1- Adrienne owns her own autism clinic, is a BCBA and also a licensed psychologist. Realizing that the waitlist for evaluations in her community was very long (up to a year), she decided to start using her psychologist credentials to provide autism evaluations. Which of the following is an ethical way to handle those whom she diagnoses with autism? A) Adrienne can provide a list of ABA providers in the community to the newly diagnosed children, but she cannot include her own clinic on that list. b) Since Adrienne was diagnosed as a psychologist, she cannot recommend ABA therapy for the newly diagnosed children. c) Since Adrienne provides ABA therapy services also, it is appropriate for her to refer the newly diagnosed children to her own clinic for therapy. d) Adrienne can provide a list of ABA providers in her community but should list her own clinic last. 2- Karl is a BCBA who supervises RBTs for a local school district. Recently, one of his supervisees learned that Karl was arrested for a DUI last month. She asks him if he reported it to the BACB, since he was arrested for a public safety offense. Karl responded that since he only received probation and there was no fine assessed, he does not have to report it to the BACB. What should the supervisee do next with regard to the BACB? a) Nothing; Karl is right that he does not need to report this to the BACB b) Point out to Karl that Standard 1.16 requires him to report, even if he wasn’t fined or jailed c) Report Karl to the School Board for driving under the influence d) Report Karl to the BACB for an Ethics Code violation under Standard 1.16 3-Which of the following would not be considered a violation of Standard 1.13, Coercive and Exploitative Relationships? a) Asking a supervisee to conduct a portion of a skills assessment for a new client, under the oversight of their BCBA supervisor b) Asking a supervisee to file a functional behavior assessment under the supervisor’s name for billing purposes, since the supervisor reviewed the report c) Requiring supervisees to pay an hourly fee for their supervision hours, even when the BCBA is also billing the time spent in supervisiona d) Requiring supervisees to work for a period of time in return for receiving supervision hours for their BCBA credential 4-Maria is an RBT, providing 20 hours per week of in-home therapy to a four year old with autism. The family’s culture is one in which it is common to offer food (snacks, meals) to visitors to the home (and is considered disrespectful to decline). Maria’s company has a policy that RBTs will not accept any item for consumption from any client, but Maria feels torn because she is in the home five days a week and doesn’t want to offend them. What should Maria do? A) Since her company obviously doesn’t understand the cultural implications of declining meals and snacks, Maria should go ahead and accept occasionally, and just not tell her company so it does not become a problem. b) Maria should tell her employer that she plans to accept each offer so as not to appear disrespectful to the family. c) Maria should politely decline each time, citing company policy and offering apologies for having to decline. d) Maria should point out to her employer what Standard 1.12 says about giving and receiving “gifts” and suggest that the policy be adjusted to allow for occasional acceptance of meals or snacks, so long as a dual relationship does not develop. 5- Jennifer recently opened an ABA clinic which serves many children from a nearby Native American reservation. In an effort to preserve their Native language, the schools on the reservation require that the Native language be used by all teachers and staff, alongside English. Jennifer is not a member of this Tribe and does not speak the language, nor do any members of her staff. Jennifer is pondering whether or not, and if so how, she and/or her staff should approach the Native language of their clients. Which of the following would least meet requirements of Standard 1.07, Cultural Responsiveness and Diversity? A) Since her clinic is not technically a “school” and is not on the reservation, there is no need for Jennifer or her staff to learn any of the Native language. b) Jennifer could hire members of the Tribe who speak the language as therapists so that her clinic can maintain the Native language + English policy for the children of that Tribe. c) Jennifer could consult books or online resources to learn some common phrases from the Native language and share those with her staff. d)Jennifer could hire someone to tutor her and her staff in the Native language so that they can use it and better understand the students from the reservation. 6- Bryan has a new job as a new BCBA for a clinic in his hometown. At a family gathering, one of his cousins tells him that her son has recently been diagnosed with autism and asks him about his clinic. Bryan wants to be sure that he does not violate any of the Ethics Code Standards. What would be the most appropriate thing for Bryan to do? a) Tell his cousin that he cannot treat her son since he is family, and that she needs to go to another clinic for therapy. b)Tell his cousin a little about his clinic specifically, and ABA therapy in general, and explain that since she is family he would not be able to treat her son himself. c)Tell his cousin to stop by the clinic and meet the other staff who would be better able to serve her son, since Bryan just started there. d)Tell his cousin to come by the clinic for an intake. Since her son is not his child, it is ethically okay for him to treat him. 7- Shanese is an RBT working for an agency, which provides therapists to the local school district. Shanese currently works with an elementary school student, whose parents recently approached her to babysit on some weekends. Though she could use the money, Shanese’s company has a policy which states that employees will not engage in dual relationships with clients or their families. However, in the school system, it is common for paraprofessionals and even teachers to work with families outside the school, as babysitters, tutors, private coaches, etc., and is not a violation of district policy. Since she is physically working in the school, Shanese believes that it would be okay babysit her client on weekends, so long as she did so as his paraprofessional and not as his RBT. Is Shanese’s plan a potential violation of any of the Ethics Code Standards? Select all that apply. a) Not if Shanese babysits her client as his paraprofessional. b) Yes. If Shanese babysits her client it constitutes a potential conflict of interest, opens her up to a coercive relationship, and would be considered a dual relationship. c) Yes. Shanese must uphold the policies of the stakeholders, which includes her own company . 8- Devon is the clinic director for a small ABA company. Shehas been a BCBA for many years and in a variety of settings, including schools, clinics, and in-home. Devon’s work has been exclusively with young children on the autism spectrum to this point, though in the schools she did also work with some children with other disabilities as well as those without disabilities. Recently the owners were approached by a community service organization to team up and provide adult services (e.g., job coaching, independent living skills) to adults with intellectual disability and autism living in group homes. The owners have directed Devon to develop the programming for this new venture, which will include deciding on proper assessments, writing programs, and training staff who will work with the clients. What is Devon’s most appropriate course of action to ensure she does not potentially violate an Ethics Code Standard? A) Devon should decline the tasks, citing lack of competence in this area. b) Devon should go ahead and begin the work. She has worked with many children with autism and some with intellectual disability, so she has adequate competence to do this work. c) Devon should inform her employer that she does not have competence working with adults and that they need to hire another BCBA who does have that competency. d) Devon should seek mentorship, training, or read the literature on the types of services the company will be providing before beginning this work. 9- For the following code, please select the accurate description: Code 1.01 Being Truthful a) Standard which compels behavior analysts to be honest and encourage honesty among others. b) Standard which compels behavior analysts to follow the law. c) Standard which compels behavior analysts to behavior in an equitable and inclusive manner toward others, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender expression/identify, immigration status, marital/relationship status, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or any other basis proscribed by law. d)Standard which compels behavior analysts to evaluate their and their trainees’ ability to address the needs of individuals with diverse needs or backgrounds. e) Standard which requires behavior analysts to engage in professional development activities such as reading relevant literature and attending trainings/conferences/workshops, etc. f) Standard which compels behavior analysts to follow through on commitments and to correct errors when made. g) Standard which compels behavior analysts to begin work only after putting into place a written agreement outlining the type of work. h) Standard which compels behavior analysts to practice only in areas which are commensurate with their education, training, and supervised experience as well as to undertake additional study, training, supervision, or mentoring to gain new experience. 