Gerald Shook, PhD, BCBA
BACB Chief Executive Officer
Online Certification Management
We soon will be launching an online certification management system that will allow you to renew and recertify online and pay with a credit card. You will be able to update your contact information, as well as record and manage your continuing education information online. We will also collect information from BCBAs regarding whether they’re available to provide supervision. That information will be incorporated into the Certificant Registry to help individuals locate potential supervisors more efficiently.
We will begin the launch by inviting a small number of certificants to use the system to complete their upcoming renewal or recertification applications, with a complete launch shortly thereafter. Online exam applications will also be available later this year.
Supervision of BCaBAs
A few individuals have expressed concerns about the upcoming changes that will affect BCaBAs. In particular, individuals were worried about how to meet the requirements for supervision in unusual circumstances. For example, some BCaBAs may live in areas where there are few, if any, BCBAs available to provide supervision. Another example offered was that some BCaBAs may take time away from the practice of behavior analysis but would still like to keep their certification. As the BACB begins the process of implementing the supervision requirements, we expect to include provisions to address BCaBAs who |
are not currently practicing, and BCaBAs for whom in-person supervision may not be possible. When those provisions are determined, they will be posted in the “Maintaining Certification” section of www.BACB.com. It is likely that they will also be discussed in a future edition of this newsletter.
Board of Directors Elections
The BACB congratulates the following individuals who were elected to the BACB Board of Directors: Jane Howard and Christie Enzinna. We wish to thank all of the candidates who ran in the recent election and the all of certificants who voted.
Hemingway Award
This award is given in tribute to the late Michael Hemingway who, as the representative of Florida government, played a central role in the transfer of behavior analyst certification from the State of Florida to the Behavior Analyst Certification Board. Michael’s courage and commitment to the profession of behavior analysis and certification are reflected in the behavior of the individual who receives this award.
The 2008 recipient of the Michael Hemingway award is Lorri Unumb. Lorri is a law school professor and parent of a child with autism who has been instrumental in gaining support for insurance coverage of effective autism treatment in South Carolina. You can learn more about Lorri by viewing this clip about her that recently aired on CNN. |
