Licensure and Recognition: Massachusetts Passes Bill Identifying Applied Behavior Analysis as Independent Profession
01/24/2013
Licensure and Recognition: Massachusetts Passes Bill Identifying Applied Behavior Analysis as Independent Profession
By Dr. Michael Dorsey, Endicott College Van Loan School of Graduate and Professional Studies
On January 9, 2013, Governor Deval Patrick signed into law H. 4555, An Act Relative to the Licensure of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). While Massachusetts was the first state to file legislation to license Applied Behavior Analysis, it becomes the tenth state to enact such a bill. H. 4555 formally recognizes the practice of Applied Behavior Analysis as an independent profession in the Commonwealth and creates standards for practice – including the minimum educational and training requirements necessary to practice ABA independently.
Regulation
First drafted in 2006 by Rep. John Scibak of Hadley, MA, a Psychologist and Behavior Analyst by training and Michael F. Dorsey, Ph.D., BCBA-D, Director of the Endicott College Institute for Behavioral Studies, with the support of numerous advocacy and professional organizations including The Massachusetts Association for Behavior Analysis (MassABA) and the Berkshire Association for Behavior Analysis (BABAT), Autism Speaks, and Advocates for Autism in Massachusetts, among others, the bill has taken six years to finally be signed into law.
Applied Behavior Analysis is the process of systematically applying interventions based upon the principles of learning theory to improve socially significant behaviors to a meaningful degree, and to demonstrate that the interventions employed are responsible for the improvement in behavior. Applied Behavior Analysis is a broad-based profession, whose only limitations are the application to observable human behavior. Examples include Child Development, Behavioral Medicine, Organizational Behavior Management, Developmental Disabilities and Classroom Management. Recognized as the most effective intervention in the treatment of children and adults diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum, ABA is an objective discipline, focused on reliable measurement and objective evaluation of observable behavior. One critical feature of all these examples is the basis in science in which these applications are demonstrated, including the demonstration of experimental control and the collection of objective data to support that the intervention was in-fact, responsible for the change in behavior.
Governance
Applied Behavior Analysts will be governed under the Division of Professional Licensure (DPL) Boards as a member of the Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professionals Board of Registration. Included in this Board are Marriage and Family Therapists, Rehabilitation Counselors, Mental Health Counselors, and Educational Psychologists. As noted by the DPL, “In carrying out its mission, the Board administers and enforces the regulations related to the educational criterion necessary for a person to be licensed and contracts with test vendors to provide the licensing examinations. Of equal importance, the Board seeks to protect consumers by exercising its authority to discipline those licensed individuals who violate licensing laws and regulations.”
Based on H. 4555, there will be two members appointed to the ABA Board who meet the standards for licensure as an Applied Behavior Analyst in addition to one member of the community. Over the next several months, Gov. Patrick will appoint these three new members, who will be responsible for developing the regulatory standards for the operation of the Board. They will then hold public hearings to gain input on their proposed regulations before the regulations go into effect (within an 18-month period).
Licensure
Once the regulations are enacted, there will be a four-month period within which all citizens of the Commonwealth who hold a BCBA or BCaBA and formally apply will be automatically eligible for licensure. After that period, the standards for licensure will be: a minimum of 30 graduate credits in courses related to ABA for persons with a Masters Degree; and 60 graduate credits in courses related to ABA for a person holding a Doctorate.
While the goal of this bill was to improve Consumer Protection relative to persons practicing ABA without the appropriate training, supervision and experience, it will also be beneficial in numerous other ways, including: validating ABA as an independent profession, meeting the standards of the insurance industry for Behavior Analysts to become “in-network” members of the various insurance provider panels, and to be recognized by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) as “related service providers” and join the other licensed professionals participating on IEP Teams as equal partners in the Special Education process.