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Behavior Analyst is a Graduate Level Profession
 “Behavior Therapist, Behavior Analyst, Behavior Specialist, Autism Specialist”, there are many titles that individuals will go by to describe their professional credentials. Some titles, such as “Psychologist” are protected by licensing boards. A person cannot claim to be a psychologist in the state of Texas without a license from the Texas State Board of Psychologists. Unfortunately there is no such licensing board to restrict the use of the many behavior expert titles being used today.
There is a national certification board for Behavior Analysts (see www.bacb.com). The Behavior Analyst Certification Board credentials practitioners at two levels, as Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA) and as Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analysts (BCaBA).
Because autism treatment most often requires large numbers of intense one on one hours of training, there is always a need for more skilled staff. Because the BTTC Day Treatment staff are full-time employees and the BCBA’s are present every day, the staff participate in on-going staff training. The BTTC also provides a limited amount of training in ABA techniques by contract to individuals and organizations.
Behavior Technician or Behavior Analyst?
A Behavior Technician is trained in specific skills. They must be very skilled at implementing the ABA techniques. A Behavior Analyst is trained in the science of behavior and knows how to assess behavior to determine the most effective ABA techniques to implement.
It is very important that a qualified Behavior Analyst direct and supervise the activities of a Behavior Technician. The professional organization for behavior analysts is the International Association for Behavior Analysis (IABA). The IABA Autism Special Interest Group has a published set of guidelines for the minimum qualifications for a person to supervise an ABA treatment program for an individual with ASD. The Behavior Analyst Certification Board also has specific guidelines for the appropriate activities for BCBA’s and BCaBA’s which consumers should be aware of.
Qualifications for Employment at the BTTC Day Treatment Program
At the Texana BTTC Day Treatment Program children are provided with 6.5 hours of daily one on one ABA treatment. The treatment programs and their implementation are supervised daily by several on-site BCBA’s. There are three levels of staff providing the direct student intervention training. The Classroom trainers are individuals with specific formal ABA training through graduate level courses and/or professional workshops, and have experience conducting ABA with children with autism under the supervision of a BCBA. The Classroom Trainers all have a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree.
Classroom Anchors are individuals with a minimum of a Bachelor’s college degree, who are training to become a classroom trainer.
The Individual Trainers are energetic, intelligent staff who have passed through a stringent application process to demonstrate their ability to learn, to engage children positively, and to modify their behaviors quickly based on feedback. No one is hired without a criminal background check, drug testing, and a positive recommendation from at least two people familiar with their character and work behaviors. These are individuals who show a great deal of interest and potential for learning the ABA training skills. Applicants without adequate experience are often required to volunteer at the Day Treatment program prior to consideration for employment.
The BTTC Day Treatment Program has a standard set of basic training techniques which are used outside of individual programming. All staff are trained to proficiency in these techniques before they are left alone with a student. Staff receive close supervision because of the size of the program, the need for the BCBA to constantly be reviewing and updating the individual programs and training objectives for the students, the 26 video cameras throughout the program, and the four viewing areas for the camera monitors.
Behavior Analysts At the Day Treatment Program:
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Christie Enzinna
Managing Director
M.A., LPA, BCBA
Christie has a Master’s Degree in Psychology from Drake University, with 345 instructional hours of graduate level ABA courses. She is a Licensed Psychological Associate and Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She has worked in the Houston Area as a Behavior Analyst for individuals with developmental disabilities since 1979.
Her career history includes working as a unit psychologist and then a unit director at Richmond State School, helping to establish the Behavior Treatment and Training Center as the Associate Director, and then working as a residential behavior analyst at the BTTC, and then developing the BTTC Outreach Program as a Behavior Analyst. She wrote and received a 5 year grant from TCDD to teach others the procedures of Positive Behavioral Supports. She established and then served as the chairperson for the southern chapter of the Texas Association for Behavior Analysis Autism Special Interest Group from 2000-2009. She established the BTTC Day Treatment program in January 2004.
She wrote and received a 17 month, $1.25 million dollar grant from the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services to provide treatment for children ages 3-8, which ran April 2008-August 2009. An extension of the grant was approved for September 2009-August 2011. She has served on the TxABA Council and in 2007 she was elected to sit on the Behavior Analyst Certification Board.
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Kelly Bivens
Lead Clinical BCBA
M.Ed, Board Certified Behavior Analyst
Kelly graduated with a Masters degree in Special Education through the Educational Psychology program at the University of Houston in 2004. She is a certified teacher in the state of Texas, and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). Kelly worked in various in-home ABA programs under the supervision of Dr. Vince Carbone, Christie Enzinna, and other strong Behavior Analysts for 6 years before becoming a PPCD teacher for Spring Branch ISD, which she did for 3 years. She was recruited to be the daily supervisor of the BTTC Day Treatment program in June 2004. She served on the Steering Committee of the TxABA Autism Special Interest Group Southern Chapter from 2000 to 2009.