10- For the following code, please select the accurate description: Code 1.02 Conforming with Legal & Professional Requirements a) Standard which compels behavior analysts to evaluate their and their trainees’ ability to address the needs of individuals with diverse needs or backgrounds. b) Standard which compels behavior analysts to be honest and encourage honesty among others. c) Standard which compels behavior analysts to follow through on commitments and to correct errors when made. d) Standard which compels behavior analysts to behavior in an equitable and inclusive manner toward others, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender expression/identify, immigration status, marital/relationship status, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or any other basis proscribed by law. e)Standard which requires behavior analysts to engage in professional development activities such as reading relevant literature and attending trainings/conferences/workshops, etc. f) Standard which compels behavior analysts to practice only in areas which are commensurate with their education, training, and supervised experience as well as to undertake additional study, training, supervision, or mentoring to gain new experience. g) Standard which compels behavior analysts to begin work only after putting into place a written agreement outlining the type of work. h)Standard which compels behavior analysts to follow the law . 11- For the following code, please select the accurate description: Code 1.03 Accountability A) Standard which compels behavior analysts to behavior in an equitable and inclusive manner toward others, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender expression/identify, immigration status, marital/relationship status, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or any other basis proscribed by law. b) Standard which requires behavior analysts to engage in professional development activities such as reading relevant literature and attending trainings/conferences/workshops, etc. c) Standard which compels behavior analysts to begin work only after putting into place a written agreement outlining the type of work. d) Standard which compels behavior analysts to be honest and encourage honesty among others. e)Standard which compels behavior analysts to practice only in areas which are commensurate with their education, training, and supervised experience as well as to undertake additional study, training, supervision, or mentoring to gain new experience. f)Standard which compels behavior analysts to evaluate their and their trainees’ ability to address the needs of individuals with diverse needs or backgrounds. g) Standard which compels behavior analysts to follow through on commitments and to correct errors when made. h)Standard which compels behavior analysts to follow the law. 12- For the following code, please select the accurate description: Code 1.04 Practicing within a Defined Role Standard which compels behavior analysts to follow through on commitments and to correct errors when made. Standard which compels behavior analysts to follow the law. Standard which compels behavior analysts to practice only in areas which are commensurate with their education, training, and supervised experience as well as to undertake additional study, training, supervision, or mentoring to gain new experience. Standard which compels behavior analysts to begin work only after putting into place a written agreement outlining the type of work. Standard which compels behavior analysts to be honest and encourage honesty among others. Standard which requires behavior analysts to engage in professional development activities such as reading relevant literature and attending trainings/conferences/workshops, etc. Standard which compels behavior analysts to behavior in an equitable and inclusive manner toward others, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender expression/identify, immigration status, marital/relationship status, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or any other basis proscribed by law. Standard which compels behavior analysts to evaluate their and their trainees’ ability to address the needs of individuals with diverse needs or backgrounds. 13- For the following code, please select the accurate description: Code 1.05 Practicing within Scope of Competence Standard which compels behavior analysts to begin work only after putting into place a written agreement outlining the type of work. Standard which requires behavior analysts to engage in professional development activities such as reading relevant literature and attending trainings/conferences/workshops, etc. Standard which compels behavior analysts to practice only in areas which are commensurate with their education, training, and supervised experience as well as to undertake additional study, training, supervision, or mentoring to gain new experience. Standard which compels behavior analysts to be honest and encourage honesty among others. Standard which compels behavior analysts to follow the law. Standard which compels behavior analysts to evaluate their and their trainees’ ability to address the needs of individuals with diverse needs or backgrounds. Standard which compels behavior analysts to follow through on commitments and to correct errors when made. Standard which compels behavior analysts to behavior in an equitable and inclusive manner toward others, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender expression/identify, immigration status, marital/relationship status, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or any other basis proscribed by law. 14- For the following code, please select the accurate description: Code 1.06 Maintaining Competence Standard which compels behavior analysts to behavior in an equitable and inclusive manner toward others, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender expression/identify, immigration status, marital/relationship status, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or any other basis proscribed by law. Standard which compels behavior analysts to follow through on commitments and to correct errors when made. Standard which requires behavior analysts to engage in professional development activities such as reading relevant literature and attending trainings/conferences/workshops, etc. Standard which compels behavior analysts to practice only in areas which are commensurate with their education, training, and supervised experience as well as to undertake additional study, training, supervision, or mentoring to gain new experience. Standard which compels behavior analysts to begin work only after putting into place a written agreement outlining the type of work. Standard which compels behavior analysts to be honest and encourage honesty among others. Standard which compels behavior analysts to follow the law. Standard which compels behavior analysts to evaluate their and their trainees’ ability to address the needs of individuals with diverse needs or backgrounds. 15- For the following code, please select the accurate description: Code 1.07 Cultural Responsiveness & Diversity Standard which compels behavior analysts to follow through on commitments and to correct errors when made. Standard which compels behavior analysts to practice only in areas which are commensurate with their education, training, and supervised experience as well as to undertake additional study, training, supervision, or mentoring to gain new experience. Standard which compels behavior analysts to follow the law. Standard which compels behavior analysts to behavior in an equitable and inclusive manner toward others, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender expression/identify, immigration status, marital/relationship status, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or any other basis proscribed by law. Standard which compels behavior analysts to evaluate their and their trainees’ ability to address the needs of individuals with diverse needs or backgrounds. Standard which requires behavior analysts to engage in professional development activities such as reading relevant literature and attending trainings/conferences/workshops, etc. Standard which compels behavior analysts to begin work only after putting into place a written agreement outlining the type of work. Standard which compels behavior analysts to be honest and encourage honesty among others. 16- For the following code, please select the accurate description: Code 1.08 Nondiscrimination Standard which compels behavior analysts to begin work only after putting into place a written agreement outlining the type of work. Standard which compels behavior analysts to follow the law. Standard which compels behavior analysts to behavior in an equitable and inclusive manner toward others, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender expression/identify, immigration status, marital/relationship status, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or any other basis proscribed by law. Standard which compels behavior analysts to evaluate their and their trainees’ ability to address the needs of individuals with diverse needs or backgrounds. Standard which compels behavior analysts to be honest and encourage honesty among others. Standard which compels behavior analysts to follow through on commitments and to correct errors when made. Standard which requires behavior analysts to engage in professional development activities such as reading relevant literature and attending trainings/conferences/workshops, etc. Standard which compels behavior analysts to practice only in areas which are commensurate with their education, training, and supervised experience as well as to undertake additional study, training, supervision, or mentoring to gain new experience. 17- For the following code, please select the accurate description: Code 1.09 Nonharassment Standard which compels behavior analysts not to abuse their power or authority by coercing others. Standard which compels behavior analysts to avoid conflicts of interest. Standard which compels behavior analysts to notify the BACB when they have been arrested for a crime. Standard which compels behavior analysts to avoid a romantic or sexual relationship with a former client for two years after the professional relationship has ended. Standard which compels behavior analysts to refrain from behaviors that are considered intimidating, hostile, or abusive to others. Standard which compels behavior analysts to ensure that personal challenges or biases do not interfere with their work. Standard which compels behavior analysts not to accept a gift of more than $10 (US). Standard which compels behavior analysts to provide clients and stakeholders with necessary information in a timely manner. 