Behavior & Safety Specialist (BCBA)

Description

School-Based Behavior Consultation, LLC (SBBC)  |  Clinical Services  |  Full-Time
Reports to: Clinical Director / Designated Clinical Leadership  |  Settings: Center, School, Home & Community

Position Summary

The Behavior & Safety Specialist is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) who provides specialized clinical services and an additional layer of compliance, clinical quality, and safety oversight for learners with complex, dangerous, or destructive behavior. The position combines an assigned billable caseload with organization-wide crisis prevention, incident review, staff coaching, and safety training. The specialist works alongside Primary BCBAs when an enhanced level of oversight is clinically indicated; this does not replace SBBC’s standard service delivery arrangements.

Enhanced Clinical Oversight for Selected Cases

For learners whose behavioral complexity or safety risks warrant enhanced support, this position provides a structured model of shared clinical oversight involving direct-care staff, the Primary BCBA, and the Behavior & Safety Specialist BCBA. The specialist contributes focused expertise in complex behavior, treatment integrity, compliance, crisis prevention, and safety.

• The Primary BCBA remains responsible for coordinating routine case management and the overall treatment plan. The specialist BCBA assumes clearly assigned responsibilities for additional clinical supervision, specialized assessment, safety-plan review, treatment integrity, and staff competency to strengthen compliance and safety oversight.
• For learners exhibiting severe aggression, self-injury, elopement, property destruction, or other elevated risks, both BCBAs may be assigned to the same case. Their respective responsibilities, communication, and clinical documentation must be clearly established to avoid gaps or duplication of oversight.
• Coordinate with the Primary BCBA and clinical leadership on case selection, assigned responsibilities, treatment-plan changes, supervision schedules, safety-plan monitoring, caregiver communication, and escalation of concerns.
• Provide authorized BCBA-level services for selected cases when clinically indicated; the additional oversight is intentional and case-specific, not a universal staffing requirement.

Clinical & Billable Responsibilities

Maintain an active assigned caseload and meet clinical service expectations consistent with authorization, medical necessity, payer rules, and SBBC standards.

• Conduct or contribute to behavioral assessments, functional analysis of behavior, treatment planning, and protocol development or modification within assigned clinical authority.
• Provide direct BCBA supervision, observation, protocol modification, caregiver training, and treatment-team consultation as clinically appropriate.
• Analyze clinical and behavioral data; monitor treatment response, safety risks, implementation fidelity, and progress toward individualized goals.
• Coach RBTs and other staff through modeling, rehearsal, performance feedback, and competency checks; document services promptly and accurately.
• Coordinate services across center, school, home, and community settings as assigned, including transitions and generalization of skills.

Complex Behavior & Safety Consultation

Provide specialized clinical support when behaviors or environmental conditions create elevated risk to learners, staff, or others.

• Observe and evaluate patterns of aggression, self-injury, elopement, property destruction, and other significant behaviors; identify function-based prevention and response strategies.
• Assess environmental, staffing, training, treatment-integrity, and systems factors contributing to incidents or escalating behavior.
• Partner with the Primary BCBA to develop, review, and strengthen individualized crisis prevention and safety plans, including proactive alternatives to restrictive intervention.
• Provide on-site clinical coaching, support implementation fidelity, and recommend additional assessments, supports, or escalation when indicated.

Incident Review & Clinical Follow-Up

Serve as a designated clinical reviewer for significant behavioral and safety incidents, consistent with SBBC reporting procedures.

• Review assigned incident reports for completeness, clinical significance, and consistency with approved protocols; complete designated clinical sign-off where authorized.
• Review camera footage when clinically necessary and authorized, protecting client and employee confidentiality.
• Identify trends, treatment-integrity concerns, competency gaps, environmental contributors, and opportunities for prevention.
• Communicate findings promptly to Primary BCBAs and leadership; coordinate staff retraining, corrective clinical recommendations, and follow-up.
• Escalate injuries, possible policy violations, or serious treatment concerns to the appropriate clinical, compliance, or administrative leaders.

Safety-Care Training & Physical Intervention Expertise

Lead SBBC’s assigned safety and crisis-prevention training activities while promoting preventative, ethical, and least-restrictive practices.

• Maintain Safety-Care instructor credentials and deliver training or recertification approximately quarterly, with additional sessions as needed.
• Provide competency-based coaching in prevention, de-escalation, safe response, and implementation of approved safety procedures.
• Complete SBBC-approved advanced Physical Intervention Specialist training; maintain relevant credentials and share acquired expertise across locations.
• Support case consultation and post-incident review when specialized physical-intervention knowledge is relevant; never implement or recommend interventions outside applicable training, treatment plans, and policies.
• Maintain organized training records, assigned certification renewals, and competency documentation.

Caregiver & Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Work collaboratively with caregivers, educators, allied health clinicians, and other providers to support consistent care.

• Provide authorized caregiver training in prevention, reinforcement-based strategies, responding to escalation, and generalization to everyday environments.
• Coordinate with Primary BCBAs to ensure consistent caregiver communication and clearly documented clinical responsibilities on cases assigned enhanced oversight.
• Provide caregiver services under CPT 97156 only when all provider, authorization, treatment-plan, documentation, and payer requirements are met.

Staff Development & Organizational Support

Support clinical competency and safety practices across SBBC locations.

• Provide targeted coaching and retraining informed by incident trends, observations, clinical feedback, and treatment-fidelity concerns.
• Develop or update practical training resources, and communicate recurring clinical or safety needs to leadership.
• Oversee only specifically assigned safety or clinical-training certifications; this role does not include company-wide RBT credentialing, apprentice-program administration, or unrelated HR credentialing.

Productivity & Work Expectations

The position has a minimum 65% billable productivity expectation (normally 26 billable clinical hours during a 40-hour week), subject to client availability, authorization, and documented operational circumstances. Remaining time supports approved nonbillable training, incident review, consultation, and assigned administrative duties.

• Proactively manage clinical scheduling, documentation, and productivity, and communicate barriers promptly.
• Travel between assigned SBBC sites and service settings as needed; respond appropriately to urgent clinical or safety needs.

Requirements

Required Qualifications

• Current Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) certification and applicable Indiana professional licensure; ability to meet assigned payer credentialing requirements.
• Graduate education and professional qualifications required for BCBA certification and licensure.
• Demonstrated clinical experience with high-acuity behavior, including aggression, self-injury, elopement, or property destruction.
• Competency in functional assessment, behavior intervention, staff supervision, clinical documentation, and collaboration with other BCBAs.
• Ability to obtain and maintain required Safety-Care instructor and approved advanced safety credentials.
• Strong judgment, communication, confidentiality, coaching, and organization skills.

Clinical Authority, Ethics & Safety

Both assigned BCBAs practice within their professional scope, assigned case responsibilities, treatment plans, payer rules, and SBBC policies. The specialist may exercise BCBA-level clinical judgment for specifically assigned duties, but shared case assignment does not eliminate the Primary BCBA’s coordinating role or other required approvals. Clinical disagreements and material safety concerns are escalated to designated clinical leadership.

• Maintain complete, timely clinical, incident, training, and competency records and safeguard protected information.
• Use only approved, clinically appropriate safety procedures within training and organizational authorization.
• Perform essential physical and work duties with reasonable accommodations as applicable.

This description summarizes principal responsibilities and may be updated based on clinical, organizational, and regulatory needs.