Fw: URGENT - Proposed Federal Law Threatens ABA

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Subject: URGENT - Proposed federal law threatens ABA

Dear Colleagues,

A bill recently introduced in the U.S. Congress by Sen. Dodd --SB 3449;

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Resiliency Act -- includes several elements

that could jeopardize the practice of applied behavior analysis. The most

serious is specification of positive behavioral support (PBS) procedures for

children with or at risk for mental health problems. As you may know, PBS is

being portrayed in several contexts as a new " discipline " that is different

from, even superior to, ABA. Training and certification in ABA are deemed

unnecessary to practice PBS; inservice workshops are held to suffice to prepare

personnel to deal effectively with problem behavior (for documentation, see

ston, Foxx, son, Green, & Mulick, 2006, The Behavior Analyst, Vol. 29,

pp. 51-74). Over $22 million in funding is being sought for SB3449; if the bill

passes, funding will go to PBS practitioners, bypassing applied behavior

analysts. The ramifications for our profession should be obvious.

A number of concerned behavior analysts and some organizations, such as FABA,

are working to persuade legislators to replace " positive behavioral support "

with " applied behavior analysis " in this proposed legislation. Immediate action

is required. If you are concerned, PLEASE help by contacting legislators

immediately, and please pass this along to other concerned colleagues and

consumers of ABA services. What follows is some information put together by FABA

members and others. Highlights of the proposed bill and a link to the full text

appear at the bottom of this message.

Thank you for acting on behalf of behavior analysis.

Sincerely,

Green, PhD, BCBA

Consultant

Business address:

6977 Navajo Road

PMB #176

San Diego, CA 92119

619-518-4990

Behavior analysts may have the best chance at getting the language in bill 3449

changed by working through the Senate Subcommittee on Education and Early

Childhood Development. [This is a Subcommittee of the Senate Health, Education,

Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee.]

The Subcommittee Chairman is Senator Lamar (R-TN) and the Ranking

Member is Senator Dodd (D-CT).

The Subcommittee members are listed by party, high to low rank, and state at the

bottom of this message.

Seventeen states are represented by the Subcommittee members: AL, CT, GA, IA,

MA, NC, NH, NM, NV, NY, OH, TN, RI, UT, VT, WA, WY

It is very important to have individual citizens (as constituents) from the 17

states contact their Senators.

Other concerned parties can contact the Subcommittee as a group via email:

help_comments@... Or, people can easily find the email, phone, and

postal contacts for individual Senators via the " Find Your Senators " button at

the top of the website www.senate.gov.

Letters to legislator should make a few key points to promote ABA, but not

attack PBS (which already has a strong base of support in Washington through

OSERS.) Here are some hastily-prepared suggestions for key points; your letter

should be personalized so that all letters do not say exactly the same thing:

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act stresses the need for " evidence-based

interventions " (indeed that phrase is used 181 times in the law). IDEA 2004

emphasizes the use of interventions based on scientific research. There is much

scientific research supporting ABA. There is limited scientific research

supporting PBS. Children with mental health needs deserve interventions based on

plenty of sound research.

PBS has become a sort of brand name. Public law should avoid endorsing brand

names. ABA is not a brand name; it is a well-defined professional discipline.

For decades ABA has provided effective and humane interventions to improve

student behavior and learning and family welfare. Competently delivered ABA

intervention can produce significant reductions in violent and unsafe behaviors

in schools. ABA also provides a wide range of powerful applications in schools

to improve teaching and learning. These include direct instruction, precision

teaching, active student responding strategies, personalized systems of

instruction, and much more. ABA is simply much bigger and more effective than

PBS.

There is an internationally recognized professional certification in applied

behavior analysis that is based on well-established standards and requires

specific formal training and supervised experience. There is no professional

credential and there are no professional standards for practitioners of PBS.

Children and adolescents with mental health needs deserve to be treated by

qualified professionals.

FYI--FOR FUTURE REFERENCE-- PROPOSED SENATE BILL S.3449--CHILD AND ADOLESCENT

MENTAL HEALTH RESILIENCY ACT OF 2006

On June 6 Senator Dodd introduced S. 3449 - the " Child and Adolescent

Mental Health Resiliency Act of 2006 " -- You can access the bill at

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bim/thomas and search using S. 3449.

There are three major sections

I. State and Community Activities Concerning the Mental Health of Children and

Adolescents

II. Federal Interagency Collaboration and Related Activities

III. Research Activities Concerning the Mental Health of Children and

Adolescents

Section 103. in part I addresses Activities Concerning Mental Health Services in

Schools:

" SEC. 103. ACTIVITIES CONCERNING MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES IN SCHOOLS.

