- May 8, 2024
- Alerts
New Jersey Now Requires Licensure for the Practice of Applied Behavior Analysis
Pursuant to the New Jersey Applied Behavior Analyst Licensing Act (the “Act”), the Board of Applied Behavior Analyst Examiners (the “Board”) published the official rules concerning the practice of Applied Behavior Analyst (“ABA”) therapy, effective May 6, 2024 (the “Rules”).
The Rules define ABA to mean the practice of designing, implementing, and evaluating instructional and environmental modifications to produce socially significant improvements in human behavior, including the empirical identification of functional relations between behavior and environmental factors, known as functional assessment and analysis.
The Rules now require that providers obtain licensure in addition to maintaining certification by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (each a “licensee”). The following licenses are available:
The Act and Rules also allow unlicensed professionals, such as a certified Registered Behavior Technician (“RBT”), to provide services under the supervision of an LBA or LaBA.
New Jersey will also accept licensure applications for reciprocity, so long as the applicant has been practicing as an LBA or LaBA in another state for a period of at least two (2) years within the five (5) years prior to the date of application, among other requirements.
Note that several exemptions for licensure exist under the Rules. The following individuals are not required to obtain licensure from the Board if providing ABA therapy services within the scope of their professional practice: physicians, psychologists, psychoanalysts, marriage and family therapists, social workers, professional or rehabilitation counselors, speech-language pathologists or audiologists, and animal behaviorists or trainers. Employees of a school district, charter school, education services commission, or private school who provide ABA services are also exempt from licensure requirements provided that the services rendered are strictly in the performance of their regular employment duties.
Further, for a period of three (3) years from the effective date, individuals working with or on behalf of the New Jersey Department of Human Services, Division of Developmental Disabilities, are exempt from licensure, and individuals working with or on behalf of New Jersey Department of Health, Early Intervention Program shall be exempt from licensure for a period of five (5) years.
The Board is in the process of drafting the licensure applications and will post them on its website when complete.
Should you have any questions regarding the above, please contact the authors, the Garfunkel Wild attorney with whom you regularly work, or email us at info@garfunkelwild.com.
The Rules define ABA to mean the practice of designing, implementing, and evaluating instructional and environmental modifications to produce socially significant improvements in human behavior, including the empirical identification of functional relations between behavior and environmental factors, known as functional assessment and analysis.
The Rules now require that providers obtain licensure in addition to maintaining certification by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (each a “licensee”). The following licenses are available:
- Licensed applied behavior analysts (“LBA”) are those holding a master’s or doctoral degree, and certification as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (“BCBA”) or certification as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst Doctoral (“BCBA-D”).
- Licensed assistant applied behavior analysts (“LaBA”) are those holding a bachelor’s degree and certification as a Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst (“BCaBA”).
The Act and Rules also allow unlicensed professionals, such as a certified Registered Behavior Technician (“RBT”), to provide services under the supervision of an LBA or LaBA.
New Jersey will also accept licensure applications for reciprocity, so long as the applicant has been practicing as an LBA or LaBA in another state for a period of at least two (2) years within the five (5) years prior to the date of application, among other requirements.
Note that several exemptions for licensure exist under the Rules. The following individuals are not required to obtain licensure from the Board if providing ABA therapy services within the scope of their professional practice: physicians, psychologists, psychoanalysts, marriage and family therapists, social workers, professional or rehabilitation counselors, speech-language pathologists or audiologists, and animal behaviorists or trainers. Employees of a school district, charter school, education services commission, or private school who provide ABA services are also exempt from licensure requirements provided that the services rendered are strictly in the performance of their regular employment duties.
Further, for a period of three (3) years from the effective date, individuals working with or on behalf of the New Jersey Department of Human Services, Division of Developmental Disabilities, are exempt from licensure, and individuals working with or on behalf of New Jersey Department of Health, Early Intervention Program shall be exempt from licensure for a period of five (5) years.
The Board is in the process of drafting the licensure applications and will post them on its website when complete.
Should you have any questions regarding the above, please contact the authors, the Garfunkel Wild attorney with whom you regularly work, or email us at info@garfunkelwild.com.