Association for Behavior Analysis International

The Behavior Analyst Certification Board requires all certified individuals to be familiar with and adhere to the Professional and Ethical Compliance Code for Behavior Analysts (10.0, Behavior Analyst Certification Board, 2016). Anectodal reports from various certified providers in Hampton Roads, VA indicates a pattern of escape/avoidance behavior in response to witnessing ethical violations by their fellow certified colleagues, some who also acted as their supervisor and employer at the time of the violations (J. Kelly, personal communication, 2018). Specifically, these Board Certified Behavior Analysts and Board Certified assistant Behavior Analysts resigned from their employment positions instead of attempting to resolve the issue with the individual who engaged in the violation as our code instructs us to do (Professional and Ethical Compliance Code for Behavior Analysts 7.0, BACB, 2016). Informal interviews conducted with supervisees also revealed that the majority of these individuals did not receive training on confronting individuals engaging in ethical violations nor did they receive training on submitting a notice of alleged violation via the Behavior Analyst Certification Board or submitting a report with the state’s licensure department if applicable. It is imperative that individuals representing behavior analysis follow through with their ethical obligations to maintain our science’s reputation.

BCBAs, BCaBAs, graduate level students completing their fieldwork towards eligibility to sit for the BACB exam, supervisors, supervisees