Washington added 111 behavioral health providers in the latest weekly CMS update, representing 2% of the national total. This consistent contribution indicates a steady growth in the state's behavioral health workforce, with 93 individual practitioners and 18 organizations joining the registry.
ABA Workforce Composition
Focusing on the ABA sector, the update shows 1 new Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and 28 new Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs). It's important to note that these credential counts can overlap if an individual holds multiple certifications, though no dual BCBA+RBT credentials were newly registered this week. The significant imbalance, with 28 RBTs for every 1 BCBA, highlights a potential bottleneck in supervision capacity, as BCBAs are responsible for overseeing RBTs to ensure quality ABA service delivery.
Provider Demographics
Among the 93 individual providers, the workforce is predominantly female, with women accounting for 75%. Male providers comprise 17%, and 8% identify as nonbinary. On the organizational front, HEALTHPOINT was the only entity appearing multiple times, with 2 new entries.
The current data suggests that while Washington is expanding its direct service capacity through RBTs, the limited growth in BCBA numbers may pose challenges for scaling supervised ABA services statewide.
