Inside Behavior Analysis
Volume 2 | 2010 | Number 1 | On-line ISSN: 2151-4704
The ABAI Model Licensing Act, Educational Standards, and the Protection of the Profession
By Raymond G. Miltenberger
This article is offered on behalf of the ABAI Executive Council and provides an update on the most recent developments within the Association and behavior analysis in support of the professionalization of our field and the protection of its scientific and educational underpinnings. Recently, affiliated chapters in the United States and internationally have been working to protect and promote the profession of applied behavior analysis through legislative and lobbying efforts. Licensure, among a number of other topics, is currently being pursued through states’ efforts across the U.S. at the grassroots level. Arizona, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania have recently enacted laws establishing licensing standards for applied behavior analysts. Several other U.S. states, including Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, and Tennessee, are currently developing or considering such legislation. Behavior analysts and members of behavioral associations in other countries also are beginning discussions related to licensing or otherwise regulating the profession of behavior analysis.
In 2008, the ABAI Executive Council approved, in principle, a recommendation of the Practice Board to pursue development of an ABAI Model Licensing Act. Central to this decision was the uniformly held understanding that ABAI has a responsibility to promote the protection of consumers of applied behavior analytic services. Since that meeting, many hours have been spent drafting and refining a Model Licensing Act that ABAI could support. ABAI’s Model Act is now complete, and we are pleased to make it available to Association members, constituents, and consumers of behavior analysis services. One purpose of this article is to provide background on the development of the Act and to elucidate the Council’s understanding of the implications of its dissemination in the public realm.
Why Licensing?
The ABAI Council’s agreement to pursue licensure efforts was made with the input of ABAI members. In 2008, ABAI conducted a strategic development survey of members and constituents, including members of state and international chapters and special interest groups. The survey was distributed to over 16,000 stakeholders worldwide. The overwhelming majority of respondents indicated support for the pursuit of a licensing standard for applied behavior analysts.
Licensure allows consumers to identify behavior analysts with defined competencies and protects them from harm and the misuse of behavioral technologies by untrained practitioners. It allows for legal oversight of professionals who meet criteria established by state boards and who wish to advertise themselves as “behavior analysts.” State boards have the staff and authority to respond to complaints by the general public (or other behavior analysts) of unethical practices by those who are licensed, which protects not only consumers but also professionals who practice following ethical guidelines.
Furthermore, licensure promotes credibility of the field. It defines our field and scope of practice within state law, protecting it from other groups or professions that might attempt to claim jurisdiction over our technologies and the right to supervise our work. Licensure also has the potential to result in more funding for research and more support for academic programs and faculty positions in behavior analysis. Finally, defining our profession legally through licensure could facilitate our ability to secure third party payment for our services and to promote and advocate for other professional issues of importance to the field.
Risks Associated With Licensure
ABAI recognizes that licensing, if pursued without careful consideration of possible consequences and pitfalls, has the potential to negatively affect the profession within a state. We believe that the ABAI Model Licensing Act provides an appropriate standard to guide state chapters in the process of developing individual state licensing laws. We strongly encourage each state affiliated chapter to consider carefully the political climate in their state and take from this Model Act those sections that meet your needs. Members of the Practice Board and others representing ABAI have developed a Legislative Handbook addressing many of the issues that must be considered prior to initiating such an effort. We strongly recommend that state chapters review this document, and if desired, invite members of the Practice Board to attend their respective chapter meetings and/or consult with them throughout the process. We recognize states' rights and that decision about procedures and the ongoing process of administrating licensing standards rest with the state board overseeing the profession.
Licensure and certification are different, but can be compatible methods of defining the credentials of professionals in a field. Certification of practitioners is most often done by a private organization, such as the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) in behavior analysis. Board certification is a nonstatutory recognition of professional achievement generally conferred by an outside organization to professionals who have completed a terminal degree in their respective field and demonstrated competency in their field. Licensing, which is done through state regulatory boards, controls legal use of a professional title and the scope of practice of persons holding that title. Licensure is typically required of people working in occupations where maintaining standards of professional practice is necessary to protect public safety. In order to establish 'applied behavior analyst' as a licensed profession, state legislation is necessary, thus the need for lobbying and advocacy—state legislators need to be convinced that specific credentials for an area of expertise are needed to protect consumers.
