Assistant Behavior Consultant - ABA

Career Opportunities @Phmc•Philadelphia, PA

5d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Assistant Behavior Consultant (ABC) provides mental health services utilizing the evidence-based practice Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to children with autism spectrum disorder in clinic, home, school, and/or community settings. The ABC is responsible for providing direct service to clients, developing/training new Behavioral Health Technicians (BHTs), and assisting Behavior Consultants (BCs) with planning and implementation of treatment plans and assessments.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in psychology, social work, counseling, sociology, education, criminal justice, or a similar human services field OR Bachelor’s degree in any field with at least one year of experience in a job that involved direct contact with children/adolescents
Have the qualifications for licensure as a behavior specialist under 49 Pa. Code §18.524 (relating to criteria for licensure as a behavior specialist) except the experience required under section 18.524(c) OR Have a BCaBA certification or other accredited undergraduate-level certification in behavior analysis OR Have a minimum of 6 months of experience in providing ABA services and a minimum of 12 credits in ABA from an accredited college or university
Valid driver’s license must be maintained
Participation in and completion of all CBH mandatory in-services (must be completed within three months of hire and then annually from the date of the initial training)
Valid PA child abuse (Act 33), PA criminal history, FBI, and medical clearances

Nice To Haves

Understanding of theory and implementation of behavior modification interventions
Strong applied behavior analysis skills
Knowledge of crisis management techniques
Ability to adapt, be flexible, and change activities quickly
Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, with a broad variety of people, including other team members and management
Ability to quickly form trusting relationships with a child/adolescent population based on an understanding of developmental processes and emotional needs
Ability to form effective working relationships with diverse clients, school staff, family members, and stakeholders
Ability to work effectively in a team-oriented environment
Ability to maintain appropriate professional boundaries and confidentiality
Demonstrates initiative, problem-solving, and follow-through
Ability to independently assess and record data in order to report behavioral outcomes and intervention results to the treatment team
Knowledge of, application of, and adherence to CASSP principles
Ability to effectively and independently communicate treatment objectives and interventions to youth, family, school staff, and other treatment team members

Responsibilities

Foster a positive therapeutic relationship with the child.
Follow treatment plan goals and interventions utilizing the ABA program designed by the BC-ABA and seek out consultation when needed.
Prompt safe and socially acceptable replacement behaviors in order to build a repertoire of communication, social interaction, and problem-solving skills, and fade prompts appropriately to promote independent use of the replacement behaviors.
Increase the frequency or duration of safe and appropriate replacement behaviors by providing access to reinforcement.
Accurately collect behavior data, including A-B-C, count, frequency, duration, latency, inter-response time, event, and interval-based recording.
Provide input and feedback that contribute to the development of the treatment plan.
Provide crisis management and support to clients, including prevention, de-escalation, and processing of strategies to support improved client functioning.
Actively engage and coach clients and their caregivers and/or teachers (as well as other adult supports) to work toward the achievement of treatment goals, applying a range of appropriate therapeutic interventions.
Provide in vivo guidance, training, and support to new and current BHT-ABAs in the implementation of the treatment and behavior support plan.
Maintain ongoing communication and collaboration with all team members.
Assist BC-ABAs with development behavior/treatment plan and/or crisis plans with the child, family, and team that are developmentally appropriate and strengths-based.
Assist BC-ABAs with Interobserver Agreement (IOA) data collection to measure the quality of the interventions being used.
Assist BC-ABAs with graphing clinical data on active treatment goals to monitor progress and communicate with BC-ABAs regarding any changes that need to be made to programming.
Complete all required documentation in a thorough and accurate manner.
Travel to a variety of education and/or home environments to provide services in clients’ environment, when applicable.
Ensure compliance with PHMC/CFA policies and procedures, including confidentiality and mandated reporting.
Provide clinical information to the evaluating psychologist/psychiatrist as required or requested.
Attend and participate in meetings, training programs, and supervision as required by PHMC/CFA and the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB).
Participate in regular meetings with staff to ensure that priorities are clear, coordination is good, and communication is open.
Develop additional methods for ongoing effective communication.
Cooperate and communicate as a multidisciplinary staff team member through formal meetings, informal consultations, and committee participation.
Respond promptly to the concerns and interests of clients, parents, guardians, funding entities, and other PHMC/CFA staff.
Foster a strengths-based, trauma-informed, accountable, committed, and motivating environment.
Mentor and develop new and current BHT-ABAs to ensure a core team that is focused on meeting the priorities of the program.
Demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively and efficiently with all internal and external stakeholders.
Model traits of a responsible team member by executing job responsibilities, open communication, and good follow-through.
Support team members to do the same.
Demonstrate commitment to being trauma-informed and maintaining a therapeutic environment and community that promotes safety and nonviolence as the basis for all we do with clients and staff.
Demonstrate knowledge and utilization of trauma-informed practices, including emotional intelligence, effective communication, understanding of the impact of trauma on development, strengths-based and person-centered practice, resilience focus, and commitment to growth and change.
Ensure compliance with all PHMC/CFA policies and procedures, including confidentiality and acting as a mandated reporter in accordance with the law.
Implement all documentation requirements and ensure that reports are complete, thorough, timely, and written in the prescribed format.
Ensure that staff do the same.
Perform other duties as assigned.