Ethics

Both certification ethics codes, organised by the question you actually have — can I accept this, can I say that, who do I tell — rather than by standard number. Each topic says what the obligation is, what it looks like on an ordinary day, and where people get caught.

Showing 24 topics.

Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts

Effective January 1, 2022 · applies to BCBA, BCaBA · 85 standards

The conduct rules for certified analysts and assistant analysts. It is longer and more demanding than the technician code because analysts decide things: what to assess, what to treat, how, with whom, and when to stop. It also governs how you supervise other people, what you say publicly, and how you conduct research. Analysts who supervise are expected to review it — and the technician code where it applies — with the people they supervise, so a technician's ethics questions usually end up here.

The principles it is built on

Benefit others Work for the good of clients, stakeholders, supervisees, research participants and society, and protect their welfare and rights. In practice this is the principle behind choosing effective procedures, minimising risk, and putting the client's interests above the organisation's convenience or your own. Stated in the Core Principles section of the code document itself, and echoed in the introduction to the RBT Ethics Code (2.0).
Treat others with compassion, dignity and respect Treat everyone you work with as a person with their own preferences, culture and right to privacy — clients and supervisees alike. This principle drives assent, choice, cultural responsiveness, non-discrimination, and the rule against exploiting a relationship where you hold the power. Stated in the Core Principles section of the code document itself.
Behave with integrity Be truthful, keep your commitments, follow the legal and professional obligations that bind you, and hold yourself accountable when you fall short. It covers honest billing and documentation, honest public statements, and correcting your own errors rather than concealing them. Stated in the Core Principles section of the code document itself.
Ensure your competence Practise only within what your training and supervised experience actually cover, and keep that current through continuing education and consultation. The credential defines what you may do; competence defines what you should. Where the two differ, competence wins. Stated in the Core Principles section of the code document itself.

What each section covers

Section 1 Your conduct as a professional

Who you are on the job regardless of who the client is: truthfulness, accountability, staying within your role and your competence, keeping that competence current, cultural responsiveness, non-discrimination and non-harassment, handling multiple relationships and gifts, and self-reporting certain events to the certifying board.

