Ethics Scenario Archive

Scenario You obtained your Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA) certification 3-months ago. You went from working as a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT), as you accumulated your required supervised fieldwork hours, to a position as a BCaBA with the same company. Suddenly, you had more authority to make decisions regarding your clients’ treatment programs, as well as an increased case load. Shortly after you took on your new role as a BCaBA, you met with the Board Certified Behavior Analyst…

Scenario Client that is being billed through insurance by the Agency that I work for is being accepted into college courses. He would like a letter of recommendation from his supervisor for some scholarship opportunities. Is it ethically appropriate to provide a letter for his college? What would be precautious steps to take in the event that we can provide a letter? Would this be better to provide during billable or non-billable therapy/supervision? What are some possible HIPPA considerations? Ethical…

Scenario A school district posted a job opening for a BCBA, and said they would take someone non-certified, as long as the person pays for their own supervision. Would another district BCBA still be responsible for providing supervision, especially during the time between supervision ending (1500 hours completed) and time of certification? Response Committee Input: What would the BCBA doing within their job? What is the job description? If candidate is a supervisee, supervision is required Exploration: Ensure that you…

Scenario I am a founder and executive director for a school for children with ASD. We have a female HS student who has an iPhone with access to her own social media accounts. She is very socially motivated. She comes from a single parent, low SES home. Her mother can be challenging to work with. We have found recently on her phone inappropriate content. Solicitations for attention from men that we don't think she knows...your basic nightmare. Obviously the first…

Scenario I got in a car accident today in front of a client’s house. The client’s mom came outside after she heard the accident and saw the position of the cars. I had to move my car because I was blocking the street. Would it be appropriate if I ask her if she could be a witness? Or would that be an ethical violation? I have to go to court in February. When the police officer asked if I knew…

Scenario Our school has been bit by RPM...HELP.  One parent went to a conference on RPM and has come back convinced that she has been undervaluing her son's intelligence. She's making somewhat extraordinary claims about what he is communicating with his RPM instructor, and sort of implying that we should be instructing him differently at school.  We've been clear that we cannot change his goals unless we see him displaying those skills at school.  In one week, we now have…

Scenario There are currently 3 BCBAs on the staff at my current site. 2 of the BCBAs are licensed and one of us is working on getting licensed, we are all certified. The 2 BCBAs that are licensed are relatively new to this site and have not mastered the work that we do. We have a few supervisees that require supervision. Per the BACB, a supervisee is expected to have 2 client observations supervised as well as individual supervision meetings.…

Scenario A BCBA needs to approach a colleague about questionable clinical practices and/or professional ethical practices (e.g., outdated intervention procedures or not following the PECC to resolve conflicts). Instead of interacting with the BCBA, the colleague in question uses an attorney to send out a cease and desist for alleged slander before direct attempts to connect with colleague to clear up confusion. How should this be handled? Response Codes to Consider: 7.02, 1.01, 1.02, 1.03 Steps to Explore: Consult with an attorney due to cease and…