18- For the following code, please select the accurate description: Code 1.10 Awareness of Personal Biases & Challenges Standard which compels behavior analysts to ensure that personal challenges or biases do not interfere with their work. Standard which compels behavior analysts not to abuse their power or authority by coercing others. Standard which compels behavior analysts to avoid conflicts of interest. Standard which compels behavior analysts not to accept a gift of more than $10 (US). Standard which compels behavior analysts to provide clients and stakeholders with necessary information in a timely manner. Standard which compels behavior analysts to avoid a romantic or sexual relationship with a former client for two years after the professional relationship has ended. Standard which compels behavior analysts to notify the BACB when they have been arrested for a crime. Standard which compels behavior analysts to refrain from behaviors that are considered intimidating, hostile, or abusive to others. 19- For the following code, please select the accurate description: Code 1.11 Multiple Relationships Standard which compels behavior analysts to avoid a romantic or sexual relationship with a former client for two years after the professional relationship has ended. Standard which compels behavior analysts to avoid conflicts of interest. Standard which compels behavior analysts to ensure that personal challenges or biases do not interfere with their work. Standard which compels behavior analysts not to abuse their power or authority by coercing others. Standard which compels behavior analysts not to accept a gift of more than $10 (US). Standard which compels behavior analysts to notify the BACB when they have been arrested for a crime. Standard which compels behavior analysts to provide clients and stakeholders with necessary information in a timely manner. Standard which compels behavior analysts to refrain from behaviors that are considered intimidating, hostile, or abusive to others. 20- For the following code, please select the accurate description: Code 1.12 Giving & Receiving Gifts Standard which compels behavior analysts not to abuse their power or authority by coercing others. Standard which compels behavior analysts to refrain from behaviors that are considered intimidating, hostile, or abusive to others. Standard which compels behavior analysts to avoid a romantic or sexual relationship with a former client for two years after the professional relationship has ended. Standard which compels behavior analysts to provide clients and stakeholders with necessary information in a timely manner. Standard which compels behavior analysts not to accept a gift of more than $10 (US). Standard which compels behavior analysts to avoid conflicts of interest. Standard which compels behavior analysts to notify the BACB when they have been arrested for a crime. Standard which compels behavior analysts to ensure that personal challenges or biases do not interfere with their work. 21- For the following code, please select the accurate description: Code 1.13 Coercive & Exploitative Relationships Standard which compels behavior analysts to refrain from behaviors that are considered intimidating, hostile, or abusive to others. Standard which compels behavior analysts to avoid conflicts of interest. Standard which compels behavior analysts not to abuse their power or authority by coercing others. Standard which compels behavior analysts to ensure that personal challenges or biases do not interfere with their work. Standard which compels behavior analysts to provide clients and stakeholders with necessary information in a timely manner. Standard which compels behavior analysts to avoid a romantic or sexual relationship with a former client for two years after the professional relationship has ended. Standard which compels behavior analysts not to accept a gift of more than $10 (US). Standard which compels behavior analysts to notify the BACB when they have been arrested for a crime. 22- For the following code, please select the accurate description: Code 1.14 Romantic & Sexual Relationships Standard which compels behavior analysts to notify the BACB when they have been arrested for a crime. Standard which compels behavior analysts not to accept a gift of more than $10 (US). Standard which compels behavior analysts to ensure that personal challenges or biases do not interfere with their work. Standard which compels behavior analysts to avoid conflicts of interest. Standard which compels behavior analysts to refrain from behaviors that are considered intimidating, hostile, or abusive to others. Standard which compels behavior analysts to provide clients and stakeholders with necessary information in a timely manner. Standard which compels behavior analysts not to abuse their power or authority by coercing others. Standard which compels behavior analysts to avoid a romantic or sexual relationship with a former client for two years after the professional relationship has ended. 23- For the following code, please select the accurate description: Code 1.15 Responding to Requests Standard which compels behavior analysts to provide clients and stakeholders with necessary information in a timely manner. Standard which compels behavior analysts to notify the BACB when they have been arrested for a crime. Standard which compels behavior analysts not to abuse their power or authority by coercing others. Standard which compels behavior analysts to avoid a romantic or sexual relationship with a former client for two years after the professional relationship has ended. Standard which compels behavior analysts to refrain from behaviors that are considered intimidating, hostile, or abusive to others. Standard which compels behavior analysts to ensure that personal challenges or biases do not interfere with their work. Standard which compels behavior analysts not to accept a gift of more than $10 (US). Standard which compels behavior analysts to avoid conflicts of interest. 24- For the following code, please select the accurate description: Code 1.16 Self-Reporting Critical Information Standard which compels behavior analysts to ensure that personal challenges or biases do not interfere with their work. Standard which compels behavior analysts to refrain from behaviors that are considered intimidating, hostile, or abusive to others. Standard which compels behavior analysts not to abuse their power or authority by coercing others. Standard which compels behavior analysts to notify the BACB when they have been arrested for a crime. Standard which compels behavior analysts to avoid conflicts of interest. Standard which compels behavior analysts to avoid a romantic or sexual relationship with a former client for two years after the professional relationship has ended. Standard which compels behavior analysts to provide clients and stakeholders with necessary information in a timely manner. Standard which compels behavior analysts not to accept a gift of more than $10 (US). Hey 567! Welcome to Active Student Response 2. In this ASR, you’re going to be able to list and describe 16 standards within Section 1 of the Ethics Code, define culture, cultural responsiveness, cultural competence, cultural humility and cultural awareness. You’ll be able to describe the ADDRESSING framework and how it can be used to promote culturally responsive ABA practices, and you will describe five types of bias. Throughout this slide show, you’re going to see this little character right here that is representing Dr. John Bailey, who is the lead author of your ethics textbook. And I will say it’s a reasonable rendering of Dr. Bailey, but not precisely, so if you ever see him, don’t be surprised when he doesn’t look anything like this little character. But this is supposed to be representing Dr. Bailey. We’re looking today at Section 1, which is responsibility to the profession. Dr. Bailey says those professionals who want to call themselves behavior analysts must conduct themselves in a way that reflects positively on the field — and in fact, you may recall from your previous ASR that he then says very positively, in fact. We all know that we got into the field to help others. We are here not just to have a job and to make money, but we’re here to inform the field, support the field, support the profession, and really help our clients. So it makes sense that most of us are going to be conducting ourselves in a positive light. However, it does definitely help to have a sense of what precisely is considered ethical versus what is not in terms of your responsibility to the profession. So that’s what Section 1 here is all about. So the first question that I have for you is what does responsible conduct mean to you as a person? Everyone has an opinion about what it means to be responsible, professionally. So think for just a moment about what it means to you. What does responsible conduct look like? And similarly, conversely, what does irresponsible conduct look like? What I would suggest is that you pause now and give that some thought. Whatever you thought of when you thought of responsible conduct, did you have some variation on being a good person, doing right by others, taking responsibilities, being honest, fair and just? If so, you’re right in line with Section 1 of the Ethics Code which we’ll start taking a look at now. There are 16 standards within Section 1 of the Ethics Code. These are listed here, as you can see: truthfulness, legal/professional compliance, accountability, practicing within your role, practicing within your competence, maintaining your competence, cultural responsivity and diversity. Now, this number seven here, this is a new one for this new ethics