All 16 standards in section 1

1.01: Be truthful, and build a setting where others can be Give accurate information to everyone entitled to it — the certifying board, licensure boards, funders, clients, families and supervisees — and do not arrange work in a way that pushes anyone into fraud, illegality or a code breach. Correct an untruthful or inaccurate submission as soon as you notice it.
1.02: Follow the law and your professional requirements The requirements that bind you are cumulative: the law, your licensure board, the certifying board, and your employer. Where they differ, the strictest applicable one usually governs what you may do.
1.03: Be accountable for your work Follow through on what you commit to, and when something goes wrong or a commitment cannot be met, address it directly — the client's interest first, then everyone else's. Accountability here means acting, not merely acknowledging.
1.04: Define your role in writing before you start Services begin after your professional role has been defined and documented in writing with the relevant parties. An undefined role is how people end up answering for work they never agreed to take on.
1.05: Practise inside your scope of competence Work in a new area — a population, a procedure — only after documented study, training, supervised experience, consultation or co-treatment with someone already competent in it. Where that is not realistic, refer or transition the case instead.
1.06: Keep your competence current Competence decays. Maintain and extend it deliberately through the literature, conferences, workshops, coursework, coaching, consultation, supervision or mentorship, and by keeping the credentials your work depends on.
1.07: Build cultural responsiveness, in yourself and in the people you supervise Pursue training that builds knowledge and skill around diversity, and evaluate honestly both your own biases and your ability to meet the needs of people whose background and circumstances differ from yours. The standard extends the same evaluation to your supervisees and trainees.
1.08: Do not discriminate Behave equitably and inclusively toward everyone, whatever their age, disability, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, immigration status, relationship status, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation or income, and whatever else the law protects.
1.09: Do not harass Harassing or hostile behaviour toward anyone is a breach in its own right, independent of whether the target is a client, a colleague or someone you supervise.
1.10: Stay aware of your own biases and difficulties Health conditions, legal trouble, money worries and relationship strain can all interfere with professional work. Stay aware of that, take real steps to resolve the interference so the work is not compromised, and document both what you did and how it turned out.
1.11: Avoid multiple relationships, and manage the ones you cannot avoid Avoid stacking professional, personal or family roles with clients and colleagues, tell the people affected why that matters, and keep watching for one forming. If one arises, resolve it; if it cannot be resolved immediately, build safeguards, plan the exit, and document everything and its outcome.
1.12: Keep gifts under ten dollars, and say so up front Do not give or accept gifts worth more than ten US dollars to or from clients, the people around them, supervisees or trainees, and make that limit known at the start of the relationship. A gift passes only as an infrequent thank-you that leaves nobody better off financially; recurring or accumulating gifts can breach the standard even at small amounts.
1.13: Do not coerce or exploit anyone you hold power over Evaluative and supervisory authority is power, and using it to pressure or take advantage of someone is a breach whether or not anything else about the relationship looks improper.
1.14: No romantic or sexual relationships inside professional ones Not with current clients, the people around them, supervisees or trainees. Not with former clients or their families for at least two years after the professional relationship ends. Not with former supervisees or trainees until both parties can document that it is finished. And you do not take on a past partner as a supervisee until at least six months have passed.
1.15: Respond to requests and meet deadlines Make real efforts to answer information requests and meet the deadlines of clients, families, supervisees, the certifying board, licensure boards and funders, and to satisfy practice requirements such as attestations and background checks.
1.16: Know what you are required to self-report Stay current on the self-reporting requirements of every entity that regulates you — the certifying board, licensure boards, funders — and comply with them. Not knowing is not a defence.

Section 2 Your conduct in practice

The work itself: providing effective treatment, protecting and documenting confidential information, billing accurately, obtaining informed consent, involving clients and caregivers, collaborating with other providers, considering medical needs, and selecting, describing, monitoring and adjusting assessments and interventions on the evidence.

