New York State ABA

By Nancy Dib

The New York State Association for Behavior Analysis (NYSABA) has experienced another great year and we are excited to share our chapter update with ABAI for 2023. We have been busy with association projects, communicating with our membership, and advocating for the field of behavior analysis throughout New York State. NYSABA has continued to make progress in several areas this year.

We are thrilled that the scope expansion bill, which passed in December 2021, will go into effect in June 2023. NYSABA has been working diligently on the regulatory roll out and has been in close communication with NYS Education Department on this.

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) became a billable service under Medicaid in NYS over the Summer of 2021, however, at that time there were some challenges to providing services to individuals diagnosed with autism/autistic individuals who were Medicaid enrollees. NYSABA has worked with various partners to resolve these issues and we are happy to report that the Medicaid rate was adjusted and ABA will be available to all Medicaid recipients.

New York State licensing laws governing the practice of behavior analysis have been in effect since 2014. NYSABA has been doing important work educating behavior analysts about the licensing process and how to practice legally in New York State. We provide regular updates on our website and social media pages, hold events at our annual conference, and disseminate information at various events in New York. NYSABA continues to stay up to date with information coming from the New York State Office of Professions so that we can update our members about any issues affecting the practice of behavior analysis.

NYSABA continues to be a voice for the behavior analytic community in New York. Although NYSABA membership continues to grow, we need to focus on increasing the number of members to push forward with important legislative issues happening in the state. Unfortunately, the number of licensed and certified behavior analysts in the state continue to significantly outnumber the number of members in NYSABA. All behavior analysts in the state are urged to join NYSABA so that our collective voice can be heard by the state legislature. If you are not a member of NYSABA, become one. If you are already a member of NYSABA, get a colleague to join. If you and your colleagues are already members, we thank you and encourage you to become active in the association.

In October 2022, we held our 33rd annual conference in a hybrid model. We were honored to hear keynote addresses from Dr. Nasiah Cirincione-Ulezi and Dr. Amber Valentino. There were a variety of speakers with engaging topics. This conference focused on the themes of humble behaviorism, cultural humility, and social justice.

Our new 2023 Board members include Nancy Dib (President), Noor Syed (President-Elect), Tricia Moss-Lourenco (Past President), Kim Shamoun (Treasurer), Vicki Knapp (Secretary), Kozue Matsuda (Representative at Large), Amanda LaPrime (Representative at Large), Leanna Mellon (Membership Committee Chair), Kenneth Shamlian (Membership Committee Co-Chair), Fernande Ikombo-Deguenon (Finance Committee Chair), Brian Healy (Education Committee Chair), Nicole DeRosa (Conference Committee Chair), Melissa Jackson (Conference Committee Co-Chair), Rachael Atherly (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Accessibility Committee Chair), Bobbi Rogers (Consumer Representative and Chair of the Parent and Family Committee), Sally Izquierdo (Student Activities Committee Chair) Tina Covington (Marketing Committee Chair), Shannon Carr (Marketing Committee Co-Chair), Maureen O’Grady (Public Policy Committee Chair) and Deborah Napolitano (Public Policy Committee Co-Chair). To better represent our vision and goals, two committees changed names in 2022. The DEI Committee changed to the DEIA Committee in order to incorporate an additional focus on Accessibility. The Legislative Committee changed to the Public Policy Committee, which better represents all of the areas of work and advocacy addressed by that committee.

NYSABA is in the process of transitioning to new association management software and upgrading to a new website with improved accessibility and benefits for our members. We are now planning for our 34th annual conference to be held in Albany on October 26-28, 2023. We will be accepting presentation and poster submissions from members. Also, check out our NYSABA website (www.nysaba.org) and take a look at the NYSABA Parent & Family website at www.nysabaparent.org, which includes free resources for parents and family members of consumers of behavior analysis services.

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2023 from New York!