code, and that’s why this particular ASR takes a heavier focus on cultural responsivity and diversity, in keeping with this new code section that they have added, this new standard that they have added. Nondiscrimination, nonharassment, awareness of biases and challenges, multiple relationships, giving and receiving of gifts, coercive and exploitative relationships, romantic and sexual relationships, responding to requests and self-reporting. So starting with being truthful, you can see Dr. Bailey here says that the problem comes when there’s pressure to shade the truth to avoid an embarrassing or painful confrontation with a client, supervisor or administrator. Being truthful seems like such a simple thing. You’ve been told to tell the truth your whole life. However, most humans, by the time they are adults, have had contact with some amount of negative reinforcement for having told a little fib maybe just a little white lie that avoided punishment or got you out of a negative situation. That’s reinforcing you by removing that negative consequence that that puti– punitive consequence that you may have been experiencing or you were trying to avoid. So having had that negative reinforcement contact sometimes does promote the telling of a little white lie or a little fib here and there. In the profession of behavior analysis, we really must stay truthful. We must not only be truthful ourselves, but arrange the professional environment to promote truthful behavior in others. In other words, if someone comes to you and says, you know what, what I said in that meeting earlier today wasn’t entirely true. Here is the actual truth — that telling of the truth should be what bravery we reward. If you provided a punishment in that moment, then the next time that person is facing either telling the truth or telling the white lie, they may choose the white lie in order to avoid the punishment, and that’s not the environmental arrangement that you want. You want truthfulness among your, your staff, your employees, and all those with whom you work. Standard 1.02: Conforming with Legal and Professional Requirements. This one states that behavior analysts follow the law and the requirements of their professional community. Each one of you guys are coming from a different professional community. You may be in a school system, you may be in a clinic or an agency. You may be in a hospital or a governmental agency. Some of you may not even be working in the field yet, but when you do, there’s a variety of places you could be. It is incumbent on you to understand what the law and the policies and procedures are of your organization, as well as the more broad professional community from which you come. Dr. Bailey says this standard relates to professional integrity. Basically, it means being a law abiding citizen. Dr. Bailey says if the mission and company goals are made clear to all and the contingencies are applied fairly, the organization should run smoothly and ethically with happy employees and satisfied clients. Isn’t that the dream that everyone is hoping for, both as the employer, the owner of the company, as well as those who work there, and even the consumers, because a happy staff is going to provide better service, right? But there are times when that isn’t happening quite as well as it should be. So notice that the mission and the company goals are an important piece of what the employees need to know. We talk more about that in another course, the Supervision and Organizational Behavior Management course, SPE 562. Back to Accountability. On page 77 of your textbook, your authors say that “Behavior analysts are accountable for their actions and professional services and they follow through on work commitments. Now, that’s the first half. Following through on work commitments is a really important ethical standard because it ensures that your clients receive ongoing service, that they receive timely service, and that there’s not a large gap in service. We don’t want BCBAs out there abandon– abandoning clients on a whim. So there are specific guidelines associated with or standards associated with transferring clients or discontinuing services and so forth, which we will get to. The second part of 1.03 here says that when errors do occur or commitments cannot be met, behavior analysts take all appropriate actions to directly address them. So when you’ve made a mistake, own up to it. Correct it as quickly as you can. Again, that negative reinforcement contingency — you may be tempted to just kind of sweep it under the rug. Maybe no one will notice. Maybe no one will find out. That gives you a sense of relief for avoiding potential punishment as a result or any other negative consequence as a result of the error. But it’s not the ethical thing to do. The ethical thing to do is to say, you know what? Look, I wrote that down wrong. I made that mistake. I said something that wasn’t correct. Whatever the situation was, correct it as soon as you can. That’s being an accountable professional, an accountable adult. And we make sure that if we can’t meet a commitment for whatever reason — you can’t finish out your contract, you can’t continue with this client., you can’t make a meeting — as simple as something like that. You’ve got to make appropriate arrangements for the person if it’s a service, and you’ve got to notify people when things come up where you can’t meet an obligation. Your textbook authors say relative to standard 1.04, which is Practicing within a Defined Role, that behavior analysts provide services only after defining and documenting their professional role with relevant parties in writing. Generally speaking, this is going to be the contract that you sign. Any job that you take, almost any position that you take, especially in the field of behavior analysis or education, is going to come with a contract. That contract should clearly outline what you are going to be doing for the organization, what your role is, your title, if that’s appropriate or applicable. The clearly defined role is useful to you here because we’ve all been in those situations where maybe we were serving as a consultant let’s say, or you’re a paraprofessional in a school, but then you’re asked to do additional things that sort of go above and beyond or outside the scope of your particular job title, your particular role or responsibility. And sometimes that’s okay for you to do that, but this is a means of protecting you — having the written contract in place that clearly outlines so that if something really is beyond your professional capacity or beyond your bandwidth as a professional that you have that contract and those defined roles to fall back on. Written agreements should specify, again, the work to be completed and any other relevant information to avoid potential issues later on. If you end up working as a consultant, for example, or a contract person as a BCBA, you may be writing your own contract. So I would encourage you to gather up some continuing education and some training on writing an appropriate contract that would include outlining services to be provided and typically the fees and so forth within that. Dr. Bailey’s little quote here is that ethical challenges confront the BCBA almost on a daily basis. And I know you don’t want to hear that right now because ethics are scary, as we’ve already established, but they shouldn’t be scary. It’s, this is, this is really common sense, a lot of it. Some of it’s very specific, but most of it is just do what is right, do no harm, put your client’s interests above that of others. So for the most part, you’re going to come across sort of minor ethical challenges that aren’t going to be super scary for you, but I think his point is well taken here, where he says that we might or that we will confront these kinds of things almost on a daily basis to remind us that there are opportunities for potential error for decisions to be made that are maybe not exactly honest or not exactly in the client’s best interest, and we need to be aware of that; we need to be watchful of that to prevent that from happening. Standard 1.05: Practicing within the Scope of Competence is one we’ve talked about in other courses and, and one that’s really very important to you as a professional and one for which 1.04 can potentially protect you if your competency is written as part of that contract. Dr. Bailey says the purpose of this code is to one, prevent mistreatment of the client, and two, prevent behavior analysts from being accused of misrepresenting their qualifications. The gist of this one is that we only practice within the scope of our competence, and if you don’t have competence in an area, demographic, population, etc., that you either not practice that at all or become competent before you do. I’ve heard the saying, and I may have even used it myself, that behavior is behavior, right? So whether it’s your own child’s behavior, or a or a child with a disability’s behavior, or an adult’s behavior, or at some kind of animal behavior, behavior’s behavior; reinforcement is reinforcing. It will increase the future frequency of a behavior, and punishment will decrease the future frequency of a behavior, and that is true across all organisms. Those are true words. What I just said is accurate. However, different people, different organisms, different species operate in different ways, and we know this as behavior analyst. It’s not as simple as the principles of behavior, positive and negative reinforcement, positive and negative punishment, and extinction. Those things are universally accurate in the way that they influence behavior, but the environment plays such a big role in whether or not a behavior will be evoked and the consequences of that behavior, obviously, as we’re talking about our at issue. So it’s more than just behavior. And so just because you have a masters in special education and applied behavior analysis, just because you have a national and or a state licensure in behavior analysis, does not mean that you are competent in