All 19 standards in section 2

2.01: Provide treatment that actually works Put clients' rights and needs first, and deliver services that are behaviourally coherent, grounded in scientific evidence, and designed to get results while protecting everyone involved from harm. Non-behavioural services require the education, training and credentials that those services demand.
2.02: Do it on time Timeliness is an ethics standard, not an administrative preference. Services and the paperwork that surrounds them both fall under it, because a report that arrives late can cost someone their funding.
2.03: Protect confidential information Take real steps to keep information about clients, families, supervisees, trainees and research participants confidential, and to prevent accidental disclosure. The scope covers sessions including recorded and remote ones, all documentation and data, and every form of communication.
2.04: Disclose confidential information only on specific grounds Share it only with informed consent, to protect someone from harm, to resolve a contractual issue, to prevent a crime likely to cause serious harm, or when the law or a court compels it. Even then, share only what the purpose actually requires.
2.05: Store, retain and destroy records properly Know and follow every applicable rule about storing, transporting, retaining and destroying records, physical and electronic. Destroy physical records only where that is permitted after making electronic copies or summaries. When you leave an organisation, these duties stay with the organisation.
2.06: Bill and report accurately Identify what you actually did, and include everything required on reports, bills, invoices, reimbursement requests and receipts. Do not deliver or bill non-behavioural services under a behavioural authorisation. Discovered inaccuracies get disclosed, corrected promptly, and documented.
2.07: Handle fees honestly Set and communicate fees in line with the law, and do not misrepresent them. Where you are not the one responsible for fees, tell whoever is what the requirements are, work to resolve any conflict or inaccuracy, and document what you did.
2.08: Communicate in language people actually understand Check that you have been understood, not just that you have spoken. Before services begin, describe the scope and the conditions under which services end. Explain assessment and intervention procedures before running them and the results once they exist, and provide current credentials on request.
2.09: Involve clients and the people around them Throughout the relationship, not just at intake: in choosing goals, in selecting and designing assessments and interventions, and in reviewing progress as it comes in.
2.10: Collaborate with colleagues, including outside your profession Work with colleagues in your field and in others in the client's interest. Compromise where you can, put the client's interest first where you cannot, and document what you did and how it resolved.
2.11: Obtain informed consent, and assent where it applies Know when consent is required — before assessments and interventions begin, when you substantially change an intervention, when records or confidential information move — and take responsibility for explaining it, obtaining it, obtaining it again when required, and documenting it. Assent from the client is part of this standard.
2.12: Rule out medical causes Where there is any reasonable chance that a referred behaviour is influenced by medical or biological variables, make sure those needs are assessed and addressed. Document referrals to a medical professional, and follow up afterwards.
2.13: Choose assessments on the evidence, and write up what you found Select and design assessments that are behaviourally coherent, evidence-based and suited to this client's needs, context and resources, chosen to maximise benefit and minimise risk. Summarise the procedures and the results in writing.
2.14: Choose interventions on the evidence, and prefer reinforcement Interventions should be behaviourally coherent, evidence-based, driven by assessment results, built on positive reinforcement first, and fitted to the client's needs, context and resources. Weigh risks, benefits, side effects, preference, feasibility and cost, aim for results that survive outside the teaching setting, and write the procedures down.
2.15: Minimise the risk your intervention creates Design and run interventions, consequences included, so the risk of harm stays low. Recommend a restrictive or punishment-based procedure only after less intrusive means have demonstrably failed, or where an existing team has judged the behaviour more dangerous than the procedure. Follow any required review process, keep evaluating whether it is working, and modify or stop it promptly if it is not.
2.16: Describe an intervention in writing before you start it Set out the objectives, the procedures, the expected timelines and the review schedule in writing first, then explain them and the conditions needed to run them properly to the people involved. Modifications and new interventions get the same explanation, and consent again where it applies.
2.17: Collect data properly, and use them Make sure the measurement procedures fit and are implemented correctly, then graph, summarise and actually use the data to decide whether to continue, change or end a service. Data nobody looks at are not measurement.
2.18: Keep evaluating whether the intervention is working Monitor continually, and when the data say the outcomes are not arriving, investigate and take corrective action. Where another professional's concurrent services appear to be undermining the intervention, raise it with them directly.
2.19: Address conditions that are blocking service delivery Identify environmental conditions getting in the way — other people's behaviour, hazards to the client or staff, disruption — and remove or reduce them, adapt the intervention, or bring in help from another professional. Document the conditions, what you did, and the outcome.

Section 3 What you owe clients and stakeholders

The relationship around the service: who the client is, accepting and referring cases, service and financial agreements, third-party contracts and the conflicts they create, advocating for the services a person actually needs, and handing over or ending services without leaving anyone stranded.

