Article archive / April 1, 2012
Originally published: . Volume 3, No. 8. Source pages: 4.
Senate Bill 185 proposes to establish the licensure of behavioral analysts and place the practice of Applied Behavior Analysts under the Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists. The bill has been assigned to Senate Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and International Affairs.
SB 185 creates a “Licensed Behavior Analyst Committee” that would review and recommend action on applications for licensure or re-licensure and education, training, professional codes, and other matters. The committee would consist of two certified and licensed behavior analysts and one licensed psychologist. The behavior analyst members of the committee would be appointed by the Louisiana Association for Behavior Analysis.
At their council meeting on March 3, the LPA officers voted to support the regulation of Applied Behavior Analysts by the Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists.
Requirements for the license would include a PhD or masters degree and supervisory experience in applied behavior analysis, including a national exam and a jurisprudence exam. The practice of applied behavior analysis will exclude psychological testing, neuropsychology, and diagnosis of mental disorders, among other subjects.
Petitions are open on the internet for both those supporting and those opposing the bill. On March 16, the psychology board’s Executive Director sent a memo to psychologists asking for support and clarifying issues The memo noted that the bill would result in more efficient reimbursement from third party payers fand also benefit Applied Behavior Analysts by establishing the title and practice. In the memo the author also described how the bill would increase the numbers of behavior analysts by attracting more people to the field. The authors of the LSBEP memo asked psychologists to support the bill and sign the on-line petition.
According to the memo, the online petitions to support or oppose the bill are: http://www.change.org/petitio ns/vote-to-support-la-sb-185.
The petition to oppose is: http://www.change.org/petitio ns/the-la-state-senate-vote- to-oppose-sb-185
As of publication only 74 had signed the petition to support but about 1,500 had signed to oppose.
Above: The psychology board members at the LPA Annual Convention in 2011. The board members will be available at the upcoming LPA Convention on Thursday, April 19 at 5:00 pm, to be held at the Renaissance Hotel in Baton Rouge. Board members will discuss activities of the board during the past year. (L to R: Kelly Parker, Jaime Monic, Drs. Rita Culross, Lee Matthews, and Tony Young.)
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