Association for Behavior Analysis International

Often behavior analytic intervention research emphasizes improving efficacy through direct intervention to generate improved efficiency in service provision. Some examples may be treatment fidelity and training studies, including pyramidal approaches to implementer training. While important efficiencies may be afforded by endeavoring to improve direct implementation practices, there are also many opportunities to generate efficiencies through the enhancement of the service provision process. This can be done without compromising service delivery. Developing and validating effective intake processes (i.e., client triage) may be one approach. Another option could be assessing service delivery (i.e., program evaluation) to discern specific elements that add value as well as uncover areas for improvement. The current symposium aims to showcase strategies to assessing (and refining) service delivery that may be less common across the behavior analytic research. Each talk will provide an in-depth description of respective projects, culminating with a discussant highlighting key aspects and areas for future research.

Attendees should have an introductory understanding of applied research design and tool development and validation analyses. It would also enhance attendees' experience if they are well-versed in best practice approaches in the treatment of challenging behavior.

Program evaluation is an essential practice for providers of behavior analytic services, as it helps providers understand the extent to which they are achieving their intended mission to the community they serve. A proposed method for conducting such evaluations, is through the use of a consecutive case series design, for which cases are sequentially gathered following the onset of a specific occurrence. Given the sequential nature in which data are collected within a consecutive case series, analytic techniques that adopt a time-series framework may be particularly advantageous. Although such methods are commonly used for program evaluation in medicine and economics, their application within the field of applied behavior analysis is largely absent. To serve as a model for providers undertaking evaluation efforts, we conducted a program evaluation of an outpatient severe behavior clinic serving families with children engaging in challenging behavior. We employed quasi-experimental methods using an interrupted time-series analysis. Analytical models detected planned and unplanned changes in the clinic’s services over time; however, we did not identify evidence to suggest that families and children will experience improved outcomes as a result of these changes.