New Registered Behavior Technician Training Course Offered by Leeward

Required training for paraprofessionals

A new 1-credit Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) training course will be offered in the Spring 2016 semester at Leeward Community College. The course is offered to fulfill the required preparation to be credentialed as a Registered Behavior Technician.

“The course was developed in response to a state mandate that requires those who work with autistic students have this credential,” states Leeward’s Roberta Martel, program coordinator for the college’s education program. “Currently, there are about 3,000 children with Autism in Hawaii, but only 76 RBTs for the entire state. The need is immense and the law goes in effect on January 1, 2016, so our program had to act quickly to fill the need.”

As of January 1, 2016, a new state mandate will require health insurance plans to cover applied behavior analysis for autism spectrum disorders. The RBT credential will be a mandatory requirement for paraprofessionals directly implementing ABA services for children with autism.

Leeward CC is deeply committed to addressing critical and urgent workforce needs and the need for RBTs will be in tremendous demand for medically necessary ABA treatment.

The course covers the training requirements to become an RBT: completion of 40 hours of RBT training by a BACB certified instructor and completion of a Competency Assessment. The 40-hour RBT Training will be conducted in just 6 weeks via on-line modules and 4 face-to-face classes with locations and times to be determined based on student preference. Distance learning options, such as Skype, Google Hangout, Blackboard, will be available.

Additional requirements for RBT credentialing include: 

1. Being at least 18 years old and have demonstrated completion of high school or equivalent/higher (GEDs accepted);
2. Passing a criminal background check and abuse registry check no more than 45 days prior to submitting an RBT application;
3. Passing a RBT Praxis exam.

For additional information, contact Christina Keaulana
Special/Inclusive Education Certificate Coordinator
(808) 455-0467, ctk8@hawaii.edu