All 16 standards in section 3

3.01: Act in the client's interest, and know your reporting duties Support clients' rights, maximise benefit, do no harm. This is also where mandated reporting sits: know the laws that apply where you practise and comply with them.
3.02: Work out who the stakeholders are, and what you owe each Identify everyone invested in the service — a parent, a teacher, a principal, a funder — and work out what your obligations to each of them actually are. Write those obligations down and tell them at the start.
3.03: Accept only the clients you can competently serve Inside your scope of competence and inside your real resources, case supervision time and staffing included. When you are told to take a case that fails either test, raise it, work to resolve it, and document what happened.
3.04: Sign a service agreement before services start The agreement names everyone's responsibilities, the scope of services, your obligations under the code, and how somebody can complain about you and to whom. Update it when circumstances change, and get the update reviewed and signed too.
3.05: Document the money before you begin Agree and document compensation and billing with clients, stakeholders and funders before services start, and revisit it when funding changes. Pro bono and bartered work still needs a specific service agreement.
3.06: Consult and refer where the client needs it Arrange consultation with, and referrals to, other providers when that serves the client — with informed consent, and inside whatever laws, contracts and organisational policies apply.
3.07: Get third-party contracts straight before services begin When a third party such as a school district or agency contracts you to serve a client, clarify your relationship with each party and assess the conflicts before you start. The contract should cover everyone's responsibilities, the scope, how the information will be used, your code obligations, and the limits on confidentiality.
3.08: Under a third-party contract, the client still comes first If the paying party asks for something that contradicts your recommendations, falls outside your competence, or would create a multiple relationship, resolve it in the client's interest. Where it cannot be resolved, get training or consultation, transition the client out carefully, or refer them. Document it.
3.09: Tell the family what third-party services involve When a third party requests services for a minor or for someone without the legal right to decide for themselves, make sure the parent or legally authorised representative knows why services are being provided, what they cover, and that they may have copies of all documentation and data. Consent requirements apply whoever asked for the service.
3.10: Explain the limits of confidentiality early Say at the start of the relationship where confidentiality stops, and say it again whenever a disclosure becomes required. People consent to something different when they know the limits in advance.
3.11: Document your professional activity properly Keep detailed, high-quality records throughout the relationship, so that you or somebody else can carry the work on, so that you can be held accountable, and so that the applicable legal and funder requirements are met. Records should be good enough to hand over on short notice.
3.12: Advocate for the services a person actually needs Educate clients and the people around them about evidence-based assessment and intervention, and argue for the amount and level of service and oversight the goals genuinely require — including when that is inconvenient.
3.13: Refer on need, and disclose your interests Base referrals on what the client needs, and offer more than one provider where you can. Disclose any relationship you have with a potential provider and any fee or incentive attached. Document the referral, the relationship and the money, and follow up.
3.14: Keep services continuous through interruptions Plan for both the interruptions you can see coming, such as relocation or leave, and the ones you cannot, such as illness or a funding collapse. Service agreements should carry a general plan for this, and when an interruption hits, tell everyone what you are doing about it.
3.15: Discontinue services deliberately, not by drift The service agreement should say when services end. Consider ending them when goals are met, when the client is not benefiting, when you or your staff face harmful conditions that cannot be resolved, when the client or family asks, when the people around the client will not implement the plan despite real support, or when funding stops. Provide a written discharge plan and document every step.
3.16: Hand a client over without dropping them Say in the service agreement when a transition to another analyst can happen. Manage it with a written plan naming target dates, activities and who is responsible, review that plan as you go, and collaborate with the other providers to keep disruption down.

Section 4 What you owe supervisees and trainees

Supervision as a professional activity in its own right: meeting the supervision requirements, being competent to supervise, taking on only as many supervisees as you can genuinely oversee, training with feedback and direct observation, documenting it, delegating only what a supervisee is competent to do, evaluating whether your supervision is working, and ending it responsibly.

