Creating a Professional Network: A Statewide Model to Support School-Based Behavior Analysts

Abstract

Despite efforts to increase the presence of behavior analysis in public schools, the process has been slow. Though more Board Certified Behavior Analysts® (BCBAs®) are working in public school settings, supports for this group of BCBAs are varied in both what they look like and their availability. It is not uncommon for BCBAs to work with little or no support from other BCBAs in their school district. Those who do have other BCBA colleagues in their district may not have structures in place to collaborate or grow as a behavior analyst. The current article describes a statewide initiative to increase supports for BCBAs working in public school settings. The network was formed with three chief goals: 1) to build a professional peer network for school-based BCBAs; 2) to provide continuing education events targeted to school-based BCBAs to promote increased competence; and 3) to encourage continued scholarship. This manuscript provides a description of the network efforts to date as well as areas that will continue to be evaluated and addressed.

Perspectives of Behavior Analysts and Mental Health Specialists on Collaborating to Support Students with Intensive Intervention Needs

“…Despite compelling reasons why BCBAs and mental health specialists should collaborate to support students with SEB challenges, there are also factors that add complexity to this particular partnership. One complicating factor is that the roles of BCBAs in schools are relatively new and still changing (Layden, 2022). In fact, ABA training programs vary widely with respect to the settings in which preservice behavior analysts are trained to practice (Brodhead et al, 2018).…”

Roles and Responsibilities of School-Based Behavior Analysts: A Survey

“…BCBAs ® are frequently asked to participate in collaborative teams to support systems change, such as PBIS teams (Putnam & Kincaid, 2015). Specialized educational knowledge is essential to working in the public school setting: such as educational law, systems change, or curriculum development, which are not typically taught in behavior analytic coursework (Brodhead et al, 2018; Layden, 2022; Layng et al, 2011).…”