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Jillian Bain
Board Certified Associate Behavior Analyst:
B.A., BCaBA
Jillian has been with the BTTC Day Treatment program since February 2004. She graduated with honors from the University of Houston in 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in both Psychology and English. She worked with the Texas Young Autism Project from 2001 to 2003 as an in-home trainer and, while there, became board certified as an Assistant Behavior Analyst. Jillian is currently working on her masters degree in special education at the University of Houston – Victoria. |
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Phat Ma
Classroom Trainer
B.S.
Phat has a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Psychology from the University of Houston and an Associate’s degree in Electronics Engineering from ITT Technical Institute. He worked as a Senior Behavioral Therapist at the Texas Young Autism Project before joining the Texana BTTC Day Treatment team in August 2007 where he worked as an Individual Trainer until his promotion in August 2007 into a Classroom Trainer position. Unsure of his career plans when he first came to the BTTC, Phat has decided to pursue further education in a graduate program for ABA. |
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Kimberly Quiring
Assistant Classroom Trainer
B.S.
Kimberly has a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Learning and Development with Specializations in Reading and French from the University of Texas at Austin. She has worked with children for much of her professional life. After graduating from the University of Texas, Kimberly worked as a first-grade teacher for several years during which time she assisted in identifying students that required testing for various learning disabilities and counseling needs. Later, Kimberly worked as a Program Manager at a Montessori school in Sugar Land implementing a variety of programs and initiatives including the Parent Program, Cultivating Program, DRA Assessment, and enrichment programs. She was hired as an ABA Assistant Classroom trainer at Texana BTTC Day Treatment Program in January 2009. |
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JoAnna Jones
Assistant Classroom Trainer
B.S.
JoAnna has a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology from Southern Arkansas University, where she graduated with honors. She also graduated with honors from Bossier Parish Community College in Louisiana, where she received her Associate’s of Liberal Arts. She has been with the BTTC Day Treatment program since June 2008. After a year of working at BTTC, JoAnna decided she wanted to pursue her career in ABA. She is currently in the ABA graduate program at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. |
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Allen Jakubik
Classroom Trainer
B.S.
Allen graduated from the University of Houston-Downtown with a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies. Unsure of his career path before he came to BTTC he obtained qualification to teach Special Education EC-12. A few months later he came to work at the BTTC Day Treatment Program. He spent one year as an individual trainer and then was promoted to a classroom trainer. He is now finished with his course work in Applied Behavior Analysis and is currently enrolled to take the BCaBA exam. |
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Felicity Kelly
Assistant Classroom Trainer
B.A.
Felicity Kelly graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English with a History minor at Bob Jones University, a private university in Greenville, SC. In 2007-8 she assisted the pre-school class at Hope Academy in Greenville, South Carolina, the first inclusion model school for spectrum disorders in the region. Upon moving to Houston she volunteered at Focus Initiative, a company specialized in social skills services for children and adults. Felicity has worked at BTTC since January 2009 as an Assistant Classroom Trainer. |
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Sarah Antal
Assistant Classroom Trainer
B.S.
Sarah Antal came to Texana Center after graduating from Kent State University in Ohio. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a minor in Sociology. She has been working at Texana Center for about a year and half. After her first few months she decided to continue her education and is currently enrolled in the BCBA master’s program at University of Houston-Clear Lake. She has worked with most of the children at BTTC, but is currently working with the adolescent children. |
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Rachel Ntege
Assistant Classroom Trainer
B.S.
Rachel received her B.S. in Psychology at Sam Houston State University in 2007. She has been an Assistant Classroom Trainer with Texana BTTC Day Treatment since October 2008. Rachel is currently working on her Master’s in the School Psychology Program at University of Houston-Victoria. |
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To apply for employment:
The program hires staff as new students are enrolled. To help expedite getting students enrolled we keep an ABA Individual Trainer position posted at all times and review the applications. We do require that applicants schedule a time to come observe the program before scheduling an interview. The interview includes answering questions verbally and in writing and brief role-play demonstrations.
Highly motivated applicants who do not meet the experience qualifications for employment can gain the necessary experience through the supervised skill acquisition volunteer program at the Day Treatment Program. Volunteering does not guarantee employment but will qualify a person to apply for employment.
References are required and will definitely be checked. Texana requires all employees to be cleared through a criminal background check and to submit to a drug test.
Positions available and the application process are posted on the Texana website, www.texanacenter.com
Look for ABA Individual Trainer listing, ABA Classroom Trainer, Assistant Classroom Trainer, Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst.
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