Inside Behavior Analysis
Volume 1 | 2009 | Number 1
Practitioner Issues in Behavior Analysis (PIBA)
By Michael Weinberg
Because of many fast-moving legislative and organizational developments during the year, members of the PIBA SIG primarily networked to alert and educate one another on introduced bills and relevant new sources of information – such as the ABA Practice Board and Governmental Affairs Committee – in the interest of skill-building in advocacy and participation in the legislative process for practice matters such as reimbursement, inclusion of behavior analysis as treatment modalities, and licensure. The SIG also followed developments within Congress, the new administration, APA, and Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC); and collated policy newsletters and Web sites as a service and educational resource to its members.
Members of the PIBA-SIG collaborated on an article published in the Journal of Early and Intensive Behavioral Interventions, describing the premises for the SIG's prototype draft of the BAMLA Model licensing act and exploring the role of licensing boards in consumer protection and professional identity.
A temporary Web page was set up of relevant Web sites for those interested in the current legislation of autism insurance mandates and prior associated statutes and other federal and state legislation that could affect practitioner interests, especially relating to licensure. This information is being transferred to the SIG Web site and an associated blog is in placeholder mode. A listing for the courtesy of the members was made of those events at the ABA annual conference of special interest to those with policy and practice matters.
Our goals for the coming year is to refine the work already accomplished, recruit members, review and work towards completion of the current task list, and explore collaborative relations with other SIGs who may have complementing interests such as the Evidence-Based Practice, Clinical Practice, Autism, Organizational Behavior Management, Parent-Professional Partnership, and Behaviorists for Social Change SIGs; as well as stand ready as a source of assistance to the Practice Board.
The PIBA-SIG is currently preparing for elections at the annual conference to fill officer positions for the upcoming year. Inquiries and nominations can be sent to the current SIG President at mweinberg2007@att.net