Workplace injuries in human service organizations serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities are disproportionately high compared to other sectors. Staff who support individuals with significant problem behavior — including aggression, self-injury, and property destruction — face real physical risk.
Provider: BehaviorLive — via Women in Behavior Analysis
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Join Free →Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) is a subspecialty of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) focused on applying learning principles to enhance employee performance in business, industry, manufacturing, and similar sectors. OBM also has strong evidence-based support within human service organizations, particularly for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. A critical aspect of OBM is implementing evidence-based safety practices that promote a culture of safety, reduce serious incidents, and enhance employee well-being. This workshop will introduce a behavioral approach within the OBM framework to improve workplace safety in human service organizations. It will address common areas of risk, identify where injuries are most likely to occur, and demonstrate how to design and implement effective systems to enhance safety and ensure system integrity. The discussion will focus on key OBM strategies to address priority safety objectives, specifically (a) behavioral safety practices (b) performance diagnostics (c) staff training and supervision and (d) data collection and analysis relevant to safety in the workplace. Critical components of each area will be presented, supported by case studies and research examples. These case studies will illustrate practical strategies for overcoming barriers, ensuring intervention integrity, and achieving sustainable practices. Emphasis will be placed on navigating real-world challenges and assessing the social validity of interventions within the workforce.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 3 | Supervision |
| COA | 3 | — |
Rita M. Gardner is the President and CEO of Melmark, and leads operations and management of Melmark service divisions in New England, Pennsylvania, and the Carolinas. Prior to her appointment as President and CEO in 2015, Ms. Gardner served as Executive Director of Melmark New England, based in Andover, Massachusetts, which she co-founded in 1998. She also founded Melmark Carolinas in 2018 and a second New England day school in 2022. Ms. Gardner and Melmark New England were honored to be named on The Women’s Edge’s list of the Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts for five consecutive years from 2018 to 2024. Ms. Gardner was honored with the CBIZ National Women Transforming Business Financial Strength Award, as well as the CBIZ Overall Winner Award, in 2022. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst® (BCBA), a trained public health professional, and has devoted over 40 years of her professional career to the field of community-based services for children and adults with the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), intellectual and developmental disabilities, acquired brain injuries, severe challenging behaviors, and medical fragility.Ms. Gardner is an accomplished and persistent legislative advocate. Her public policy work has positively impacted services for individuals diagnosed with autism and developmental disabilities throughout the United States. She advocates for professional behavior analysts, being one of the citizen writers of the Massachusetts Behavior Analyst licensing legislation. Ms. Gardner also serves on advisory committees with the Massachusetts Advocates for Children (MAC) and Advocates for Autism of Massachusetts (AFAM). She is a founding Board member of the National Council of Autism Providers (CASP) and is currently serving as chair. Ms. Gardner also serves on the Advisory Board of the Virginia Institute of Autism. She was on the Governor’s Autism Commission under two Governors in Massachusetts and is the past President of the Board of Directors for the Massachusetts Association of Approved Private School (MAAPS). Ms. Gardner also serves on the Pennsylvania Advocacy and Resources for Autism and Intellectual Disability Board of Directors.Ms. Gardner has co-authored numerous books, written book chapters and peer-reviewed articles for professional journals, and made a number of presentations on topics including women’s leadership, women in behavior analysis, program expansion, organizational behavior management, special education, adult services, board development, and more recently managing programs during the COVID-19 pandemic and leading COVID-19 vaccine education program town halls at local, regional and national levels. She is considered an Organizational Behavior Management expert in applied human service settings.Ms. Gardner earned her Master of Public Health degree from Boston University’s School of Public Health in the School of Medicine, majoring in Behavioral Sciences and Health Services Administration.
Dig into the research behind this topic — plain-English summaries written for BCBAs.
279 research articles with practitioner takeaways
244 research articles with practitioner takeaways
239 research articles with practitioner takeaways
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All behavior-analytic intervention is individualized. The information on this page is for educational purposes and does not constitute clinical advice. Treatment decisions should be informed by the best available published research, individualized assessment, and obtained with the informed consent of the client or their legal guardian. Behavior analysts are responsible for practicing within the boundaries of their competence and adhering to the BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts.