Creation of an Applied Behavior Analysis Council for Accreditation (ABACA).

Abstract

It occurs to me that the time has come in the development and progression of the field of Applied Behavior Analysis to devise a broad-based set of standards of practice for the field. Other professions including the American Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, and The Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, have all developed practice guidelines and standards for providing treatment and services for its practitioner members. In addition, there are a number of models for service and treatment delivery which are approved for third party reimbursement by Managed Care Organizations and Insurance Companies. Oversight bodies in this country are used by such payers to ensure standards of service delivery are met, including the Joint Commission for Accreditation of Hospital Organizations (JCAHO), CMS (Formerly HCFA), and NCQA. With the exception of devising ethical standards, the Association for Behavior Analysis International has not devised a set of practice standards for its practitioner members. There appears in fact to be some opposition to moving towards supporting clinical practice of Applied Behavior Analysis amongst the leaders of the association due to concerns about legal liability, and to retain the image of the organization as primarily supporting interest in research and academics in the field. One significant advance in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis in the past five years that sets the stage for the need to devise practice standards, and for a form of accreditation, is the creation of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB)[TM] in 1998, by Gerald Shook. This board is now recognized in at least 8 states in the U.S., and in four other countries. The board established standards for certification of individual practitioners based upon the Florida Behavior Analyst Certification process devised by the Florida Department of Children and Families in the 1980s. The board offers two levels of certification, as many behavior analyst practitioners now are aware of, including Board Certified Associate Behavior Analyst requiring a minimum of a Bachelor's degree, and Board Certified Behavior Analyst, requiring a minimum of a Master's degree, from an accredited university program or independent course as approved by the BACB. The BACB has established a curriculum that must be minimally adhered to for candidates to be eligible for certification at each level, along with supervision requirements, and a set of ethical standards for practitioners it certifies. The BACB has not established standards of practice, but the state of Florida under the auspices of Florida DCF, have established standards of practice for applied behavior analysis, which is written in state law for recipients of service by the Developmental Disabilities division. Indeed, one could visit any of a number of different states or specific programs, facilities, schools, or other agencies that provide ABA services in the United States, and find various practice standards and quality measures. If one were to compare them all, a wide range of differences would likely be found, along with many similarities. Also, such standards across organizations providing ABA services will likely depend upon state regulations and policies which vary greatly from state to state, and agency to agency within a state. There has been progress in recent years with regard to the development of practice guidelines for treatment of children with autism, and autism spectrum disorders. For example, the state of New York has recognized that ABA is the most effective treatment for autism, and devised guidelines for its use (New York State Department of Health Early Intervention Program, 1999). A position statement regarding the efficacy of ABA and its recognition, was written and signed by the governor of the state of New York at that time (George Pataki). The Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry also devised practice guidelines for treating autism (Volkmar et. …