Inside Behavior Analysis
Volume 1 | 2009 | Number 1
Vermont ABA
By Meg McGee
The Vermont Association for Behavior Analysis (VABA) dedicated much its board's time and energy to two significant initiatives this year.
The first is the pursuit of state licensure for Board Certified Behavior Analysts and Board Certified Associate Behavior Analysts in Vermont. The VABA Legislative Committee, led by Vice-Chair Melinda Neff, submitted the Sunrise Application to the Vermont Secretary of State Office of Professional Regulation in June 2008. Upon review of the application a call for testimony was initiated and heard by this same office in January 2009. VABA's Board received unyielding support and expertise from Joe Cautilli, Ph.D., BCBA, Michael Weinberg Ph.D., BCBA (ABAI-Practice Board) and Michael Dorsey, Ph.D., BCBA (ABAI-Practice Board) with their testimony in support of Vermont's initiative. In addition to Drs. Cautilli, Weinberg and Dorsey's testimony, the Office of Professional Regulation heard from VABA board members, parents, professionals and consumers across the state with letters, phone calls and live testimony. The Office of Professional Regulation is currently developing a report to be reviewed by the Vermont Legislature next session.
The second major initiative of our chapter was the dissemination of accurate information about Applied Behavior Analysis and its application in the state to the general public. The board voted to pursue this initiative through the development of a new web page. Given the rural nature of our state and the localized expertise in Applied Behavior Analysis, utilizing the World Wide Web was deemed the most efficient, effective and costly means to achieve this initiative.
Membership recruitment, increasing the organization's financial holdings and establishing an annual Vermont Association for Behavior Analysis conference are prioritized tasks for the next year.