all things behavior; it means that you are competent in that which you studied as part of your degree programs, and it means that you’re competent in that which you were supervised in as part of your supervised fieldwork, and as you know, you need 2000 hours of supervised fieldwork before you’re going to be allowed to apply to sit for your BCBA exam. So the most important thing I can tell you, looking at this slide for number in which you plan to work once you get your BCBA. If you’re working in a school right now, but you really, really want to work in a clinic setting, see if you can’t find a way to get that clinic experience, because otherwise your competency will be at school, not in the clinic. Similarly, if you get all of your supervised field work experience in a clinic setting and then you go apply for a public school job, just note that you are probably not competent at the school setting because you got all of your supervision at a clinic. If you did all of your supervision and all of your experiences with preschool aged children and then you apply for a job working in the community with a program serving adults, just know that you’re not going to be competent with adults because adults are different than children. So to come back to 1.05, your textbook specifically says that we behavior analysts practice only in areas which are commensurate with our education training and supervised experience, and we practice in new areas, quote, only after undertaking appropriate study, training, supervision, and or consultation from persons who are competent in those areas. This is very important. We’re not saying that you can’t apply for that job in adult services if that’s what you really want to do, even though all of your experience is in the preschool; what we are saying is that you do need to get additional training, take a class, perhaps. Let’s say you want to make a move from ABA with children and youth with developmental disabilities, maybe to gerontology. Take a gerontology course. There’s a great online gerontology certificate I believe, at ASU. If that’s the direction you want to go, learn more about the population, learn more about the setting. Get yourself that competence before you call yourself competent. For standard 1.06 Maintaining Competence, Dr. Bailey says this: “The intent of this standard is to urge behavior analysts not to become complacent with the knowledge they have gained in the past or the skills they acquired in their master’s program and practicum training.” So I just told you your competence comes from those areas and that experience that you have had and that you should make sure that you only practice within your area of competence. However, it’s not just enough to say, all right, I’m competent in this area. I will just keep on working in this area for the rest of my career. What we want to see is that behavior analysts are maintaining their competence, that they are acquiring those continuing education units, which we talked about last time in our last ASR, and that they stay on top of the rapid acceleration in applied research findings that are being published every month. That’s actually a quote from page 83 as well. Behavior analysts actively engage in professional development activities to maintain and further their professional competence. And acceptable professional development activities include but are not limited to reading relevant literature, attending conferences, participating in workshops and trainings, taking additional courses, and receiving coaching mentorship or consultation from others who are competent in that area — and that actually could include somebody who’s maybe outside the behavior analytic field but has competence in an area that you’re working. For example, those of you who may be interested in feeding — working with children or infants, toddlers with feeding issues — if that’s not your area of competence, then perhaps working with this an SLP, a speech language language pathologist, might be the way to start to acquire some of that competence. As a matter of fact, just before doing this ASR for you guys, I attended a two hour CEU event online where I listen to some individuals talk about the current research in naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions. So that’s a new special interest group, an ABAI, and even though that’s the actual competency area that I have, and that I have been in for my entire career, it was important for me to go and to listen to what’s new in the field, especially now that we have that new six. So it’s always good to remember that you don’t know everything. Everything is always changing and it’s really important to stay up with that research. So the question becomes then, how does that behavior analyst stay up with the research? How do you find these sort of CEU events? I’ll be honest, I found this one that I attended this morning on Facebook. So the social media, sometimes you can find good things. Attending conferences, professional conferences can really be a great way to see a broad range of different topics, different potential competency areas for yourself, help you to expand your professional career, if that’s the way you want to go. There are several that are held annually across the United States and internationally. We have the Association of Behavior Analysis International or ABAI conference. There’s an annual conference held Memorial Day weekend, annually. They also have an autism conference. They have a cultural behavior science for a better world conference. They have also a number of state behavior analysis conferences. Many states have their own conferences. So it might be for some of you less travel involved if you were to attend a state conference. I will say that when ABAI is in your local area, you can sometimes volunteer to work the conference to get a cut — a little, a little cheaper rate on the registration because it can be kind of expensive to do. Some organizations that you work for may provide CEU events for you, also, without attending conference, or they may have a conference budget that allows you to put some money toward conference attendance. Another national, flash international professional organization for behavior analysts is the Association of Professional Behavior Analysts’ organization, and they have a convention annually as well. You can see some dates for recent or upcoming years here. Again, there are state level organizational conferences. There are also conferences that are related to perhaps the population you serve, but not necessarily to the the field of applied behavior analysis specifically, and many of those organizations are actually providing continuing education units or continuing education training opportunities for BCBAs that will meet the BACB’s requirements. One such example, one such organization is the Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities, which about every three years holds a conference in Hawaii, which is nice. The DADD conference is often held in Florida, and it does provide CEUs for behavior analysts, BCBAs, and has a number of BCBAs on the board. I myself am a past president of DADD, so that might be one that you’re interested in. And if you’re in Arizona or nearby or just want to come to Arizona, the teacher Educators for Children with Behavior Disorders Conference or TCBD also provides CEUs for behavior analysts there. In the last couple of years, they have had both an in-person and a virtual component to the conference. I’m not sure how long that would hold true. I don’t know if with the time that you’re listening to this, if that would be accurate. But again, BCBAs who are seeking CEUs can attend this particular conference, and this conference is again specific to teachers working with children with behavior disorders, but it also has applicability to other disabilities in other arenas, including juvenile justice. The point of showing you these different conferences and professional organizations of which there are many, is just to remind you that the bare minimum requirement to practice as a behavior analyst is to have that master’s degree, the specialized coursework and the current– currently 2000 hours of supervised field experience, and then to pass an exam. That’s the bare minimum. But to stay competent in this field, you need to be involved in professional organizations. You need to attend continuing education opportunities that are going to allow you to remain competent, to expand your practice and your competence., and so to always be thinking about not just meeting the core requirements of okay, I need 32 CEUs before my next recertification period, but to really be seeking opportunities that will allow growth for you in this field. Standard 1.07 is Cultural Responsiveness and Diversity, and this is actually one of the new standards that was added as part of the most recent updated ethics code by the BACB. Here we have Skinner talking to us now, instead of Dr. Bailey, and Skinner in 1971 from Beyond Freedom and Dignity said this: A child is born a member of the human species with genetic endowments showing many idiosyncratic features, and he begins it wants to acquire a repertoire of behavior under the contingencies of reinforcement to which he is exposed as an individual. Most of these contingencies are arranged by other people. They are in fact what is called a culture. Although the term is usually defined in other ways, the essential core of culture consists of traditional, (i.e. historically derived and selected) ideas, and especially their attached values. How people live, how they raise their children, how they gather or cultivate food, what kinds of dwellings they live in, what they wear, what games they play, how they treat each other, how they govern themselves, and so on. These are the customs, the customary behaviors of a people.” So when you’re thinking about culture, think broadly about those things that make up a culture. What makes you part of your culture? What kinds of things, similar to what Skinner is talking about here, represent