The Evolution of Certification Standards in Behavior Analysis James E. Carr, PhD, BCBA-D Chief Executive Officer

44 6 20+ 22,000 Today’s Presentation The History of Behavior Analyst Credentials The Evolution of BACB Standards The BACB Today 44 6 20+ 22,000 43 years ago BACB is the 5th credentialing effort Over 20 times Over 20,000

Professional Credentials Registration Certification Licensure Protects Public & Profession

The History of Professional Credentials in Behavior Analysis

Early Discussion As the field continues to grow, we can no longer dismiss lightly mundane issues such as standardized training programs and licensing. The days when it was possible to be on a first name basis with all of the behavior modifiers in the country no longer exist. No longer is it possible to list all of the behavior modifiers by listing the past students of Skinner, Bijou, Baer, Michael, Azrin, and the rest. No longer is it possible to list all of the behavior modifiers by references to the university from which they were graduated. - Thomas (1972) 1972: Conference on Behavior Analysis in Education (Lawrence, KS) Panel session on certification & licensure

Early Discussion 1974: Drake Conference on Professional Issues in Behavior Analysis (Des Moines, IA) Majority of the program focused on regulation 1975-1976: Midwestern Association for Behavior Analysis Conventions (Chicago, IL) 1977: MABA Education and Evaluation Committee recommendations Executive Council added certification as committee function (1978)

1. The Minnesota Certification Program 1975: Hierarchy of ABA positions in state disability system Placement determined by: Multiple-choice testing of survey-derived competencies (Sulzer-Azaroff et al., 1975) Job performance during probationary period

Thomas (1979) Behavior Analyst III Behavior Analyst II Specialist (Sr.) Specialist Technician (Sr.) Technician

2. Association for Behavior Analysis Certification Program 1978: MABA Education and Evaluation Committee recommended two-stage certification model 1-Oral examination on behavioral principles 2-Oral examination and practice assessment 1979: Executive Council approval 1982-1985: First-stage assessments administered 1986: Executive Council review 1987: Program suspension 1988: Task Force study led to discontinuation No certifications were granted

3. The Florida Certificate program Florida Developmental Services Program Office 1975: Workshop series offered around the state 1979: 2-day written exam added to assess workshop effectiveness Open-ended questions for staff 90% correct No eligibility requirements Direct observation added following exam Several dozen certificates issued

4. The Florida Certification program CBA: Certified Behavior Analyst Eligibility: workshops or ABA self-study Content: State behavior programming manual 1985 95 multiple-choice items + 59 free-response items 1991 Free-response items eliminated (subjectivity & resources) 1994: First Edition Task List 1994: Eligibility changes (BA/BS + 1 course) 1996: Florida Certified Associate Behavior Analyst (CABA) 1998: Second Edition Task List

4. The Florida Certification program Over 15 years, Florida certified more than 2,000 behavior analysts 1993: Oklahoma used Florida exam 1994-1998: California, Texas, Pennsylvania, New York

5: Behavior Analyst Certification Board (1998) Still have Calirfornia, Illinois, and North Carolina in legistlature

6. US State Licensure: 2016 Still have Calirfornia, Illinois, and North Carolina in legistlature 24

The Evolution of BACB Standards

Standard 13: Panel Composition The certification program must use panels of qualified subject-matter experts (SMEs) to provide insight and guidance and to participate in job analysis, standard setting, and other examination development activities.

Standards Development Temporal or Professional Trigger CEO Presentation to Board Board of Directors Authorization Research Compiled/Conducted SME Workgroup Report to Board Board Review & Approval

SME Workgroup Diversity

When will it end?

Eligibility: Degree BCBA BCaBA (masters) 1999 2016 2011 2013 BA, natural science, education, human services, engineering, medicine BA, education, psychology Any domain 1999 2016 2011 2013 Any domain BA, natural science, education, human services, engineering, medicine Any domain BCaBA (bachelors)

Eligibility: Coursework (BCBA) 270 225 180

Eligibility: Coursework (BCaBA) 180 135 90

Eligibility: Experience BCBA 12 mo. supervised experience 18 mo. mentored experience “behavioral” supervisor 1500 hrs supervised experience* BCBA supervisor Required supervisor training 1999 2015 2006 6 mo. supervised experience 12 mo. mentored experience “behavioral” supervisor 1000 hrs supervised experience* BCBA supervisor Required supervisor training BCaBA

Supervision of BCaBAs BCaBA 1999 2017 2009 2% of services, Supervisor liability None (encouraged) 1 hr / month 1999 2017 2009

Annual CEU Requirements: BCBA

Annual CEU Requirements: BCaBA

Ethics Documents 1999 Disciplinary Standards 2001 Conduct Guidelines timeline 1999 Disciplinary Standards 2001 Conduct Guidelines 2004 revision 2010 revision 2010 Revised Disciplinary Standards Conduct Guidelines & Standards linked 2016

Job Analyses & Task Lists Versions 1st: 1994 (FL) 2nd: 1998 (FL) 3rd: 2002 4th: 2010 5th Edition Task List May 2015: initial input surveys November 2015: workgroup February 2016: validation survey June 2016: Board approval Fall 2016: publication

The BACB Today

Overall # of BCBAs per Year 19,795

Overall # of BCaBAs per Year 22,179 certificants! 2,327

Registered Behavior Technicians 15,324

Approved Course Sequences Pre-approved sequences of required coursework in behavior analysis

Approved Course Sequences at 293 Institutions

The BACB’s Mission & Vision Our Global Mission We protect consumers of behavior analysis services worldwide by systematically establishing, promoting, and disseminating professional standards. Our Global Vision Solve a wider variety of socially significant problems by increasing the availability of qualified behavior analysts around the world.

BACB Board of Directors Jonathan Baker, PhD, BCBA-D Iser DeLeon, PhD, BCBA-D Eric Larsson, PhD, BCBA-D Suzanne Letso, MA, BCBA Mark Lister, BCaBA Christos Nikopoulos, PhD, BCBA-D Stephanie Peterson, PhD, BCBA-D Pamela Skudlarek, RBT Bridget Taylor, PsyD, BCBA-D Dianna Varady Javier Virues-Ortega, PhD, BCBA-D

Yearly # of Certificants Outside of the United States 1,764

1,764 Certificants in 70 Countries 31+ 11-30 1-10

74 Institutions in 29 Countries Course Sequences at 74 Institutions in 29 Countries

Exam Languages Language BCBA BCaBA English Avail. Spanish Chinese 2017 Hebrew Italian Brazilian Portuguese 2016 Russian Korean Polish Japanese 2018 French Arabic 2019 Hindi Better relate int’l development to rest of talk

Thank you