One advantage of states adopting the ABAI Model Licensing Act is that individual state licensing bills based on the Model Act would have consistent requirements across states, facilitating portability of a person’s licensure from state to state. ABAI encourages individual states to develop licensing bills that support such portability and encourages states to retain uniform educational standards.
What Is ABAI's Model Licensing Act?
ABAI’s Model Licensing Act is a document for use by legislators drafting bills that govern the profession of applied behavior analysis. The Model Act is provided in full following this article. It defines the makeup and powers of state boards, the scope of practice of the profession, and standards to qualify for licensure—education, practicum, examination, and continuing education requirements. The Act also addresses complaint resolution and ethical violation investigation as well as penalties for operating without a license or in violation of ethical guidelines or the laws of the state.
What Are the Points of Similarity Between the BACB and ABAI Model Acts?
The ABAI Executive Council is committed to the development of a unified position within the field and has worked with the BACB to find common ground with regard to licensure, in the hopes of developing a unified Model Act. At the 2009 ABAI annual convention in Phoenix, representatives of the ABAI Executive Council and Practice Board met with Drs. Judy Favell and Gerald Shook to discuss our positions and begin the process of producing a unified bill. The results of this meeting were positive, with the majority of the differences in our two positions resolved and the beginnings of a single bill developed.
ABAI's Model Act shares many characteristics with the BACB's Act, including adoption of bachelor's level licensure; the requirement that all applicants must first meet the standards of the BACB to apply for licensure and pass the BACB examinations; a requirement that all approved educational institutions meet the standards as an "Approved Course Sequence" of the BACB; a standard that all bachelor’s level behavior analysts be supervised by either a master's or doctoral-level licensed behavior analyst; and a requirement that all licensed applied behavior analysts maintain their active status under the Behavior Analyst Certification Board.
How Do the Current BACB and ABAI Model Licensing Acts Differ?
The main remaining difference between ABAI’s Model Act and that of the BACB is in the level of educational standards required for licensure. The BACB's Act requires that potential licensees complete 135 (bachelor’s level) or 225 (master's level) classroom hours of instruction in applied behavior analysis and hold a degree (in any field) to be eligible for licensure. ABAI believes that licensure should require further training. The ABAI Executive Council, Education Board, Practice Board, and Science Board all have defined a critical need for higher educational standards for Licensed Behavior Analysts. Meeting more robust educational standards is necessary to practice independently and help improve the protection of as well as quality of services provide to the consumers of applied behavior analysis services. ABAI's position is also based on the fact that, in every other human service profession that is licensed by its state and allowed to practice independently and bill individuals or third party insurers for their services, licensees are required to hold a degree in their respective profession. The BACB and ABAI continue to engage in constructive dialogue to bring our Acts into alignment.
Rational for Grandfathering Clause
ABAI’s Model Act provides two alternatives for the licensing of professionals who do not meet the regulatory standards for licensing otherwise provided at the time of the establishment of the licensing law, allowing a five-year period to become licensed under these wavers. The first alternative provides that all persons certified by the BACB are eligible for licensure, irrespective of the ABAI accreditation status of the program from which they graduated or the number of graduate (or undergraduate) credit hours they have completed. The second alternative provides for the licensing of behavior analysts who are not BACB-certified, but who meet specific educational/experience standards established by the State/Commonwealth Board of Registration. The second alternative is particularly important for many members of ABAI. The majority of respondents to ABAI’s 2008 strategic development survey who self-identified as “practicing applied behavior analyst” do not hold certification by the BACB. Given that our model recommends that State Licensure Boards be composed of Licensed Behavior Analysts, we trust that only highly qualified non-BCBA applicants will be granted licensure under this clause.