your personal culture? And recognizing that people can come from a variety of cultures, and they may or may not be part of the mainstream of the culture where they presently live. These are the important things that we need to keep in mind as behavior analysts working with a diverse group of people. Your textbook says, “Behavior analysts actively engage in professional development activities to acquire knowledge and skills relative– related to cultural responsiveness and diversity.” So just like as part of your CEUs, your 32 CEUs, you need four of ethics, three of supervision if you are supervising someone, it’s a good idea to devote some of your 32 CEUs annually — or, I’m sorry for every recertification period, so that’s every two years — to cultural responsiveness and diversity. If you’re working with individuals from a culture outside of your own, it’s your responsibility to seek opportunities to learn more about those individuals. CEUs a good way to do that; also, reading, learning from webinars and additional trainings that may, may not carry continuing education unit credit, but will provide you with that information and and knowledge and skill that you need to work more appropriately with those individuals. This particular standard goes on to say that behavior analysts evaluate our own biases and our ability to address the needs of individuals with diverse needs or backgrounds from our own. So everyone has biases. We don’t always like to admit it. We may not even realize it, but it’s important that you are reflecting on the way that you’re treating other people on the basis of a variety of things. Here they are listed: age, disability, ethnicity, gender expression or identity, immigration status, marital or relationship status, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status. If you find yourself wanting to answer a question, make a decision, create a program on the basis of one of these things — you need to ask yourself, is this based on reality, actual factors? Or is this based on my own bias or my prejudice for this particular person? Now, prejudice doesn’t necessarily mean a bad thing. What prejudice technically means is pre-judging, judging on the basis of maybe what you’ve heard or prior experience rather than what you see in front of you right now. So just because you may have had experience with a particular religion or a particular person of a certain age or gender doesn’t mean that all the people of that group are going to be the same. In fact, you know -think about your own culture — are you precisely like all the other members of your particular culture? No, there’s always individual differences, so try not to overgeneralize. And finally, as part of 1.07, your textbook authors say that “Behavior analysts also evaluate biases of their supervisors and trainees.” You don’t necessarily have to go and ask them, “Please tell me your biases so that I can address that.” Instead, what you can do is be mindful of and watchful for individuals making decisions for one individual or group of individuals that they maybe aren’t making differently for a different and see then maybe talk to them about, “Hey, tell me why you chose this over this, all other things being equal,” and just making sure that you promote an active culture of respect for all different cultures within your organization and your and your workplace so that you can avoid some of that preventatively. So if you’re going to be culturally responsive and respect diversity as the ethics standard requires, then you need to know a little bit more about culture, and this is certainly not a course on cultural diversity or cultural responsiveness, but I did want to point out some terms that you should be aware of and they also might help you when you’re going out and trying to identify some trainings that you might want to receive for for improving your own cultural competence. So first is cultural awareness. Behavior analysts’ ability to evaluate their own beliefs and values and recognize that others’ culture shapes their behavior. So this is just recognizing that not everybody holds the same beliefs as you. Not everyone holds the same values or experiences as you. Recognizing that seems like a pretty easy thing, but it’s important that you put that into practice. Try not to assume, just on the basis of how someone dresses or the way that they speak, that they necessarily share the same cultural experiences and values of members of a group that dresses like that or speaks like that. Cultural responsiveness. Behavior analysts should learn from people of every background, and they should respect people from other cultures. This includes clients, client families, colleagues, staff, other professionals, and so on. In dealing with others when it comes to language, cultural traditions and life experiences, behavior analysts should acknowledge, recognize, appreciate and validate, even celebrate the differences of others. The treatment process should start with client centric, not expert driven goals. All that came from your textbook, page 85, and basically what they’re just saying is that your decisions on behalf of your client’s treatment in particular must be respectful of their family’s culture, of their traditions, their lifestyle. If you are making recommendations that actively go against their culture, they’re probably not going to follow through, and if they’re not going to follow through, then it’s not going to be effective. So if you put clients’ best interests and the right to effective treatment at the top of everything that you do, you absolutely have to be responsive culturally to the needs of that family and that where that child or client is — could be an adult, of course. Cultural humility is defined as examining one’s own beliefs and cultural identity. So I’ve already asked you to kind of think about that. That might be something that you want to spend some time looking more into, and then finally, cultural competence is defined as displaying professional skills that combine awareness and knowledge of others cultures. So I will provide for you the source of this particular quote here in just a little bit in the reference section. There’s something called the ADDRESSING framework. So it’s a framework for systematically and intentionally assessing culture in oneself and in others, particularly as it relates to being a member of the dominant group or a minority group, and it can be used to guide culturally sensitive and culturally competent practice. So when we talk about sort of cultural competency in some of the other terms on that previous slide, this framework is a way for you to get, go in that direction. Ten aspects of culture that may impact service delivery include age or generation, congenital disability — meaning one that an individual was born with versus an acquired disability — religion or spiritual identity, ethnicity and racial identity, socioeconomic status, sexual identity, indigenous heritage, national origin, and gender identity and expression. So notice that the ADDRESSING framework is just basically giving you an acronym for these ten aspects of culture that may impact service delivery, so that you can remember to consider each of these aspects whenever you’re writing, programing, or monitoring programing for one of your clients. One definition of culture that I really like is that culture is the learned behaviors, beliefs, norms and values that a group holds true and passes from generation to generation in an attempt to preserve those behaviors, beliefs, norms and values. This is from Tagg, 2021. I’m going to show you the resource on the next slide. Tagg goes on to say that “Individuals are members of at least one culture and many may belong to multiple cultures. These different cultures may have complementary or oppositional contingencies when compared to those of other cultures. These competing contingencies are likely to impact how successful one is in interacting with the other. One set of contingencies may lead to a specific set of behaviors that may be reinforced or viewed as acceptable in one culture, while the same set of behaviors may be punished or viewed unfavorably in another culture. Being aware of these different contingencies and how they may be similar or different from one’s own is likely to occasion a response more congruent with the culture in question. This, in turn, leads to more positive interactions with others and when one is in a position of interacting with others or attempting to guide others in behavior change processes, positive interactions are paramount.” So it comes back to that client’s best interests. Clients have a right to effective treatment. I think there’s a lot to unpack with this, but one of the most important things is thinking about the contingencies, especially when you’re looking at social validity for a client. You’re writing a new program, you’re modifying a program, or you’re writing an IEP or objective. Identifying what is acceptable or unacceptable within the client’s culture is going to be paramount for that social validity question. Here’s that source that I used for the entire last section. The book is by Connors and Capell. It is called Multiculturalism and Diversity in Applied Behavior Analysis: Bridging Theory and Application. It was published in 2021 and the first, the first reference was from one chapter and the second was from another of that book. So if you’re interested in learning a little bit more, I would encourage you to, to grab up that book. We’ve used it as a book club book in our online ABA practicum course, SPE 580, and I’ve known other individuals to use it during supervision as well. So it’s kind of a nice resource if you’re interested. All right. Back to the standards. Very similar to what we were just talking about. Dr. Bailey says we’re back to Dr. Bailey here. There are endless ways that a behavior analyst could discriminate against a client supervisor or colleague, and they must be ever vigilant to guard against this possibility. So, again, it starts with that awareness and