These answers draw in part from “Scope of Competence: A Critical Component of Ethical Practice” by Tyra Sellers, JD, PhD, BCBA-D (BehaviorLive), and extend it with peer-reviewed research from our library of 27,900+ ABA research articles. Clinical framing, BACB ethics code references, and cross-links below are synthesized by Behaviorist Book Club.
View the original presentation →Scope of practice is defined by a credentialing body and describes the full range of activities that all holders of a particular credential are authorized to perform. For BCBAs, scope of practice includes assessment, intervention, supervision, and consultation across the broad field of behavior analysis. Scope of competence is individual and describes the specific activities that a particular practitioner can perform competently based on their unique combination of education, supervised training, independent experience, and continuing education. Scope of competence is always a subset of scope of practice. A practitioner may be authorized to perform many activities that they are not individually qualified to perform competently.
Evaluate each referral against your actual training and experience, not just your credential. Ask whether you have received formal education in this population or presenting concern, whether you have conducted similar assessments under qualified supervision, whether you have implemented relevant interventions with demonstrated positive outcomes, and whether you have access to consultation if challenges arise. If you answer no to most of these questions, the referral likely falls outside your current scope of competence. You can still serve the client by arranging qualified supervision, consulting with an expert, or referring to a more qualified provider.
Practicing outside your competence increases the risk of conducting inaccurate assessments that miss critical variables, designing interventions that are inappropriate for the population or presenting concern, making clinical decisions based on incomplete understanding of the relevant factors, providing supervision that cannot adequately guide the clinical work being performed, and causing harm to clients through well-intentioned but poorly executed services. Beyond the direct client impact, practicing outside your competence exposes you to ethical complaints, licensing board actions, and professional liability.
Expanding competence requires a structured approach that includes formal education through coursework, workshops, or certification programs specific to the new population. Seek supervised clinical experience under someone already competent in the target area. Begin with less complex cases and gradually take on more challenging presentations. Engage with the relevant literature including published research and clinical guidelines. Establish consultation relationships with experts who can provide ongoing guidance. Set clear milestones for when you will consider yourself competent to practice independently. This process typically takes months to years depending on how different the new area is from your existing competence.
Absolutely. A supervisor's scope of competence defines the boundaries of what they can supervise effectively. If a supervisor is overseeing clinical work in a domain where they lack competence, they cannot adequately evaluate the quality of the work, identify errors, or provide corrective guidance. This means that a BCBA supervising an RBT working with a population outside the BCBA's expertise is providing supervision that may be technically compliant but clinically inadequate. Supervisors must either limit supervised cases to their own competence areas or arrange for co-supervision with a colleague who has relevant expertise.
Competence maintenance requires ongoing engagement with each area of practice. This includes staying current with published research through regular journal reading, attending continuing education focused on updates and advances in your competence areas, maintaining regular clinical practice to keep skills sharp, participating in peer consultation or case conferences where challenging cases are discussed, and periodically reassessing your knowledge against current best practices. Competence in an area where you no longer practice can erode surprisingly quickly as the field advances and your direct experience fades.
This situation, common in underserved areas, creates a genuine ethical tension between the obligation to practice within competence and the client's need for services. Options include providing services with concurrent consultation from a remote expert who has relevant competence, arranging telehealth supervision or co-treatment with a qualified professional, providing only those components of service that fall within your competence while referring specific needs to other providers, and being transparent with the family about the limitations of your expertise and the steps you are taking to ensure quality. Document your reasoning and the measures you have implemented to supplement your competence.
Scope of competence assessment naturally leads to interdisciplinary collaboration. When you identify that a client's needs include domains outside your competence, the appropriate response is to collaborate with professionals who have relevant expertise. A BCBA working with a client who has feeding difficulties should collaborate with a speech-language pathologist or occupational therapist who specializes in feeding. A BCBA working with a client who has significant mental health concerns should collaborate with a psychologist or psychiatrist. Recognizing your competence boundaries positions you to be a stronger interdisciplinary team member because you bring clear expertise in your domains while respecting others' expertise in theirs.
Transparency about your qualifications and experience is consistent with the ethical principles of honesty and informed consent. Families deserve to know the basis of your expertise and to make informed decisions about their provider. This does not mean reciting every limitation but rather being honest when asked about your experience with their child's specific presentation and proactively disclosing when a case pushes the boundaries of your training. Many families appreciate this honesty and feel more confident in a provider who acknowledges what they know well and what they are still learning than in one who projects expertise in all areas.
Scope of competence should be reassessed regularly and in response to specific triggers. Conduct a comprehensive review at least annually, evaluating whether your competence areas still reflect your current training, experience, and practice patterns. Additionally, reassess whenever you receive a referral for a new population or presenting concern, when you change practice settings, when you take on a new supervisory responsibility, or when a significant advancement occurs in an area of your practice. Scope of competence is dynamic, expanding with new training and experience and potentially contracting in areas where you no longer practice or keep current.
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ on-demand CEUs including ethics, supervision, and clinical topics like this one. Plus a new live CEU every Wednesday.
Ready to go deeper? This course covers this topic with structured learning objectives and CEU credit.
Scope of Competence: A Critical Component of Ethical Practice — Tyra Sellers · 1 BACB Ethics CEUs · $20
Take This Course →We extended these answers with research from our library — dig into the peer-reviewed studies behind the topic, in plain-English summaries written for BCBAs.
279 research articles with practitioner takeaways
239 research articles with practitioner takeaways
231 research articles with practitioner takeaways
1 BACB Ethics CEUs · $20 · BehaviorLive
Research-backed educational guide with practice recommendations
Side-by-side comparison with clinical decision framework
You earn CEUs from a dozen different places. Upload any certificate — from here, your employer, conferences, wherever — and always know exactly where you stand. Learning, Ethics, Supervision, all handled.
No credit card required. Cancel anytime.
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.