Behavior Analysts in Ethical Issues

Introduction 

Behavior analysts can be involved in ethical issues in their relationships with other individuals, especially clients of behavior-analytic services. The ethical issues may be caused by the professional’s greed or need for personal gain. They are detrimental since they lead to ramifications on the part of the analyst and the client. For instance, the analyst may lose their certification and reputation. The client dealing with the analyst may end up with an unsatisfactory experience. I became a victim of such an experience after dealing with an ABA company offering behavior-analytic services to my son. The entity was trying to alter my son's treatment plan to make it seem that he needed more help than he did. The entity’s goal was to fill in the maximum hours to bill the maximum amount. I believe that I am not the only one who has been a victim of such an unethical practice. The ABA Company acted unethically since it violated various BACB codes regarding integrity, treatment efficacy, accuracy in billing reports, behavior-analytic evaluation, explaining assessment findings, client involvement in planning and consent, and individualized behavior-change initiative. 

BACB Codes 

Codes of ethics in various professions, including the behavior analyst profession, are meant to offer a basis for self-regulation. The Behavior Analyst Certification Board, Inc. has established codes to which the profession can be held responsible for the conduct of behavior analysts. Such codes are designed to guide behavior analysts experiencing ethical issues in making the right decision at the individual level. However, a disregard of such codes means that ethical issues are left unresolved. In my case, the ABA company violated various codes created by BACB, the professional body for behavior analysts. 

Code 1.04-Integrity 

According to the code, behavior analysts are required to be truthful and honest. They are also required to create an environment that facilitates truthfulness and honesty among other individuals, including colleagues (Bailey & Burch, 2016) . They are prohibited from implementing contingencies that would cause other individuals to participate in unethical or illegal activities. They must also fulfill their responsibilities and professional obligations with high-quality work while refraining from making promises they cannot keep (Bailey & Burch, 2016) . In addition, they are required to abide by the ethical and legal codes of the professional community they belong to. The behavior analysts in the ABA company violated this code by failing to provide accurate details in the billing reports. The inflated the number of hours my son spent in their facility. In this case, they were untruthful and dishonest. Their unethical behavior created an environment for promoting dishonest behavior in others. They failed to fulfill their obligations to my son and I by falsifying the treatment plan. Based on the code, the ethical issue would have been eliminated if an environment that promoted truthfulness and honesty was created. The management of the ABA Company could have established strict internal controls to ensure there was no room for inflating the number of billable hours for clients. In this respect, an environment that promoted truthfulness would have been established. 

Code 2.09-Treatment/Intervention Efficacy 

The code stipulates that clients should be provided with effective treatment. Behavior analysts are responsible for educating the client about the best treatment procedures. Such procedures are those which have been approved as having both long-run and short-run benefits to society and the client. Behavior analysts are obligated to recommend the proper level and amount of service provision to ensure the achievement of the behavior-change program objectives. They are required to evaluate the impacts of any treatment that they are aware might influence the objectives of the behavior-change initiative (Bailey & Burch, 2010) . The behavior analysts at the ABA company violated this code by advocating for the inappropriate amount of service provision needed to meet the required behavior-change initiative objectives. Their recommended amount of service provision exceeded what was actually required by my son. In this case, they were able to maximize the number of billable hours. Based on the code, the behavior analysts were required to recommend the appropriate number of hours required to meet the behavior-change initiative goals. The ethical issue would have been avoided if the ABA company made sure that their behavior analysts billed the right amount for the right level and amount of service provision. 

Code 2.13- Accuracy in Billing Reports 

The code specifies that behavior analysts should accurately indicate the details regarding the service provided. They should also accurately capture the fees that should be charged, the name of the provider, the important outcomes, and other relevant descriptive data (Bailey & Burch, 2010) . The ABA company failed to conform to this code by issuing inaccurate billing reports. The move to exaggerate the nature of my son's treatment plan was aimed at falsifying key details captured in the billing report. For instance, they misrepresented the nature of the services provided in addition to the fees and relevant outcomes. They made it seem that the extra service was necessary to ensure my son's relevant outcomes were met. Notably, this misrepresentation led to a higher fee being charged. Such a fee allowed them to bill a higher amount. If the code was adhered to by the behavior analysts at the ABA company, the ethical issue would have been avoided. If the behavior analysts conformed to the code, they would have indicated the accurate details regarding the nature of service provided and the fees. 