All 12 standards in section 4

4.01: Meet every supervision requirement that applies Know and follow the supervisory rules that bind you — the certifying board's, your licensure board's, your funder's and your organisation's — including the ones about how supervision happens, in person or by video, individually or in a group.
4.02: Supervise only where you are competent to supervise Supervision is its own skill set, not a by-product of clinical seniority. Acquire it before you supervise, and keep improving it through professional development.
4.03: Take on only as many supervisees as you can genuinely oversee Weigh your client demands, your existing caseload and your time before adding anyone, and comply with any volume rules that apply. When you conclude you have hit your limit, document that self-assessment and tell your employer.
4.04: You are accountable for your supervisees' professional work For your own supervisory practice, and for what your supervisees and trainees do within the supervisory relationship — client services, supervision, training, research and public statements alike.
4.05: Keep supervision documentation accurate and for seven years Create, update, store and dispose of supervision records under every applicable rule, confidentiality included. Make sure your records and your supervisees' records are accurate and complete, keep them in a state that allows oversight to transfer, and retain them for at least seven years — and tell your supervisees to do the same.
4.06: Supervise with evidence-based, individualised procedures Deliver supervision and training the way you would deliver any other behavioural service: evidence-based procedures, positive reinforcement at the centre, and fitted to this supervisee and their circumstances.
4.07: Make diversity part of supervision, not an add-on Actively bring topics of diversity into supervision and training — age, disability, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, immigration status, relationship status, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, income.
4.08: Monitor performance with data, and give feedback in time Collect and document ongoing performance data through observation and structured evaluation. Give praise and corrective feedback promptly, document the formal feedback, and when performance problems appear, build an improvement plan with real procedures and evaluate whether it works.
4.09: Delegate only what a supervisee can competently do Confirm the competence before you hand the task over, and confirm that the delegation is allowed by the rules that apply to you both.
4.10: Evaluate whether your supervision is working Use feedback from others and the outcomes of both clients and supervisees to judge your own supervisory practice, document those self-evaluations, and change what you do when they say to.
4.11: Keep supervision continuous through interruptions Minimise breaks in supervision, plan for the foreseeable ones such as leave and the unforeseeable ones such as illness, and tell everyone affected what you are doing to keep it going.
4.12: End supervision with a plan Whatever the reason for ending it, work with everyone involved on a plan that limits the damage to the supervisee or trainee — whose accrued hours and career timeline may depend on it — and document what you did and how it turned out.

Section 5 What you say in public

Public statements of every kind — advertising, websites, presentations, media and social media: they must be truthful, must not misrepresent the profession or your credentials, must protect the confidentiality of the people you serve, and must not solicit testimonials from the clients currently depending on you.

All 11 standards in section 5

5.01: Protect people's rights in everything you say publicly Public statements can harm clients, families, supervisees and trainees. Take steps to protect all of their rights, and where those interests compete, the client's come first.
5.02: Keep confidentiality in public statements Protect the confidentiality of clients, supervisees and trainees in everything you publish or present, except where disclosure is allowed, and make real efforts to prevent identifying details slipping out by accident.
5.03: Make public statements that are true and not misleading Statements about your work, or the work of people you are affiliated with, must be truthful and must not mislead or exaggerate by what they say, imply or leave out, and should rest on existing research and a behavioural account. Do not give advice about a specific client's needs in a public forum.
5.04: You are responsible for statements others make about your work Including ones you did not write, from employers, marketers, clients and others. Make reasonable efforts to stop deceptive claims about your services or products, correct them when you learn of them, and document what you did.
5.05: Respect intellectual property Know and follow intellectual-property law, get permission where materials are trademarked, copyrighted or otherwise someone else's, and attribute properly. Do not obtain or disclose proprietary information unlawfully, however it reached you.
5.06: Do not advertise non-behavioural services as behavioural Where you offer non-behavioural services, distinguish them clearly from your behavioural work and your certification, and carry the disclaimer the code specifies alongside every such intervention. If your employer breaches this, make reasonable efforts to fix it and document them.
5.07: Do not solicit testimonials from current clients Asking someone who currently depends on you for a promotional testimonial carries implicit coercion, so the code prohibits it for advertising aimed at winning new clients. Unsolicited reviews you cannot control are different, but you should not use or share them either.
5.08: Handle former clients' testimonials carefully Remember that a former client may return to services. A solicited testimonial must be labelled as solicited, must state the relationship accurately, and must comply with privacy law. Tell the person where and how it will appear, what risks disclosure carries, and that they can withdraw it at any time.
5.09: Non-advertising uses of testimonials are treated differently Testimonials from current or former clients may be used for purposes other than advertising — fundraising, grant applications, explaining the field — where the law allows it.
5.10: Treat professional and personal accounts differently online Know the privacy risks of social media and websites. Never publish client information or content on a personal account. On a professional account, obtain consent first, add a disclaimer that consent was obtained and that the content must not be reused, publish in a way that limits resharing, and monitor your accounts for misuse.
5.11: Get consent before sharing digital content about a client Confirm confidentiality, obtain informed consent before sharing, and use the content only for the audience and purpose it was consented to. Every shared piece of media carries a statement that consent was obtained.

