E-3.14 - 3.16 Facilitating Continuity of Services, Appropriately Discontinuing & Transitioning Services
When a client is to be transitioned to another provider, behavior analysts
1. make appropriate efforts to turn the transition over to the new provider. 2. provide a written plan identifying transition dates, activities, and responsible parties. 3. review the transition plan with the client and relevant stakeholders throughout the transition process. 4. take appropriate steps during the transition to minimize disruptions in services.
A behavior analyst should consider terminating services with a client in which of the following instances?
The client's parent consistently refuses to implement agreed-upon intervention, even after revisions have been incorporated at the parent's request.
A woman recovering from depression wishes to terminate therapy. Her BCBA informs her that he would prefer to see her stable for another 3 months and informs her of possible negative outcomes of terminating therapy prematurely. After this discussion, the BCBA wishes her well and lets her know that he is available if needed. Was this appropriate?
Yes, BCBA's respect the client's decision to terminate services.
A family has cancelled every weekly session the behavior analyst has scheduled with them for three months. Is it acceptable for the BCBA to terminate the relationship?
Yes, with notification to the client.
The criteria for termination for services based on achieving identified goals should
be established and explained to the client/client's surrogate in language they can understand at the onset of the relationship.
Your client should be transferred to another behavior analyst if you will be unavailable for work
long enough for the client's behaviors to deteriorate.
The Ethics Code calls for BCBAs to establish
criteria for discontinuation of services, which are to be communicated to the client at the onset of the relationship.
An uncooperative parent has been court-ordered to accept behavioral services. The BCBA should focus on
developing rapport and goals that the parent values and establishing criteria for termination of services.
A behavior analyst, who was moving to another state, developed a transition plan for a client. The plan listed out the transition activities and due dates as well as who was in charge of each activity. The implementation of the plan was overseen by the behavior analyst and the plan steps were explained to the client and relevant stakeholders each step of the way. During the transition, however, the client's behavior began to seriously deteriorate, and some weeks the behavior analyst was not available. In this situation, the behavior analyst
failed to minimize disruptions in service.
A behavior analyst should consider terminating services when a client has not engaged in the targeted problem behavior
for 8 months of intervention and no changes to the plan have been required.
Client consent is not required to
terminate services with the client.
Which includes appropriate termination criteria? Services will be terminated when
the client's spontaneous mands have attained the level of his non-handicapped peers.
Behavior analysts describe the circumstances under which a client may be transitioned to the services of another BCBA in
the service agreement.
