Chapter Spotlight: Hawai’i ABA

“Hawai’i ABA’s (HABA) mission is to educate, advocate for, and support both providers and consumers of applied behavior analysis.”
Ashley Hogan

Chapter Accomplishments During 2020

It was a challenging year for many of our HABA members. The board of directors decided that it was in the best interest of the community to cancel the 2020 in-person convention. HABA supported their members by providing resources to help navigate the shift from in-person ABA services to telehealth as well as free CE events and educational resources that could be used with consumers. In addition, HABA hosted a 3-hour webinar with Dr. Tom Szabo and Vanessa Bethea-Miller addressing the topic of police brutality through a RFT lens.

Additionally, due to the COVID pandemic, the legislation session was modified and only a small portion of bills were being heard. Therefore, legislative efforts supported by HABA were temporarily paused and there was no need to hold legislative committee meetings.

Lastly, the board of directors focused on improving the general upkeep of the organization. The board recognized a need for updating the systems that were in place for new board members as well as general organization of important documents and files. The board was able to update the chapter bylaws, improve website and other processes where the technology was outdated, and created committee applications and conflict of interest documents. The board is confident that these internal improvements will facilitate a more successful 2021 year!

Chapter Plans for 2021
The board of directors have been actively planning for the 2021 year and have a lot of exciting events scheduled. The annual convention will be virtual this year with one speaker each month. HABA would also like to support underrepresented individuals in the field of behavior analysis by inviting speakers from these communities to participate in our online events. Additionally, HABA would like to highlight behavior analysts and students of behavior analysis in our state. We plan to incorporate student discussion panels as well as a poster session. Our schedule of events in 2021 are as follows:

February 19, 2021: Dr. Evelyn Gould BCBA-D
April 18, 2021: Manuel “Manny” Rodriguez DBA, BCBA
June 18, 2021: Dr. Siri Ming BCBA-D (workshop added)
August 18, 2021: Dr. Shahla Ala’I BCBA-D
September 18, 2021: Dr. Evelyn Gould BCBA-D

Members and nonmembers will be offered continuing education credits for these events. Typical cost per CE is $10, with a discount of $5 for a 3-hour webinar. Events can be purchased separately, or a bundle will be available for those who are interested in the entire series. The price of this bundle has not been determined because HABA is still securing speakers. However, there will be discounts for HABA members.

The legislative committee along with HABA’s president and vice president have been very active in this year’s legislation session. HABA is tracking four bills related to the licensing of behavior analysts as well as two telehealth bills. The focus of this session is to ensure that our licensure law becomes permanent. HABA is currently working with community stakeholders to collect testimony and attend online hearings to achieve this goal.

Three issues important to this chapter: (1) licensure of behavior analyst in our state, (2) CE/professional development for professionals in our state, (3) collaboration with other providers and professions to work towards building capacity in our state so that those who are in need of ABA services can access those services by competent, trained (and licensed) providers.

Chapter Membership
To become a HABA member, please visit our website at hawaiiaba.org. Select which membership level best fits your needs and pay dues.

Full Member status shall be granted to individuals who apply for membership in the Corporation and are certified by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board. Full members will having voting privileges. Cost at this level is $25/year.

Student Members shall be granted to individuals who apply for membership in the Corporation and are enrolled in an academic degree program, internship, or resident program relevant to a career in behavior analysis. Applications for Student Member status must be accompanied by proof of enrollment in an academic degree program, or internship, or residency program. Student Members shall have the right to vote only for a student representative to the Board of Directors. Cost at this level is $15/year.

Affiliate/Community Member status shall be granted to individuals who apply for membership in the Corporation and do not meet the criteria for Full or Student Member status. This includes registered behavior technicians who maintain active status, parents, Interested community members or Honorary Members. Members at this level will have voting privileges. Cost at this level is $25/year.

Benefits of membership include reduced rates for continuing education (CE); verbal community, extending to neighbor islands; access to world-renown experts and speakers; and reduced rates for HABA events. General membership information includes the following:

Total HABA Members (as of February 3, 2021): 392
Total Full Members: 216
Total Student Members: 77
Total Affiliate Members: 77
Board Members: 8
Honorary Members: 14

Chapter Officers