New Jersey ABA

By Patrick Progar and Stephanie Summers

The New Jersey Association for Behavior Analysis (NJABA) continues to advance the science and evidencebased practice of behavior analysis throughout New Jersey.Ending the 2023 calendar year with over 1550 members, we are a community of behavior analysts who support their consumers, conduct research, and train future behavior analysts. Furthermore, we strive for a diverse, equitable, and inclusive behavior analytic community.

We will hold our Annual Conference on April 26th in Somerset, NJ, offering attendees the option to join us in person or virtually. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn from our Keynote Speaker, Florence DiGennaro Reed, Ph.D., BCBA-D, as well as from many presentations and poster authors. We will also hold our Pre-Conference Workshop led by Nicole Gravina, Ph.D. on April 25th also in Somerset, NJ. Conference attendance continues to increase each year, and our attendees continue to be extremely pleased with the professional development and networking opportunities we offer.

Our Annual Conference is one of many events held throughout last year to support our community. We will hold our 3rd annual NJABA Science of Behavior Analysis Conference on June 8th at Rider University in Lawrenceville, NJ. This conference provides an opportunity for our members to share the university-based research conducted throughout New Jersey. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear from keynote speaker, Jeanne Donaldson, Ph.D., BCBA-D as she presents “What happens when we let students select their intervention experiences?”

Additionally, we are continuing our regular NJABA Speaker’s Series throughout the year covering a wide range of interests and informative topics for our various audiences within the behavior analytic world.

New Jersey continues to be a highly desirable state for behavior analysts. Membership has increased over 50% since 2022. One of our primary goals has been to strive for equity by increasing supports for students and behavioral technicians. These groups represent the future of our profession; therefore, it is our priority to ensure that they are a part of our community. To do this, we reduced one barrier to their participation by eliminating membership fees and keeping conference registration fees to a minimum.

As we look to the future of behavior analysis in New Jersey, we must also recognize the pioneers who have helped to build our profession. Therefore, each year we recognize the contributions of past leaders who laid the foundation for our community’s success by awarding the annual NJABA Distinguished Service Award. The 2022 recipient was Dr. Sandra Harris from Rutgers University who has been integral to service delivery, training, and research throughout New Jersey. The 2023 recipient was Dr. Greg MacDuff from the Princeton Child Development Institute who was recognized for leading one of the groundbreaking autism schools in the country.

Finally, we continue to work diligently to support the practice of behavior analysis in New Jersey through our special interest workgroups. These NJABA Workgroups are a forum for us to engage with practitioners in the state about legal or policy changes that may impact behavior analytic service delivery and are focused on insurance, Medicaid, and business practices; adult supports; public schools, early intervention; diversity and inclusion; ABA services in Spanish; and Student Workgroup. These workgroups have provided critical networking opportunities for practitioners in the state.

We have also worked to advocate for the practice of behavior analysis in New Jersey. Governor Phil Murphy signed the “Applied Behavior Analyst Licensing Act” into law in January 2020 and appointed six members to the State Board of Applied Behavior Analysis Examiners. The Board’s first draft of the regulations has been completed and is currently under administrative review. Additionally, under the NJ Department of Education, the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority released another opportunity to apply for their Behavioral Healthcare Provider Loan Redemption Program. This was a statelevel program that provided up to $150,000 to eligible and accepted Board Certified Behavior Analysts and other behavioral healthcare providers in loan redemption in exchange for service.

NJABA continues to be a strong community of behavior analysts who provide service, conduct research, and train future professionals. All these many accomplishments are a function of our members and the many volunteers who dedicate their time to the success of the behavior analytic profession in New Jersey.