Code 3.01-Behavior-Analytic Assessment 

The code requires behavior analysts to carry out current evaluations before making recommendations or devising behavior-change initiatives. The type of evaluation depends on the client’s need and approval, environmental conditions, and other contextual factors (Oliver et al., 2015) . The behavior analyst should carry out a functional evaluation when developing a behavior-reduction initiative. They have a responsibility to gather and graphically illustrate data using behavior-analytic concepts in a way that permits decision-making and recommendations for behavior-change initiative development (Oliver et al., 2015) . The behavior analysts at the ABA company failed to carry out current assessments before developing my son's behavior-change initiative. Their goal was to make it seem that they had performed a current assessment, which showed that my son needed an extensive behavior-change initiative. If they had conducted a proper assessment, records would have shown that my son did not need an extensive behavior-change program. Compliance with this code would have eliminated the ethical issue since a proper assessment would have been conducted and, as a result, proper recommendations would have been made. Moreover, a suitable behavior-change program that took lesser hours would have been designed and implemented. 

Code 3.04-Explaining Assessment Outcomes 

The code stipulates that behavior analysts should describe the assessment findings using clear and simple language to the client. They are also required to provide graphical displays that can be reasonably understood by the client (Fong et al., 2016) . The behavior analysts at the ABA company breached this code by using deceitful language in explaining their inaccurate assessment results. They made it seem that their incorrect results were accurate and, as a result, emphasized that my son needed more help than he required. In this case, the falsified my son’s treatment plan and billed more hours. The ethical issue could have been avoided if the explained accurate assessment results truthfully. 

Code 4.02- Client Involvement in Planning and Consent 

The code specifies that behavior analysts should ensure client involvement in the planning of behavior-change initiatives. They should also obtain the client’s consent before implementing the behavior-change initiatives (Hanley, 2010) . The behavior analysts at the ABA company disregarded this code by failing to involve me fully in the planning of my son’s behavior-change initiative. They failed to involve me in the planning process to ensure they had room for falsifying my son’s treatment plan. My complete involvement in the planning process would have ensured my son’s treatment plan was planned accurately. In effect, the ethical issue would have been avoided. In addition, conforming to the code would have ensured that consent for my son’s proper treatment plan was issued. 

Code 4.03-Individualized Behavior-Change Initiative 

The code indicates that behavior analysts should structure the behavior-change initiatives to the assessment findings, objectives, environmental factors, and behaviors of every client. They are also prohibited from plagiarizing the behavior-change initiatives of other professionals (Bailey & Burch, 2010) . The behavior analysts at the ABA company failed to observe this code since they did not tailor my son's behavior-change initiative to his goals and assessment findings. They tailored the initiative to their goal, which was focused on ensuring the highest revenues. They could have conformed to this code by focusing on my son's goals by tailoring the behavior-change initiative to his needs and goals. 

Conclusion 

Overall, the actions of the ABA company in dealing with my son and I were unethical since they violated BACB codes. The falsification of my son's treatment plan and, as a result, the billing of maximum hours was in contravention of codes addressing integrity, treatment efficacy, accuracy in billing reports, behavior-analytic evaluation, explaining assessment findings, client involvement in planning and consent, and individualized behavior-change initiative. 

References 

Bailey, J., & Burch, M. (2016).  Ethics for behavior analysts . Routledge. 

Bailey, J. S., & Burch, M. R. (2010).  25 essential skills & strategies for the professional behavior analyst: expert tips for maximizing consulting effectiveness . Taylor & Francis. 

Fong, E. H., Catagnus, R. M., Brodhead, M. T., Quigley, S., & Field, S. (2016). Developing the cultural awareness skills of behavior analysts.  Behavior Analysis in Practice ,  9 (1), 84-94. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-016-0111-6 

Hanley, G. P. (2010). Toward effective and preferred programming: A case for the objective measurement of social validity with recipients of behavior-change programs.  Behavior Analysis in Practice ,  3 (1), 13-21.  https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03391754 

Oliver, A. C., Pratt, L. A., & Normand, M. P. (2015). A survey of functional behavior assessment methods used by behavior analysts in practice.  Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis ,  48 (4), 817-829. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.256