The model we have successfully used with previous postdoctoral fellows involves them working directly with Nebraska mentors Dr. Trout or Dr. Duppong Hurley on an IES-funded study, while also partnering with a Boys Town mentor (Dr. Mason, Dr. Huefner, or Dr. Thompson) for a second or third study. This unique research-to-practice collaboration offers fellows the rich experience of working on-site with practitioners to address research issues with youth with significant emotional and behavioral problems.

Boys Town has programs ranging from universal (e.g., school-wide discipline programs), selected (e.g., parent training), and indicated (e.g., in-home services, residential services, medication management) care that reach more than 122,000 children across the nation. Following our current model, the fellows will spend one day per week working from a dedicated office at Boys Town to facilitate this research collaboration. It is important to note that this unique partnership between the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Boys Town has resulted in the Academy for Child and Family Well Being being supported by both agencies through a Memorandum of Understanding.

This research-to-practice partnership will ensure the availability of high-quality research opportunities for fellows throughout the duration of the postdoctoral appointments. This arrangement for providing high-quality research experience has proven productive for previous fellows, resulting in more than 45 published manuscripts (20 including practitioners or agency professionals as co-authors) and more than 40 conference presentations.