It Starts With “Buenos días”: A Call for Increased Support for Spanish-speaking Workforce, Clients and Caretakers in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)

The Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts (Behavior Analyst Certification Board, 2020) requires all professionals certified in ABA service delivery to provide services in a manner that supports client rights and the diversity of the client population. As the Hispanic/Latinx/spanish-speaking client population increases in the United States overtime, an increased need for culturally competent professionals in the field of mental health care is made apparent. Though there are professionals delivering multilingual and culturally competent services, it is unknown how many spanish-speaking behavior analysts practice in the United States as the BACB does not currently collect data regarding certificant language capabilities. Though current research on these populations is limited, multilingual service providers have reported an absence of resources and opportunities for professional development in the field of ABA, specifically as a multilingual service provider. This project aims to provide a framework for a cultural competency training for behavior technicians and call on policy-making boards to provide an increase in systemic support for multilingual and culturally diverse practitioners. The possible ways to better support the multilingual workforce this project points to consists of: the ability to self-identify as a multilingual service provider on a data-base made available to clients/caretakers and employers, increased opportunities for professional development in ABA service delivery as a multilingual provider, and increased training with the language(s) they will deliver services in while in the process of/before obtaining certification. The framework for a cultural competency training for behavior technicians would encourage behavior technicians to familiarize themselves with the results of a cultural assessment that the client/caretakers have completed, familiarize themselves with common values of the Hispanic/Latinx community, and familiarize themselves with words in the heritage language of the client that may be relevant to language service delivery.