What you say publicly about your work Honest, and never at a client's expense

Section 6 How you conduct research

Research obligations: following applicable law and review requirements, consent and confidentiality for participants, competence to conduct the work, managing conflicts of interest, crediting contributions honestly, avoiding plagiarism, and retaining and reporting data accurately.

All 11 standards in section 6

6.01: Follow the law and the rules governing research Plan and run research within applicable law and regulation, and within the requirements of the organisations and institutions that govern research activity where you work.
6.02: Get formal review before you start Research is conducted only after a formal research review committee has approved it — whether the research stands alone or happens inside service delivery.
6.03: Inside service delivery, the client's welfare comes first Arrange research within a service so that client services and client welfare take priority, and meet the ethics requirements for both service delivery and research at once. Where services are offered as an incentive to participate, spell out what they are and what risks and limits attach.
6.04: Obtain informed consent, and assent where relevant Under the conditions the review committee sets. If you realise that data gathered during ordinary service delivery might be published, get consent for that use before disseminating, say plainly that services will not change either way, and make withdrawal possible at any time without penalty.
6.05: Protect participants' confidentiality Prioritise it except where it genuinely cannot be maintained, and take real steps — disguising or removing identifying information — to prevent accidental disclosure both while running the study and while disseminating it.
6.06: Be competent to do the research you are doing Conduct research independently only after you have completed research under a supervisor in a defined relationship. You and your assistants perform only the activities you are trained for; otherwise get the training or collaborate with someone competent. You are responsible for the ethical conduct of everyone on the project.
6.07: Identify and disclose conflicts of interest Personal, financial, organisational and service-related conflicts all count, and the standard covers your editorial and publication activity as well as the research itself. Identify them, disclose them, address them.
6.08: Credit contributions accurately Authorship and acknowledgements should reflect what people actually contributed scientifically or professionally, regardless of whether they are a professor or a student.
6.09: Do not plagiarise Do not present any part of someone else's work or data as your own, and republish your own previously published data or text only with proper disclosure.
6.10: Store and retain research records properly Follow every applicable rule for storing, transporting, retaining and destroying research documentation, keep identifying records for the longest required period, and destroy physical records only after making deidentified copies or summaries and only where that is permitted.
6.11: Do not fabricate, falsify or selectively report Do not invent data or falsify results anywhere. Design and describe the work so it is hard to misread, correct published errors through the publisher's process, and present data in full where possible — where it is not, explain what was left out and why.

Research and publication Consent, competence, credit and honest data

Read the code itself — this app never reproduces its wording.

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RBT Ethics Code (2.0)

Effective January 1, 2022 · applies to RBT · 29 standards

The conduct rules every behaviour technician agrees to when they certify, and every applicant agrees to before they do. It is shorter and more concrete than the analyst code because the role is narrower: a technician delivers services designed by someone else, under supervision, and most of the code follows from that. Breaking it is enforced through a complaint process that can end a certification, and some breaches must be self-reported within 30 days. Your supervisor is your first stop for anything unclear, and the code says so in as many words.

The principles it is built on

Do good, and avoid doing harm Everything you do with a learner should leave them better off, and where a choice could harm someone you weigh that first. In a technician's day this usually shows up as running the plan as written, raising concerns early, and refusing to improvise on a person whose plan you did not design. Named in the introduction to the RBT Ethics Code (2.0), which points technicians to the analyst code for the fuller description.
Treat people with compassion, dignity and respect The learner is a person, not a case. Speak to them rather than about them, offer choices where the plan allows, protect their privacy in front of others, and pay attention when they signal that they have had enough. This principle is why assent matters even where a guardian has given consent. Named in the introduction to the RBT Ethics Code (2.0), which points technicians to the analyst code for the fuller description.
Act with integrity Be honest in what you record, what you bill, what you claim about your credentials, and what you tell your supervisor — including when you got something wrong. Most serious ethics cases in this field start as a small inaccuracy that nobody corrected. Named in the introduction to the RBT Ethics Code (2.0), which points technicians to the analyst code for the fuller description.
Make sure you are competent for what you are asked to do Competence here is not a feeling of readiness; it is something your supervisor has observed and confirmed for the specific procedure and the specific learner. When you are handed something outside it, the principle asks you to say so rather than to try your best and hope. Named in the introduction to the RBT Ethics Code (2.0), which points technicians to the analyst code for the fuller description.

