CASP Survey Results Spark Action To Address Nationwide RBT Shortage
WAKEFIELD, MA – May 2, 2022 The Council of Autism Service Providers (CASP) announced today, in conjunction with April’s Autism Awareness Month, a marketing campaign to drive awareness of Registered Behavior Technicians® (RBT®) as a career and begin to reverse the critical nationwide shortage of RBTs. The campaign will be officially launched on May 2-3, 2022 at the CASP Annual Conference in Portland, Oregon.
“Approximately 1.7 million Americans are on the autism spectrum while there are 300,000 RBT openings going unfilled. RBT growth lags far behind the need. This combination of factors leaves autistic children, adults, and their families, with fewer services and resources to access,” said Lorri Unumb, CEO, CASP. “There has been a lot of discussion about the RBT shortage, but few have taken steps to lessen its impact. CASP membership has come together and is taking action.”
CASP surveyed its approximately 300 members in March to quantify the industry impact of the RBT shortage. Results showed that over 50% of respondents cited the hiring of RBTs as their number one priority while experiencing a 42% turnover in the position. All respondents listed that the RBT shortage has affected patient services. It was clear from the survey results that the RBT shortage is impacting individuals with autism, families, and the organizations that provide applied behavior analysis (ABA) autism treatment.
CASP, whose member organizations employ tens of thousands of RBTs using ABA, the gold standard for treating individuals with autism, is encouraging high school graduates to consider a rewarding career as an RBT. The components of the marketing campaign are as follows:
- Informational Resources
- Social Media Campaign
- Educational Outreach
- Annual RBT Appreciation Day
“We need to ‘flip the script’ and head upstream to find the young minds who want to make a difference in the world. our work will not be done overnight. It will take a sustained effort by CASP members and others to help caring people make an informed career choice,” said Fali Sidhva, CEO of Helping Hands Family and CASP member.
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About the Council of Autism Service Providers
The Council of Autism Service Providers is a non-profit association of for-profit and not-for-profit agencies serving individuals with autism and other developmental disorders. CASP supports its members by cultivating, sharing, and advocating for provider best practices in autism services. CASP member agencies employ more than 70,000 professionals providing services to children and adults with autism across the United States. More information is available at www.casproviders.org. To join CASP, click here.