(a) Efforts of Secretary to Improve the Mental Health of Students- The Secretary

of Education, in collaboration with the Secretary of Health and Human Services,

shall--

(1) encourage elementary and secondary schools and educational institutions to

address mental health issues facing children and adolescents by--

(A) identifying children and adolescents with, or who are at-risk for, mental

health disorders;

( providing or linking children and adolescents to appropriate mental health

services and supports; and

© assisting families, including providing families with resources on mental

health services for children and adolescents and a link to relevant local and

national advocacy and support organizations;

(2) collaborate on expanding and fostering a mental health promotion and early

intervention strategy with respect to children and adolescents that focuses on

emotional well being and resiliency and fosters academic achievement;

(3) encourage elementary and secondary schools and educational institutions to

use positive behavioral support procedures and functional behavioral assessments

on a school-wide basis as an alternative to suspending or expelling children and

adolescents with or who are at risk for mental health needs; and

(4) provide technical assistance to elementary and secondary schools and

educational institutions to implement the provisions of paragraphs (1) through

(3).

( Grants-

(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary of Education, in collaboration with the Secretary

of Health and Human Services, shall award grants to, or enter into cooperative

agreements with, States, political subdivisions of States, consortium of

political subdivisions, tribal organizations, public organizations, private

nonprofit organizations, elementary and secondary schools, and other educational

institutions to provide directly or provide access to mental health services and

case management of services in elementary and secondary schools and other

educational settings.

(2) APPLICATION- To be eligible to receive a grant or cooperative agreement

under paragraph (1) an entity shall--

(A) be a State, a political subdivision of a State, a consortia of political

subdivisions, a tribal organization, a public organization, a private nonprofit

organization, an elementary or secondary school, or an educational institution;

and

( prepare and submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such

manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require, including

an assurance that the entity will--

(i) provide directly or provide access to early intervention and prevention

services in settings with an above average rate of children and adolescents with

mental health disorders;

(ii) provide directly or provide access to early intervention and prevention

services in settings with an above average rate of children and adolescents with

co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders; and (iii) demonstrate

a broad collaboration of parents, primary care professionals, school and mental

health professionals, child care processionals including those in educational

settings, legal guardians, and all relevant local agencies and organizations in

the application for, and administration of, the grant or cooperative agreement.

(3) USE OF FUNDS- An entity shall use amounts received under a grant or

cooperative agreement under this subsection to provide--

(A) mental health identification services;

( early intervention and prevention services to children and adolescents with

or who are at-risk of mental health disorders; and

© mental health-related training to primary care professionals, school and

mental health professionals, and child care professionals, including those in

educational settings.

© Counseling and Behavioral Support Guidelines-

The Secretary of Education, in collaboration with the Secretary of Health and

Human Services, shall develop and issue guidelines to elementary and secondary

schools and educational institutions that encourage such schools and

institutions to provide counseling and positive behavioral supports, including

referrals for needed early intervention and prevention services, treatment, and

rehabilitation to children and adolescents who are disruptive or who use drugs

and show signs or symptoms of mental health disorders. Such schools and

institutions shall be encouraged to provide such services to children and

adolescents in lieu of suspension, expulsion, or transfer to a juvenile justice

system without any support referral services or system of care.

(d) Study-

(1) IN GENERAL- The Government Accountability Office shall conduct a study to

assess the scientific validity of the Federal definition of a child or

adolescent with an `emotional disturbance' as provided for in the regulations of

the Department of Education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education

Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), and whether, as written, such definition now

excludes children and adolescents inappropriately through a determination that

those children and adolescents are `socially maladjusted'.

(2) REPORT- Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the

Government Accountability Office shall submit to the appropriated committees of

Congress a report concerning the results of the study conducted under paragraph

(1).

(e) Rule of Construction- Nothing in this section shall be construed--

(1) to supersede the provisions of section 444 of the General Education

Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g), including the requirement of prior parental

consent for the disclosure of any education records; and

(2) to modify or affect the parental notification requirements for programs

authorized under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

6301 et seq.).

(f) Authorization of Appropriations- There is authorized to be appropriated to

carry out this section $22,500,000 for fiscal year 2007, and such sums as may be

necessary for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2011.

NOTE: The material provided in this OSDFS PREVENTION NEWS UPDATE is for

informational purposes only. The opinions expressed herein may not always

reflect the views of the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools or the US

Department of Education, nor do they imply an endorsement. We hope that you find

this information to be useful in your work with the prevention community.