MiBAP Q3 2021 Newsletter

This quarterly newsletter provides a recap of the third quarter of 2021, as well as, updates on current activities for the association and committee updates.

• MiBAP continues to monitor and directly interact with legislators, as appropriate, for the following legislative initiatives
• MiBAP met with Saginaw Legislators regarding concerns related to transportation, and CLS/Respite requirements
• Legislative Bill Updates: HB 4657 (PIM), HB 4059 (re-evaluations)
• FY22 Budget – Autism Budget, Section 959, Premium Pay, etc.
• Behavioral Health Integration/Rep Whiteford HB 4925-4929, Sen Shirkey SB 597, 598
• Milliman Rate Audit, Provider Survey/MDHHS Policy 2077-BHDDA
• LARA Draft Rule for Behavior Analyst Licensing
• Changes added telehealth and other minor changes
• News Flash Recap
• The Behavioral Health Index (BHI) Tool was developed jointly by Dr. Greg Hanley of FTF Behavioral Consulting and Acorn Health. The BHI is an indirect and global measurement tool for assessing progress and regress with respect to programs addressing severe problem behavior. The MiBAP Quality Committee has spent over a year evaluating a wide range of research and outcome-based tools to better demonstrate the benefits of ABA, and invites MiBAP member organizations to join in the data collection effort to evaluate and validate the BHI as a tool to measure clinical outcomes. The developers of the BHI have recently completed multiple, successful evaluations of the tool’s reliability and sensitivity to behavioral programming; an overview of the tool and these evaluations were presented in a webinar on July 27, and can be found here. The BHI tool itself can be downloaded here (scroll down to the bottom of the page). Specific questions regarding the tool can be directed to Jessica Dow, M.Ed. BCBA, Vice President of Clinical Standards & Outcomes at Acorn Health (jdow@acornhealth.com).
• On September 9, the Biden Administration released an Executive Order addressing COVID vaccinations and testing, including a mandate for vaccinations or weekly testing at all companies with 100 or more employees. Also included in this order is a mandate requiring vaccinations for over 17 million million health care workers at Medicare and Medicaid participating hospitals and other health care settings nationwide – meaning that all ABA providers, regardless of size, must require employee vaccination if they accept Medicaid payments.
• MiBAP Webinar Series
• Completed Webinars
• Dr. Matthew Brodhead, BCBA-D – Ethics (currently planned for September)
• TBD – Please keep an eye out for an upcoming survey on webinar topics
• Upcoming Webinars
• Webinars will resume in 2022

• Welcome New Members and Committee Chairs
  • New Member
    • RISE Center for Autism
  • New Access Committee Chair
    • Rachel Enright

  MiBAP is here to support all of our members in these difficult times – please do not hesitate to reach out (info@mibap.org) with your questions, comments, feedback, or concerns.

  Below are quick updates from each of our committees, along with a few articles and papers you may find of interest. Stay safe!

  Access Committee
  For the last quarter, the Access Committee has been continuing our efforts in reaching out by disseminating information to families and practitioners on Autism and ABA therapy. We are in the final stages of development for flyers regarding what is Autism and what is ABA therapy. Once the flyer content is finalized, we will translate this information into a video that will be easily accessible to families. We are continuing to reach out to pediatricians across the state to gain a better understanding of the diagnostic process and the benefits of ABA therapy. We are always interested in collaborating with our members or the community at large. If interested in participating in this committee, please reach out to Rachel Enright at rachel@gatewaypediatrictherapy.com.

  Advocacy Committee
  MiBAP’s Advocacy Committee was busy in Quarter 3 of 2021. Efforts culminated with a panel presentation for the opening of the MAC, October 6, 2021.
  In addition to a brief primer on the importance of Advocacy and MiBAP accomplishments, the panel focused on the emerging integration of Behavioral Health with Physical Health Care. The panel included Rep. Julie Calley, Rep. Mary Whiteford, Sen. Curtis Hertel and was moderated by MiBAP President Candace Lake. Legislative decision-making on this issue is expected in Q4 of 2021. MiBAP will continue to focus on necessary improvements for those we serve and the entire ABA provider community as integration is debated and decided.

  Education Committee
  The Education Committee was thrilled to be able to offer their first CE eligible webinar. MiBAP is officially a BACB approved CE Provider! We’re eager to review feedback on what webinars the organization is most interested in and start making plans for the future. Any questions or interest in joining the committee, please connect with Mike Dow or Megan DiMartino.

  Quality Committee
  The Quality Committee discussions have recently included the outcomes white paper published by the BHCOE (including the four components of standardization, age normative, skills assessment, and social validity), forthcoming CASP outcomes tools, ICHOM standards, and various roles in organizations that collect and analyze outcomes data. The Committee has also started preliminary discussions on how to best ensure member organizations meet quality standards. Future projects are being discussed with MiBAP leadership and may include additional learning opportunities relevant to outcomes measures.

  From the President
  The third quarter of 2021 has seen a budget passed in the legislature, which included our boilerplate language as well as ongoing premium pay for direct care workers. We have continued to meet with legislators and stakeholders regarding proposed legislation to ensure the voices of Michigan’s behavior analysis providers are heard. MiBAP hosted an ethics webinar with Dr. Matt Brodhead in September, and just last week facilitated a panel discussion with Michigan legislators regarding the Behavioral Health Integration proposals as the kick-off event for the Michigan Autism Conference. We sent out a survey last month regarding potential webinar topics and are looking forward to providing trainings on these topics as our webinar series continues. As always, we’d love to hear from you, so please reach out if you’ve encountered issues you’d like MiBAP to address.