The Importance of Professional Discourse for the Continual Advancement of Practice Standards: The RBT® as a Case in Point

Leaf and colleagues wrote a position paper. They looked at the 2020 changes to the Registered Behavior Technician rules.

The authors asked: Do the new rules keep clients safe? They reviewed the training hours, supervision needs, and test cuts.

The paper says the 2020 rules lower the bar. Less training and fewer supervision hours could hurt client care.

Leaf et al. warn that weak standards may let unready techs run programs alone.

Leaf et al. (2017) said the same thing three years earlier. The new paper is an update, not a flip-flop. It shows the worries grew after the 2020 rule cut.

Hartley et al. (2016) offered a fix: an apprenticeship model that adds supervision without raising costs. Leaf et al. (2020) critique the rules; Hartley gives one way to meet higher standards.

Sellers et al. (2016) list red flags that show supervision is failing. Leaf’s paper adds new red flags tied to the RBT level.

If you supervise RBTs, read the new BACB rules today. Compare the old hour counts to the new ones. Tell the Board if you see gaps. While you wait for change, borrow ideas from Hartley’s apprenticeship plan and Sellers’ barrier checklist to keep your own supervision tight.