MiBAP Newsletter, April 2023

From the President

Thank you for all of the member engagement over the last few months. We had a successful advocacy day back in March! Our group was able to meet with over thirty legislators, and we will continue to work with them on our advocacy efforts. We are working with MDHHS on our priorities, and we have had several workgroups started by members to continue to support each other in different areas. Our monthly webinars have been wonderful, and we hope you are able to participate in the coming months.

Thank you for your continued support and dedication!

Margaret Moore
MiBAP President

Access Committee Update

The Access Committee met on April 13th and reviewed next steps after Advocacy Day. The committee will provide information and ideas to the MIBAP Board members. We look forward to information and reports on upcoming bills for services impacted by school hour limitations for clients above 6, and possible funding improvements.

Advocacy Committee Update

Thank you to all of the membership who participated in our annual Advocacy Day! The virtual meetings with numerous legislators and/or their staff were efficient and well received. Our messages regarding ABA service delivery in schools, rate increases and post-covid funding were also well received. The Advocacy Committee has met and reviewed the feedback and recommendations will be provided to the MiBAP Board for future events. The Advocacy Committee, while proud of the results of the Advocacy Day, believes successful advocacy is the result of consistent relationship building between each member and their elected official. Encouragement and educational opportunities will be provided throughout the year.

Education Committee Update

The Education committee has been busy planning webinars for the year. The next webinar is scheduled for April 26th, “Lunch N’ Share with MIBAP-Insurance Roundtable”. You can learn more and register below. If you are interested in joining this committee, please email membership@mibap.org.

Quality Committee Update

The MiBAP Quality Committee is currently continuing its collaboration with Dr. Bryant Silbaugh, who presented for the March MiBAP webinar on his research on quality in the ABA service provider industry. With participation from the MiBAP Quality Committee, Dr. Silbaugh is submitting an application to start a Quality-oriented Special Interest Group (SIG) with Applied Behavior Analysis International (ABAI). The QC’s monthly meetings continue to explore the definitions of quality as well as outcomes measures that are increasingly tied to the concept. Ongoing developments with these discussions will continue to be shared with member organizations during all-member meetings.

Membership Committee Update

The MiBAP Membership Committee has our first meeting on April 24th via Zoom to develop our annual goals. Please reach out to Kristen Hjelmstad if interested in participating. Also, please plan on attending the Michigan Autism Conference as we will be hosting a meet and greet there!