Michael Kraus

Blogger, Vlogger, Podcast-Connoisseur, Marketing & Advertising, Content Manager at CBA

CBA Blog Volume #10

If you talk to anyone in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis, they will tell you that they cannot do their best work alone. Whether it is asking for help on the behavior plan, or inquiring about certain billing issues, all clinicians need quality support to make sure that the participant receives the best care possible. Providing quality care and support is the most effective when there are measures set in place that are both beneficially supportive to the clinician and participant alike. If you look at any business in the service industry, you will notice that that they have a support team to help the customers and employees alike. We see ourselves as being necessary providers of quality care, therefore we employ positions to be the main point(s) of support

At CBA, we do things a bit differently, in that we provide each of our clinicians with a Team Leader. The role of the Team Leader is extremely versatile, in that they have a variety of tasks that allow all processes between the clinician and the participants running smoothly. Meg Paul, Tommy Nguyen and Rachael Williams-Hale are our highly skilled Team Leaders, and handle between 17-18 clinicians at any given time. Whether it’s getting the maximum hours to a participant’s care plan off certain waivers, or reviewing notes from clinicians; our Team Leaders must possess the talent to be multi-faceted when it comes to the work that they do. “We’re the bridge between the clinicians and the company,” says Rachael. “We’re advocates for both sides.”

One of the major roles of a CBA Team Leader is navigating the different waivers in a way that is beneficial for both the clinician and participant alike. At CBA we serve under the Michelle P. SCL, Respite, ABI and ABI LTC waivers. The Michelle P. Waiver is the one we operant under the most, however it is the most stringent, so Team Leaders must always be aware of the stipulations when it comes to serving specific clients. Maximizing the number of hours from the waiver, as well as building a clinician’s caseload is a necessary challenge to keep the process running smoothly. “Everything we do is a puzzle; you have to make the pieces fit for everything to run smoothly,” says Meg.

One of the most important roles of a Team Leader is incident reporting. Most all other tasks take a back seat to incident reporting because the welfare and safety of the clinician are absolutely paramount. Whether it be standard or critical, it is important that certain rules and procedures are followed, especially when anything can change how one would look at any given incident. “We are almost like a coach (determining) what to do and how to do it,” says Tommy.

At CBA, we believe that the function of Team Leaders’ role is extremely vital to the success of our clinicians and participants alike. Having a solid line of support can make all of the difference, and we pride ourselves in the fact that we are able to provide the guidance to see that our interactions with our participants are as beneficial as possible. We are always trying to innovate our systems in the field of ABA, and the Team Leader position is not only a perk but a necessity. We are in the business of the caring for participants and clinicians alike, and having the correct supports in place makes all of the difference!