What each section covers

Section 1 How you conduct yourself

Your general conduct as a certificant: being truthful, following the law and your employer's rules, staying inside your role and your training, avoiding relationships that compromise your judgement, and noticing when something about your own situation is affecting your work. Twelve standards.

All 12 standards in section 1

1.01: Be honest, and do not lead others into dishonesty Tell the truth at work, and do not create situations that push anyone else into fraudulent, illegal or unethical behaviour. Follow the law and the rules of the people you answer to: the certifying board, your employer and your supervisor.
1.02: Behave professionally and own your commitments Conduct yourself professionally and take responsibility for what you do. Follow through on the work and contracts you agree to, and when you cannot meet a commitment, work it out with your supervisor in the client's interest rather than quietly letting it slide.
1.03: Practise only in a defined role, under close supervision Your certification lets you provide services inside a role somebody has defined, with ongoing close supervision. It is not a licence to work independently, and work outside a defined role is not covered by it.
1.04: Never be your supervisor's employer You cannot employ the person who supervises your technician work; the power sits the wrong way round for supervision to mean anything. Technicians accruing fieldwork toward a future analyst credential may contract separately for those supervision hours.
1.05: Do not overstate your qualifications No false, misleading or exaggerated claims about your credentials or about what your services are. When an employer or supervisor asks, hand over a current and accurate set of what you actually hold.
1.06: Work only where your supervisor has confirmed you are competent You provide a service after your supervisor has confirmed you can do it, and you keep checking that with them as the work changes. If you are asked to do something past your certification or your competence, say so immediately to your supervisor or someone appropriate at work, and write the conversation down.
1.07: Work on being culturally responsive, with your supervisor Look honestly at your own biases and at your ability to work well with people whose age, disability, background, identity or circumstances differ from yours, and get the training you need for it under your supervisor's direction.
1.08: Do not harass or discriminate Treat clients, coworkers and everyone else equitably and inclusively, whatever their age, disability, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, immigration status, relationship status, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation or income — and whatever else the law protects.
1.09: Notice when your own situation is affecting your work Personal biases and personal difficulties — health, legal, financial, relationships — can quietly degrade the service you deliver. When they might, take a concrete step: make a plan, tell your supervisor, step back from client work until it is sorted. Then document what you did.
1.10: Avoid mixing roles with clients, coworkers and supervisors A multiple relationship is two roles stacked on one person — technician and friend, technician and family member, technician and employer. Avoid them. If one develops anyway, tell your supervisor immediately, work to untangle it, and write down what you did. If the tangle involves your supervisor, take it above them.
1.11: Keep gifts small, occasional and one-off Do not give or accept gifts worth more than ten US dollars to or from clients, the people around them, or your supervisor. A gift is acceptable only as an occasional thank-you that leaves nobody financially better off; repeated or accumulating gifts can breach the standard even when each one is small. A stricter employer policy wins.
1.12: No romantic or sexual relationships inside the professional ones Not with current clients, the people around them, or your supervisor. Not with former clients or their families for at least two years after the professional relationship ends. Not with a former supervisor until both parties can document that the professional relationship is finished. And you do not take supervision from a past partner until at least six months have passed.

