What is the APBA?

The Association of Professional Behavior Analysts (APBA) is a new organization with the primary mission of serving the needs of professional behavior analyst practitioners credentialed by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB).  Its mission is

  • To represent the interests of BACB-credentialed professional behavior analysts
  • To provide support and resources to BACB-credentialed professional behavior analysts
  • To work with federal, state, governmental, and third party entities to enhance recognition of BACB-credentialed professional behavior analysts
  • To work with federal, state, governmental, and third party entities to support the needs of BACB-credentialed professional behavior analysts
  • To provide education opportunities to BACB-credentialed professional behavior analysts
  • To provide resources to professionals in other fields and to consumers of behavior analytic services concerning the practice of applied behavior analysis
  • To bring professionals, consumers, and vendors together at national and regional meetings
  • To support improvements in and access to services provided by BACB credentialed professional behavior analysts
  • To promote public understanding of the professional practice of behavior analysis.

The APBA is a membership organization.  There are multiple classes of membership, affiliation, and sponsorship.  BACB-credentialed members must hold a current certification issued by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, Inc.  Other classes of membership do not require certification.  In addition, organizations may be affiliates or sponsors.

The APBA is a nonprofit corporation under section 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code. 

Why does behavior analysis need the APBA?

The professionalization of applied behavior analysis in recent years has emerged from a number of influences.  An accumulating research base has continued to improve the field’s capabilities.  Other professions, public and private service providers, and the culture at large have become more aware of the capabilities of this science-based technology.  A growing demand for effective intervention for individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders has driven more consumers and employers to seek behavior analytic services.  Colleges and universities have responded to these demands by establishing professional training programs.

The formation of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, Inc. (BACB) in 1998 has played a major role in this professionalization movement.  Its development of educational and training standards and a credentialing process has defined what it means to be a professional behavior analyst.  Consumers of services now have an identifiable indicator of quality when choosing providers.  Employers now have a means of identifying individuals who meet these standards, and demand for those holding BACB credentials has increased.  Governmental agencies and insurance companies are now recognizing these credentials.

Although the demand may never be satisfied by the supply of BACB-credentialed professionals, this cadre is growing rapidly.  There are over 6,000 BACB certificants at present, and this number swells by about 1,000 each year.  Not surprisingly, more than 95% of certificants retain their credential each year.  Roughly 80% of these individuals graduate from programs offering BACB approved course sequences, and the recent growth in college and university programs (now more than 180) shows no sign of abating. 

The increasing number of BACB-credentialed practitioners, together with recognition of and demand for their services, has both highlighted longstanding needs associated with professional practice in this field and created new ones.  Perhaps the central issue is assuring the right of credentialed behavior analysts to practice independently of other professions.  Other needs central to professional interests include

  • Increasing recognition and support for BACB credentials
  • Monitoring and influencing state, provincial, national, and international legislation
  • Influencing actions of regulatory agencies
  • Improving representation of the field in the media
  • Supporting the formation and strengthening of state, provincial, and national professional organizations
  • Increasing the number of universities training behavior analyst practitioners and the number of graduates of these programs
  • Increasing resources available to practitioners

These needs are explicitly professional in nature and meeting them requires an organization focused on professional interests.  Other organizations in behavior analysis are appropriate for other purposes.  The Association for Behavior Analysis International includes basic and applied researchers as well as practitioners, and its annual convention brings those interests together.  However, it has become clear that the rapid growth of the professional sector of the field demands the formation of an organization with the primary mission of serving professional needs.

These needs can only be effectively addressed with the capabilities and resources of an organization that is national (and eventually international) in its reach.  Although state, regional, and provincial organizations play a critical role in supporting professional interests, representation of the field’s interests at a national level requires an organization that can bring the resources of a national membership to this focus.  Only a national professional organization can speak with the imprimatur of a national membership.  A national organization can pursue the collective interests of state and provincial organizations with organizations representing other professions, with federal agencies, and through the political process.

Although the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, Inc. is an international organization concerned with professional interests, it is prohibited from focusing on professional interests, beyond its 501(c)(3) tax exemption status.  In fact, credentialing bodies such as the BACB, Inc. are usually adjuncts to professional organizations, which serve the full array of interests of their credentialed professional members.

How will APBA interface with other organizations?

The APBA is an independent organization. However, its mission is closely related to the interests of other organizations in the field of behavior analysis. Because the APBA will focus on supporting the needs of BACB-credentialed professionals, it will work closely with the BACB. Two director positions on the APBA board are allocated to the BACB and are presently filled by its president and its Chief Executive Officer. The BACB has purchased a membership in APBA that includes the opportunity for all BACB certificants to be members of APBA for one year; BACB certificants may opt out of this membership option by clicking on the button on the BACB webpage.

The APBA will also build cooperative relationships with other organizations associated with the field of behavior analysis, as well as those in related fields.  One of the major initiatives of the APBA will involve developing close and supportive relationships with regional, state, and provincial organizations serving professionals in applied behavior analysis. Of course, ABAI is the field’s oldest organization, and the APBA is committed to collaborating with ABAI in any ways that serve the overlapping interests of the two organizations and their members.