What Are ABAI’s Criteria for Education Requirements?
The Council believes that licensing behavior analysts not only protects practitioners, but also protects the integrity of and demand for higher education training in behavior analysis. Promotion of appropriate educational requirements for licensed practitioners is ABAI’s top priority. At an initial strategic session held a year ago in Chicago, representatives of ABAI’s Membership, Science, Education and Practice Boards recommended revising and enhancing educational criteria for graduate programs in behavior analysis. Programs are being reviewed to see how they meet recommended criteria. Raising criteria for accreditation standards and licensure has the potential, if pursued correctly, to preserve the experimental and conceptual foundations of the field as the demand for practitioners grows. During the last Council meeting, the Association made significant advances in developing and enhancing training standards for the field in the areas of licensure of individuals and accreditation of educational programs. The ABAI Council hopes that the educational standards in state licensing laws are those required of ABAI accredited programs. The criteria are under revision and will be announced by May of this year.
ABAI began accrediting graduate training programs in 1993. As the field becomes further professionalized and licensure makes its way through state legislatures, the alignment of educational requirements for licensed practitioners with those of accredited programs must be undertaken. To that end, the ABAI Council has initiated several projects, the first of which is to approve the development of undergraduate accreditation programs. ABAI's undergraduate accreditation system will recognize two different emphases for training in behavior analysis at the bachelor's level-applied and experimental. The Council also directed that both master's and doctoral level accreditation program requirements be reviewed and revised to align with licensure goals and ABAI's Model Licensing Act. Criteria are currently undergoing review with input being sought from the Education, Science, and Practice Boards as well as faculty in ABAI's accredited programs. It is expected that revised criteria will be launched by May 2010.
ABAI will pursue recognition of its accreditation program by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) this year. CHEA recognition will ensure that the profession of applied behavior analysis is understood to require standards similar to all other human service professions and will enhance the protection of consumers by ensuring a level of competency and training well beyond those currently required.
How Will ABAI's Accreditation Program Meet the Needs of Licensed Behavior Analysts?
While it is the goal that graduation from an ABAI accredited program be a requirement for licensure, this requirement is meant to be grandfathered in over a period of five years. To date, a total of 23 behavior analysis programs at 16 universities have sought ABAI accreditation. We expect that, with the advent of licensure and CHEA recognition of ABAI’s accreditation program, programs will have new contingencies to explore accreditation. It is a primary goal of ABAI to encourage and assist programs to seek accreditation so that within 5-7 years an educational infrastructure will be in place to support the substantial growth in the field we expect to see as state licensure laws are established. During the grandfathering period, ABAI will embark on a program we are calling the ABAI Educational Capital Campaign: Investing in our Future to encourage and assist programs to seek accreditation.
What Will ABAI Do for Those Outside of the USA?
The field is growing not only in the United States but in many other countries represented by our members and affiliated chapters. ABAI will work with national chapters on a one-on-one basis to identify needs within other countries and to develop strategies to promote international professionalization in the field. The Practice Board in conjunction with ABAI's International Representative to the ABAI Council is eager to provide consultation to help develop strategic plans to make this happen.
Where Can You Receive Guidance and Support?
ABAI welcomes your input on the issues of licensure and the development of educational requirements for the field. As well, if you are interested in training or access to expertise as your state chapter addresses issues of licensure, we encourage chapter officers to contact the ABAI Practice Board, which will be happy to arrange presentations and training sessions during your events. Furthermore, we welcome Program Directors and Department Chairs to participate in the development of strategies to bring behavior analysis programs into alignment with accreditation requirements. Members of the ABAI Executive Council and Practice Board have attended numerous state conferences over the past several months to address these issues and offer support in the development of state licensing laws. ABAI is committed to this process and recognizes the need for our profession to speak to legislators and stakeholders with a single voice. We will continue to work diligently to provide guidance to graduate training programs and to members of U.S. state chapters and countries around the world on educational standards and model licensing for the profession.