Creating a Professional Network: A Statewide Model to Support School-Based Behavior Analysts

Despite efforts to increase the presence of behavior analysis in public schools, the process has been slow. Though more Board Certified Behavior Analysts® (BCBAs®) are working in public school settings, supports for this group of BCBAs are varied in both what they look like and their availability. It is not uncommon for BCBAs to work with little or no support from other BCBAs in their school district. Those who do have other BCBA colleagues in their district may not have structures in place to collaborate or grow as a behavior analyst. The current article describes a statewide initiative to increase supports for BCBAs working in public school settings. The network was formed with three chief goals: 1) to build a professional peer network for school-based BCBAs; 2) to provide continuing education events targeted to school-based BCBAs to promote increased competence; and 3) to encourage continued scholarship. This manuscript provides a description of the network efforts to date as well as areas that will continue to be evaluated and addressed.