CASP Organizational Guidelines
Diversity of Operational Structures
ABA services are delivered in a variety of settings (e.g., homes and other residences, centers, community settings, schools) and paid for via a variety of funding streams (e.g., commercial health insurance, Medicaid and other public health insurance, Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) waivers, education systems, developmental disabilities service systems, private pay). Additionally, ABA interventions are used to address medical, educational, vocational, and other needs of an autistic client, and these interventions may be delivered by small local organizations or multi-organizational conglomerates across the globe. This tremendous diversity makes it very challenging to create a single resource that is directly applicable to every autism service provider organization.
Some recommendations may be appropriate for large organizations but are perhaps only aspirational and not necessarily practical for every small organization. Where appropriate, the editorial team has highlighted actionable considerations for small organizations.
This inaugural release of the CASP Organizational Guidelines is meant to be a first step in filling a very large void. The number and complexity of laws and regulations that affect the operations of autism service provider organizations vary across countries. This version of the CASP Organizational Guidelines focuses on organizations operating only in the United States. CASP leadership also acknowledges that some of the content may be more useful for certain types of autism service provider organizations than others. For example, some recommendations may be appropriate for large organizations but are perhaps only aspirational and not necessarily practical for every small organization. Where appropriate, the editorial team has highlighted actionable considerations for small organizations (e.g., Chapter 1, “Strategic Planning”). Similarly, some chapters provide information that may be more applicable to organizations that accept health insurance funding than to those that rely on other funding streams. A stand-alone chapter dedicated to organizations that primarily utilize educational funding sources is planned for a future release of the CASP Organizational Guidelines.
Some chapters provide information that may be more applicable to organizations that accept health insurance funding than to those that rely on other funding streams.
The recommendations provided in the CASP Organizational Guidelines are based on the best available evidence and a consensus of contributing SMEs at the time of publication. This resource is a living document and will be updated as needed to reflect new information and to address the diversity of operational structures more completely across autism service provider organizations.
Terminology Conventions
The diversity of autism service provider organizations makes it challenging to identify terms or phrases that are appropriate for use in all situations. For example, “patient” implies a recipient of medical services and may not be applicable to someone receiving ABA services in an educational setting. Additionally, there is a lack of consensus within the autism community regarding the use of person-first (e.g., “individual with autism”) or identity-first (e.g., “autistic individual”) language. The editorial team adopted several conventions in the production of the CASP Organizational Guidelines.
Meaning of “Evidence-Based”
The term “evidence-based practice” (or “evidence-based treatment”) appears throughout the CASP Organizational Guidelines and carries the same meaning as generally understood in the field of ABA and as defined in CASP’s mission statement.
Person-First Versus Identity-First Language
Because of the lack of consensus regarding the use of person-first versus identity-first language within the autism community, efforts have been made to use “person (or individual) with autism” and “autistic person (or individual)” equally throughout the CASP Organizational Guidelines.
Individuals Receiving Services and Their Caregivers
Because the terms “patient” and “student” may imply that services are delivered in a specific setting (i.e., medical and educational settings, respectively), the term “client” is used in the CASP Organizational Guidelines to refer to the direct recipient of services. Development of the CASP Organizational Guidelines began prior to the publication and implementation of the current BACB® Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts (hereafter referred to as the 2020 BACB Ethics Code), which defines “client” as the direct recipient of services and “stakeholder” as an individual who is impacted by and invested in the behavior analyst’s services, such as a parent or other caregiver (Behavior Analyst Certification Board [BACB], 2020, pp. 7, 8). The BACB Professional and Ethical Compliance Code that was in effect when work on the CASP Organizational Guidelines began defined “client” as both the direct recipient of services and the parent, relative, or guardian of the recipient of services (BACB, 2014).
The editorial team opted to use the term “client” as defined in the 2014 Professional and Ethical Compliance Code. The clarity added by differentiating “client” from “caregiver” (as defined in the 2020 BACB Ethics Code) became apparent as work on the CASP Organizational Guidelines progressed. In most instances, the CASP Organizational Guidelines have been updated to be consistent with the definitions in the 2020 BACB Ethics Code, but there may be instances where “client” refers to the direct recipient of services and/or a caregiver. However, all references to ethics standards for behavior analysts have been updated to reflect the 2020 BACB Ethics Code.
