The Registered Behavior Technician certification is undergoing its most significant revision since the credential was established, and the changes taking effect in January 2026 will reshape how ABA organizations recruit, train, and maintain their direct service workforce. Hanna Rue's panel presentation addresses the practical challenge that every ABA service provider faces: how to build training systems that meet evolving certification requirements while keeping the pipeline from assessment to treatment as short as possible and ensuring that new RBTs are genuinely prepared for their first day with clients.
Provider: BehaviorLive — via BABAT
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Join Free →As the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) continues to grow, so do the demands placed on organizations to ensure that behavior technicians are trained, certified, and prepared to provide high-quality services when they enter the field. This presentation will provide an overview of the upcoming changes to the Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) certification process set to take effect in January 2026. These changes will have widespread implications for how ABA organizations recruit, train, and support new RBTs. Attendees will gain a clear understanding of these revisions and explore how one large ABA provider has proactively adjusted its training infrastructure to align with the evolving standards. Through a detailed case study, participants will review the redesigned RBT training experience implemented by the organization, including onboarding systems, competency assessment practices, and tools for supporting RBTs during their initial days of client service. In addition to reviewing certification requirements, the session will examine the logistical and operational challenges faced by organizations tasked with preparing new employees for direct client work, often under tight timelines and with high client needs. Attendees will be encouraged to reflect on common tensions in the field, such as balancing the need for rapid staff deployment with the necessity of maintaining compliance and quality. This reflection will include discussion around staff readiness, supervisory capacity, and the infrastructure needed to support high-volume onboarding pipelines. The session will further explore the solutions employed by the featured organization to meet these demands, including centralized training systems, regionally supported onboarding, and the use of data to monitor certification progress. Attendees will also learn how the organization has scaled and extended its training systems to maintain the certification status of hundreds of RBTs, while also supporting professional development and ethical practice. Lessons learned from implementation—both successes and missteps—will be shared to help other organizations consider how similar strategies might be adapted to their own context. This presentation is ideal for clinical supervisors, training coordinators, and operational leaders looking to stay ahead of certification changes while building systems that support sustainable growth and ethical practice in behavior analysis. Through a mix of policy review, organizational case study, and practical reflection, attendees will leave with actionable insights to support their own teams and clients.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 1 | Supervision |
| COA | 1 | — |
As the chief clinical officer at LEARN, Dr. Hanna Rue oversees quality assurance, training, data systems, professional development, and clinical research. She brings to her role more than 20 years of work with individuals with developmental disabilities in home, school, clinic, and residential settings. Previously, Hanna held a joint position at May Institute as the vice president of Autism Services and the executive director of the National Autism Center, where she chaired the second phase of the National Standards Project. More recently, as part of a global team, she helped develop a standard set to define outcomes and measurement tools for treating autism spectrum disorder with the International Consortium of Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM). Hanna holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of North Dakota and maintains board certification as a behavior analyst.
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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.