that competence, but we need to be ever vigilant. I think that’s a really nice way to say that. Behavior analysts do not discriminate against others. They behave toward others in an equitable and inclusive manner regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender expression or identity, immigration status, marital relationship status, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or any other basis prescribed by law. This is from page 90 of your textbook. So if you find yourself feeling as though you are going to potentially have some discriminatory opinions, or you have different beliefs that really prevent you from working with a certain group of individuals. For whatever reason, that’s something you need to speak with your supervisor about, with potentially a mentor about, speak with your employer, because ethically, as a behavior analyst, you cannot discriminate, discriminate against others, or provide inequitable treatment or be exclusive to individuals on the basis of these things per standard 1.08. So it’s important for you to go ahead and start examining potential biases now, potential ways that your culture and its contingencies are rewarding and perhaps punishing or looking negatively on certain behaviors and seeing how maybe those conflict with another culture and finding a way to to bridge between there so that you can provide appropriate, effective, equitable and inclusive service to all clients that you serve. Standard 1.09, Nonharassment states that “Behavior analysts do not engage in behavior that is harassing or hostile. Harassment is any form of behavior directed toward a person that is unwelcome or offensive. Harassment creates a work environment that is intimidating, hostile or offensive to reasonable people. What is interesting here is Dr. Bailey says on page 93 of your textbook that harassment is illegal if the victim considers the conduct to be intimidating, hostile or abusive. So it isn’t about intent here, is it about. It is about how it is perceived by the victim. Some examples include, but are not limited to offensive jokes, slurs, epithets, name calling, physical assaults or threats, intimidation, ridicule or mockery, insults or putdowns, offensive objects or pictures and interference with work performance. So any of these things that interfere with work performance would be considered workplace harassment. This is all from page 93 of your textbook. Standard 1.10, Awareness of Personal Biases and Challenges has two parts, really. Dr. Bailey says here that the dictionary definition of bias includes an inclination or a temperament or outlook, especially a personal and sometimes unreasoned judgment or prejudice. Behavior analysts maintain awareness that their personal biases are challenges. For example, mental or physical health conditions, legal, financial, marital or relationship challenges may interfere with the effectiveness of their professional work; and, behavior analyst take appropriate steps to resolve interference, ensure that their professional work is not compromised, and document all actions taken in the circumstance and the eventual outcomes when this happens. So in other words, we want to be aware that our personal biases and or the challenges that we may be facing. So if you are having a relationship difficulty and financial difficulty, or if you or a member of your family or your close friends have health related issues — any of these things can impact your work. You are not superhuman. We all have times when we need help, when we need to take a break. Self-care is very important in this field, and you’re going to see a lot of continuing education and workshops and so forth on on self-care and really trying to mediate the burnout that we’ve seen in the field over the last several years. So don’t be afraid to ask for help. Don’t be afraid to take a break. Don’t be afraid to say, you know what, right now I can’t do this because it is impacted by this. That doesn’t– that’s not a sign of weakness. That’s actually a sign of strength. And furthermore, it’s part of the ethical standards. It’s part of your ethics code number 1.10 because we are expected to take appropriate steps to resolve any issue that might be interfering with our ability to provide work. What’s interesting here, though, is it’s not just about those personal challenges that may be temporary and fleeting. It’s also about personal biases. So I gathered up this list of types of bias that one might have. It comes from the link provided here. “11 Harmful Types of unconscious bias and how to interrupt them”. It was a blog post from 2020. I selected a handful of them that may or may not relate to our field of behavior analysis, specifically. One is affinity bias, which is defined as gravitating toward others who are similar to ourselves. So not seeking to learn from people who are different from ourselves, but staying pretty much with people who agree with what we agree with. Confirmation bias: seeking or prioritizing information that confirms an already held belief or opinion. So you’re searching, you’re wanting to learn more about something and really only reading or listening to or watching those things that confirm what you already think about it rather than looking at the other side. Read somebody else’s blog post. Read somebody else’s opinion that maybe differs from your own to get their perspective and see their side. Conformity bias: changing or developing views based on those of others, often in a group. So this is, rather than experiencing something yourself, rather than researching and learning about it yourself, someone says this is the way you should believe and following that, and going with that on the basis of what someone else has said. The contrast effect: evaluating someone’s behavior in contrast, contrast to that of another due to temporal proximity. So this is kind of an interesting one, and I think it really fits well when we’re talking about especially supervisees and trainees. So maybe you just supervised one of your RBTs, your registered behavior technicians or therapists, and they were awesome. I mean, above and beyond. Very professional. Everything was perfect. They, it was a BCBA level session that you saw that person do. Then you immediately went to the next RBT and by contrast, they did a terrible job. It was nowhere near the professionalism and the quality and the effectiveness and the fidelity of the one you just saw. Remember, this person may not look as good compared to that first RBT, but was that second RBT really that flawed, or are these just things that need they need more practice in or they need more more training in? So not judging that second RBT so harshly just because the first RBT was so phenomenal. And the last of the types of bias that I have listed for you here, the Halo and Horns Effect, and this involves putting someone on a pedestal or thinking highly of them based on something impressive about them, or thinking negatively about someone based on something unfavorable about them. So not having an opinion about someone and what it is that they’re saying or sharing on the basis of something other than the content of what they are saying. Dr. Bailey once shared that one of the most commonly reported ethical concerns that they get at the BACB is this multiple relationships one. 1.11 is Multiple Relationships. Behavior analysts avoid multiple relationships. We’re aware of the potential dangers of multiple relationships, and one, if we find that we are involved with one, we resolve it. We let others know about the potential dangers of multiple relationships, including clients and supervisees, and we avoid conflicts of interest. On page 71, Dr. Bailey says the primary concern is that in a multiple relationship, the behavior analyst would have his or her objectivity impaired. So what is a multiple relationship? It’s a little bit hard to define, truly. We can define it more by examples. So for example, let’s say that you have a supervisee who also happens to be the spouse of your best friend. That’s a multiple relationship. That’s a friendly relationship as well as a supervisory relationship, right? Or let’s say that you have a registered behavior therapist who works with a client during the day at your clinic, but then they’re also babysitting that client on the weekends outside of the clinic. That’s a potential multiple relationship, and the issue here is objectivity being impaired, and when the multiple relationship could cause a sense of bias toward or against maybe that individual on the basis of that other second or plus relationship. On page 97 of your textbook, your textbook authors say that a conflict of interest involved two — involves two parties that have different interests. In behavioral terms we call these reinforcers. Conflict of interest arises when what is in one person’s best interests is not in the best interest of another person or organization to which that individual owes loyalty. The BCBA may, for example, recommend that a child receive more hours of service in order to increase their billable hours. Scheduling additional hours may be a burden on the family and unnecessary for the child to improve her language skills. This is a clear conflict of interest. So the conflict of interest can occur as part of a multiple relationship, or it could also occur separate from a multiple relationship, and it’s important that you’re aware of both as a behavior analyst. You want to avoid conflict of interest, as it says here in 1.11, regardless of whether or not a multiple relationship is involved. Perhaps one of the biggest hot-button issues in recent years involving the ethics code is that of giving and receiving of gifts. Prior to this specific ethics code, the standards of professional and ethical practice of behavior analysts said that we were, as behavior analysts to accept no gift of any kind. That would include offers of a beverage or a snack at a client’s home, and this was very difficult for a lot of behavior analysts and their supervisors and trainees to maintain. Think about