Dr Richard Fiene, Research Psychologist and Professor of Psychology (ret) at Penn State University is generally regarded as the leading international researcher/scholar on licensing measurement and differential monitoring systems. His theory of regulatory compliance has altered regulatory science and licensing measurement dramatically in thinking about how best to monitor and assess licensing rules and regulations.

Dr Fiene's measurement and monitoring methodologies have led to targeted or abbreviated inspections in all aspects of human service licensing thru risk assessment, key indicators and differential monitoring approaches. He has maintained an international data base on regulatory compliance for the past 40 years which is housed at the Research Institute for Key Indicators (RIKIllc) and the Pennsylvania State University and has led to the development of statistical techniques for dealing with highly skewed, non-parametric data distributions. His research has led to the following: identification of herding behavior of two year olds, national early care and education quality indicators, mathematical model for determining adult child ratio compliance, Solution to the Trilemma in Child Care Delivery Services, Stepping Stones to Caring for Our Children, Online coaching as a learning platform, Validation framework for licensing systems, and an Early Childhood Program Quality Improvement Model.

He has written extensively on regulatory compliance in the human services and his research has been disseminated all over the world via his website (http://RIKInstitute.com). He presently directs the Research Institute for Key Indicators and is a senior research consultant with the National Association for Regulatory Administration, and is an Affiliate Professor with the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center, Consultant to the College of Medicine at Penn State Hershey and the College of Ag. Sciences at Penn State University.