Newsletter
Volume 29 | 2006 | Number 2
Behavior Analyst Certification Board Update
By Dr. Gerald L. Shook, BCBA, Chief Executive Officer
Over the past year, the Behavior Analyst Certification Board® (BACB) has supported several initiatives aimed at fostering the development of international BACB® certification and behavior analysis training. Jerry Shook represented the BACB at the 2005 European Association for Behavior Analysis Meeting last September in Gdansk, Poland, and will be attending the 2006 meeting in Milan, Italy later this year. Since the meeting in Gdansk, the BACB has approved university course sequences in Northern Ireland, Wales, Poland, and Norway and we expect several more European universities to submit applications soon.
Dr. Shook also joined a group of behavior analysts who visited Taiwan and Japan as part of an effort sponsored by SEEK Education to further the impact of behavior analysis in Asia. The group presented at two conferences in Taiwan and met with government officials and university representatives in Taiwan and Japan. The BACB anticipates receiving applications for approved course sequences in Asia within the next few months. In addition, the BACB is working closely with the Ontario Association for Behavior Analysis to offer time-limited alternative pathways for individuals to qualify for examination. Depending on coursework availability, an alternative pathway option may be available on an individual country basis to national behavior analysis associations outside the United States. Interested parties should contact the BACB for details. To date, the BACB has approved 18 course sequences at universities outside the United States. Please see the Approved University Courses page on BACB.com for a complete list of universities.
The BACB is collaborating with the Association for Behavior Analysis’s Professional Affairs Committee (PAC) (chaired by Tom Zane) to increase government recognition of BACB certifications. The joint PAC/BACB committee will have one contact person for each state or national behavior analysis association serve as the interface for information passing between his/her association and the PAC/BACB committee. The PAC has established a list-serve to support networking among these contact persons. The BACB will be sponsoring a new database on BACB.com that will include information on government recognition and specific funding available for each state or country. Each association’s contact person will be responsible for keeping their own state/country’s data current and will have access to the complete database in return.
The BACB has retained the services of Sam Bell as the BACB legislative and government consultant to help protect its credentials and consumers. Mr. Bell is formerly the Majority Leader in the Florida House of Representatives. He will work with the BACB on promoting the recognition and funding of BACB certifications nationally and internationally. Mr. Bell is a member of a national network of law firms with offices in each state capital that will be available to the BACB and state organizations. This group holds a national meeting each year and this year the BACB will attend to acquaint the members with the issues facing the BACB and behavior analysis. Interested parties should contact the BACB office.
The recent BACB survey of certificants identified the need for certificant liability insurance. The BACB intends to explore the current availability of liability insurance and make a list of companies that offer insurance for Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs®) and Board Certified Associate Behavior Analysts (BCABAs®) available on BACB.com. Individuals who currently have liability insurance are encouraged to contact the BACB office with the name and particulars of their insurance company and its policies.
The recent survey of certificants also showed that autism and developmental disabilities were the two most highly ranked areas for specialty credentials. There have been questions as to whether the practice of behavior analysis as it relates to autism is truly distinct from the practice as it applies to developmental disabilities in general. The BACB plans to conduct a preliminary content analysis to determine if there are differences that would warrant two separate credentials. To begin this process, the BACB intends to convene a two- or three-day panel of subject-matter experts in conjunction with the California ABA conference early next year. Experts who are clinicians practicing in these areas who would like to serve on this panel should submit a brief letter of interest describing their qualifications and their vitae to the BACB by September 30.
The BACB Guidelines for Responsible Conduct for Behavior Analysts has proved to be a useful document for behavior analysts, consumers, and employers. However, a number of certificants have requested that additional help be provided in interpreting the Guidelines in specific real-life situations. Beginning with the next issue of the BACB Newsletter, a regular column on this series of topics will appear with Jon Bailey serving as the Ethics Column Editor.