this. If you work in a public school every end of year grade level party, the families get together and purchase special gifts for each teacher at that grade level. They’ve asked you at the beginning of the school year, what are your favorite things? Do you like Starbucks? Do you like this or that? What’s your favorite color? Maybe even they’ve gotten your birthdate down and they, they give you the gifts. This is part of the activity it’s the part of the culture of the school. But you’re a BCBA, so you had to say, no, I can’t receive that. No, I can’t accept that. It became a little uncomfortable. Or how about those who work in homes and the family has cooked a meal, and they’ve offered for you to just take some home. You don’t even have to sit and eat with us. Potential for a dual relationship there. But just we really want to feed you. We know you live alone. We know you’re, you’re an RBT and you’re not making much money, and we want to give this to you, and for you to turn that down might be seen as an insult to that particular family. These were issues that we were constantly talking about at conferences and ethical trainings and professional presentations over the last several years. And so this change in 1.12 is an interesting one. They say here that behavior analysts do not give or accept gifts from clients, stakeholders, supervisee, or trainees with a monetary value of more than 10 dollars. This is a change. They used to say zero gifts of any kind for any amount of money. Now, the 10 dollar one, and it is mentioned in the book a little bit, that you know, what’s 10 dollars for one person might be more like 100 dollars or even 1,000 dollars to someone else. So the monetary value is maybe a bit on the arbitrary side in terms of an ethical guideline, but the important thing is that your supervisees, your trainees, your clients, the stakeholders — that everybody understands the policy and that if you are in an agency or an organization, you make that policy known to those folks in advance. What you don’t want to have happen is somebody come to you with a 20 dollar gift card to, you know, Amazon and you have to say, Oh, I’m sorry, I can only use 10 dollars of this. That’s the kind of an awkward conversation. You wouldn’t want to have it. They would probably feel uncomfortable as well. So it is important that everybody understands what the issues are. On page 100 of your textbook, authors say that no matter what culture one comes from, giving is almost never a truly selfless, selfless act, since reciprocity of some kind is expected. So even though that may not be true for most gifts that you receive from clients, again with the example of the family with the dinner, or the example of in the school, with the, you know, the class parents and the maybe the professional parent teacher association providing gifts to the teachers, maybe that’s just part of the culture it’s just part of tradition. But it is possible, and here’s the risk: that someone gives you a gift and then expects something in return. So maybe you have a very wealthy client who is going to be out of town during a particular maybe a local college football game and they’ve got their season tickets. They’re right on the 50 yard line right down by the field, and they offer them to you and your partner because they know that you guys went to that school and that your fans of that team. You could accept that and then go and there may be nothing to it. However, it is possible that at another point the family says, hey, we need you to come for that make up session on Sunday. And you say, I don’t normally work on Sunday, but remember we gave you those tickets. There’s kind of — even they might not say that out loud, but there’s that expectation that we did something kind for you, now we expect you to do something kind for us. You just have to be careful. It’s just a matter of being careful, recognizing that most people are not going to engage in something like that where they’re looking for, you know, some sort of quid pro quo, but it could happen, and that’s the danger, and that’s why and exploitative relationships.Your authors say that behavior analysts do not abuse their power or authority by coercing or exploiting persons over whom they have some authority, either evaluative or supervisory. Coercive power creates an unequal power dynamic, and exploitation involves taking advantage of another person or situation for personal gain. This quote here on page 183, I think is an important one. Some of you may have read this or may read this and hear this right now and be surprised that this is either common or not appropriate. Maybe something that you’re dealing with right now, or you’ve had experience with in the past. It is common enough that it made its way into the most recent version of the textbook. Dr. Bailey says one of the most insidious examples of exploitation involves a company policy of requiring supervisees to work for some period of time post BCBA certificate in return for receiving supervision hours for their RBT or BCBA credentials That is personal gain for the company and taking advantage of your need for supervision. You can see how that definitely meets this definition and something that if your company is involved in it, you might want to sit down and talk about this new code. This one is new. 1.13., this new standard, as part of the ethics code. Standard 1.14 has been around for the entirety of the ethics code history. The H.R. department of almost any large or small business or organization is going to have some kind of romantic and sexual relationships policy that employees are expected to follow. So you probably also need to know what that is for wherever it is that you work. Your ethics code says this: behavior analysts do not engage in romantic or sexual relationships with current clients, stakeholders, trainees or supervisees because such relationships pose a substantial risk of conflicts of interest and impaired judgment, and I think that goes without saying. Most of us can understand that that’s true. Here’s where it gets interesting. The board specifically says in 1.14 that you must wait a period of two years after a professional relationship has ended — this is with a client or a stakeholder — before beginning a romantic or sexual relationship. That’s an interesting temporal requirement of two full years. Something for you to give consideration to if this is something you are considering or if it’s something that you’re wanting to do, keeping in mind that 1.14 specifically requires a two year waiting period. When it comes to supervisors and trainees, one can not engage in a romantic or sexual relationship with them with former supervisor trainees until we can, quote, prove that the professional relationship has ended. In other words, when the supervisory period has come to an end, when the contract is no longer in place and so forth, and we don’t take supervisees or trainees with whom we have a former romantic or sexual relationship. Wait for at least six months post-breakup. So if you have an ex who comes to work for your company and someone tries to assign you to their case, you’re told to wait six months. I find that number to be a tad arbitrary. Six months may be a very long time for some break ups. It may not be long enough for others. You have to use your own professional judgment when you are in a place to avoid impaired judgment with that individual. On page 106, Dr. Bailey says, “Our field should be a model for all professionals. We are the experts in human behavior, and we should be able to clean up our house and live up to these expectations. Standard 1.15 is just about being a good professional. Responding to requests, parents, caregivers, supervisees, trainees, the BACB, any state licensing or other licensing boards, funders– funders, all must receive necessary information within a timely manner. That’s just being a good professional. On page 108, Dr. Bailey says., “This new standard appears to be in response to problems that some clients have had with their provider not giving them needed information when they transfered to a different agency. So this must have been commonplace enough that they felt the need to include it as one of the standards in the new ethics code. So just making sure that even if the client is no longer yours, if they’re making a request for information or for records or anyone else is making requests on their behalf, that you respond to this and respond to everything in a timely manner. And finally, 1.16, standard 1.16 involves self-reporting critical information. Under certain circumstances, behavior analysts must self-report ethical violations to the BACB, to their licensing boards, and or funders; and the BACB provides a series of questions — over here to the right — for you to consider on whether or not you need to self-report. If you answer yes to any of these questions, you must self-report. So this is on page 110 of your textbook. The questions for consideration are have you violated an ethics requirement? Have you been the subject of any criminal legal action, including filing of criminal charges, arrest, plea of guilty or no contest? Presenting pre-sentencing agreements, diversion agreements, convictions, and any period of custody in jail, prison or community corrections settings such as a halfway house? Have you been subject of any civil legal actions, including filing of lawsuits or any legal actions in which you have been named or identified, even if not just a direct party to the suit? Have you been the subject of any regulatory actions, including investigations, consent agreements, administrative law proceedings, mediation or arbitration? And have you been the subject of any health care agency and or employer actions, including investigations and sanctions for incompetent or neglectful service delivery? If the answer to any of these is yes, then you are expected to self-report this information to the BACB immediately. Now it is time for your active student response.
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