Behavior Science Technology is committed to furthering the field through research. Much of our research efforts focus on effective supervision practices, treatment fidelity processes, and client outcomes. The overarching goal is to ensure quality services are delivered to consumers of service and that providers receive the best support they can. Below we outline our research collaborations!
We've been collaborating with ADHD & Autism Psychology Services and Advocacy for over a year. We are working with Drs. Andy Lopez, Megan Brown, and Vilas Sawrika on a project titled "Organizational Processes to Support Best Practice Supervision ." The purpose of this project is to evaluate the effects of an evolving supervision process on supervisor efficiency, effectiveness, and provider perception of support. This research is necessary due to the increase in the number of BCBAs who continue to enter the field (BACB, 2023) and recent survey data suggesting that BCBA turnover is linked to a lack of support from upper management (Blackman et al., under review). We feel as though it is the organization's responsibility to put processes in place to support their supervisors in engaging in best practice supervision, as this impacts provider skill, client outcomes, and retention. The variables assessed are supervisor treatment planning time, supervisor parent training time, percentage of supervision hours, and provider perception of support. We are currently in the data analytics phase of this research. Andy will be presenting these data at the ABAI conference in May.
We are currently conducting a two-part research project with LEARN Behavioral. We are collaborating with Drs. Santino LoVullo and Candice Colon. Part 1 involved the launch of a survey to determine the extent to which BCBAs engaged in the treatment fidelity process (i.e., observation, data collection, data tracking, data analysis, and feedback; note: the survey was sent to BCBAs at and outside of LEARN Behavioral). The results revealed that BCBAs often conduct observations of provider performance and provide feedback; however, much less frequently are data collected, tracked, and analyzed. The barriers to engaging in the treatment fidelity process were reported to be lack of time, lack of a system, and competing contingencies. These data are problematic because the quality of service delivery is unknown without having access to continuous fidelity data. Thus, part 2 involved addressing the aforementioned barriers to increase the frequency of treatment fidelity data collection, tracking, and analysis in BCBA practice. The intervention involved giving BCBAs access to BSTperform, which easily tracks and analyses fidelity data and provides feedback once an observation where data are collected occurs. This addressed the lack of a system barrier that was reported. We also provided expectations to BCBAs that they should complete four evaluations of each provider's performance each month and that performance should be near 80% fidelity. This expectation was written out in a process that made collection, tracking, and analysis of fidelity data part of a supervisor's job responsibilities (addressing the lack of time barrier). We modified the intervention for eight months and are currently in the data analytics phase of this research. Candice will be presenting these data at the CASP conference in April!
We are excited to begin working with Drs. Andressa Sleiman and Kimberly Sloman and Hayley Biersack at The Scott Center for Autism Treatment on Florida Institute of Technology's campus. This research collaboration aids in providing opportunities for Master's and PhD students to learn about the treatment fidelity process and practice it during their schooling. This is important given the increase in certificants in recent years and research suggests that it isn't common practice for those working as clinical supervisors. Our research aims to determine the effects of continuous procedural fidelity data collection on provider satisfaction and client outcomes. We are in the early phases of development for this project; however, we will update this page as more insights are known.
