within child- and family-serving systems. Briana has previously worked in child abuse prevention, maternal and perinatal mental health, and community-based education, with a strong focus on culturally responsive practice. Her work centers on translating research into practical, high-quality training that strengthens systems and supports the wellbeing of children, families, and the professionals who serve them.

With nearly a decade of experience in marketing and communications, Destiny Hicks specializes in multi-channel campaigns, brand development and content strategy. She partners with the team to deliver clear, engaging and educational communications that elevate our mission at IQCS. Her background spans content creation, visual design and brand development. Destiny is driven by the collaborative spirit of the IQCS team and their dedication to advancing quality services for children and families.