Ethics Skill Builders Unlocked

Ethics Resources Unlocked: Practical Ethics Skill Builders Now Available to the Public

APBA is committed to supporting ethical, effective, and sustainable behavior analytic practice not only for members but for the broader professional community. As part of that commitment, APBA has made several Ethics Skill Builders from the APBA Reporter publicly available through the Ethics Resources page on APBAHome.net.

These “Resources Unlocked” Ethics Skill Builders are scenario-based learning tools developed by members of the APBA Ethics Subject Matter Expert Workgroup. Each presents a realistic ethical dilemma drawn from everyday practice and guides readers through structured ethical decision making grounded in the BACB® Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts. Together, they offer practical and discussion-ready resources for clinicians, supervisors, students, and organizations.

Resource Unlocked: Issue 65 (October 2024)
Supervision and Training

This Ethics Skill Builder examines ethical considerations related to supervision and training, particularly when a Registered Behavior Technician transitions between supervisors with differing expectations or clinical approaches. The scenario highlights how differences in supervision style can raise ethical questions related to consistency, competence, and professional responsibility.

Readers are guided to reflect on applicable Ethics Code standards and to consider how to respond professionally when faced with conflicting guidance, unclear expectations, or changes in supervisory relationships. This resource is especially valuable for supervisors, trainees, and organizations seeking to strengthen ethical supervision practices.

Resource Unlocked: Issue 66 (February 2025)
Continuity of Services

This Ethics Skill Builder focuses on one of the most common and complex ethical challenges in contemporary practice: maintaining continuity of services during staffing shortages, turnover, and other unplanned disruptions. Developed by Sarah Lichtenberger, PhD, BCBA-D, this scenario centers on a clinical director navigating competing organizational demands while prioritizing client welfare.

Using a structured ethical decision-making framework, readers are guided to evaluate multiple possible paths forward, including client coverage, pausing services, and service termination. The Skill Builder highlights relevant Ethics Code standards such as Facilitating Continuity of Services, Appropriately Discontinuing Services, and Appropriately Transitioning Services, and emphasizes documentation, collaboration, and communication throughout the decision-making process.

In addition to ethical analysis, this resource includes reflection questions for organizations, practical planning considerations, and sample conversation starters to support discussions with supervisors, team members, and caregivers. 

Resource Unlocked: Issue 67 (May 2025)
Multiple Relationships

This Ethics Skill Builder addresses multiple relationships, a frequent source of ethical complexity in behavior analytic practice. Defined in the Ethics Code as situations in which overlapping professional roles may risk objectivity, effectiveness, or client welfare, multiple relationships can arise across clinical, supervisory, academic, and community contexts.

Through realistic examples, this Skill Builder helps practitioners recognize potential multiple relationship concerns, assess risk, and respond in ways that align with ethical standards while maintaining professionalism and client-centered care. It serves as a valuable tool for increasing ethical awareness and preventing unintentional boundary violations.

Expanding Access to Applied Ethics Resources

These unlocked Ethics Skill Builders are designed to be practical, grounded in real-world scenarios behavior analysts regularly face, reflective in encouraging thoughtful analysis rather than prescriptive answers, and discussion-ready for use in supervision meetings, team trainings, and coursework.

By making these resources publicly available, APBA aims to support ethical decision making across the field and provide accessible tools that reflect the realities of modern behavior analytic practice.

See these and other Ethics Skill Builders here.