Section 2 How you deliver services

Your obligations while actually working with people: following the plan and your supervisor's direction, protecting confidential information, documenting accurately, acting when a learner's rights or safety are at risk, and keeping questions flowing to the person qualified to answer them. Ten standards.

All 10 standards in section 2

2.01: Do no harm, and know your mandated-reporting duties Work in your client's best interest and avoid harming them. Know what your jurisdiction requires you to report, and comply with it — reporting duties are triggered by reasonable suspicion, not by proof.
2.02: Follow the plan, and record what actually happened Do what your supervisor directs, implement the procedures as written, and complete every piece of required documentation accurately — session data and billing records alike.
2.03: Stay professional during every work activity The standard covers training and supervision as much as it covers sessions. When a supervisor gives you feedback, act on it: performance feedback is part of the job, not a judgement about you.
2.04: Do not use unfamiliar procedures or work with unfamiliar populations Not until you have been trained properly for them. An intervention you have read about, or a client group you have never supported, is training your employer owes you before the session, not something to work out during it.
2.05: Restrictive and punishment-based procedures need a written plan first You implement one only when it is written into a documented behaviour-change plan and only after your supervisor has verified you are competent to run it. Both conditions, every time.
2.06: Send questions and concerns to your supervisor Yours and other people's. When a caregiver or a coworker asks you something about the services you deliver that goes beyond describing your own role, the answer is a route to your supervisor rather than your own best guess.
2.07: Act when a client's rights or safety are at risk If you become aware that a client's legal rights are being violated, or that they are at risk of harm, take action: tell your supervisor, follow your organisation's policy, and document it. Some situations require contacting an outside authority as well.
2.08: Protect confidentiality and privacy Follow every confidentiality requirement that applies to you — the certifying board's, your employer's and the law's — and handle client information and records as confidential by default, including in the workplace.
2.09: Never put identifying client information online No photos, no video, no written details about a client on social media or any website. This standard has no consent exception for technicians; the decision is not yours to make.
2.10: Discuss client information only where you are directed to Talk about confidential client information under your supervisor's direction, or where the law allows it for a valid reason such as protecting someone from harm. In everyday work communication, include only the information the message actually needs.

Section 3 What you owe the board and your supervisor

Keeping your certification honest: maintaining and documenting supervision, being truthful with the certifying board, not cheating, self-reporting the events that have to be reported, respecting intellectual property, and keeping your own record current. Seven standards.

All 7 standards in section 3

3.01: Meet the supervision and audit requirements Comply with what the certifying board and your supervisor require of you, including the amount of supervision, the documentation of it, and any audit you are selected for.
3.02: Be accurate with the board and with your supervisor If you realise you submitted something inaccurate to the certifying board, contact them immediately to fix it. If it went to your supervisor or employer, correct it with them and work out whether the board needs to hear about it too.
3.03: Do not cheat, and do not help anyone else cheat On competency assessments and on examinations. Follow the rules of the board and its testing centres, including the ones about falsifying information and about collecting, using or passing on examination content.
3.04: Self-report the events that have to be reported, within 30 days The clock starts at the event or at the moment you learn of it. Reportable events include legal charges and what follows them, investigations naming you, disciplinary action by an employer or agency, and physical, mental or substance-related conditions that could affect your ability to work safely.
3.05: Do not misuse anyone's intellectual property That covers the certifying board's — certification titles and examination content — and other people's, including your employer's proprietary materials.
3.06: Share board notices with your supervisor immediately If you are named in an alleged-violation notice or receive a required action from the certifying board, hand the document to your supervisor straight away and work through the response together.
3.07: Keep your own record current, and report status changes within a day Check your board account regularly — monthly is the example the code gives — so your name, email and address stay correct. If your certification status changes, tell your supervisor within 24 hours and comply with what that status means for practising, billing and using the title.

Read the code itself — this app never reproduces its wording.

Every standard number above was read from the code document itself. The wording is ours — the code's own wording belongs to its publisher, and this app links to it rather than copying it.

Not legal advice and not affiliated with any certifying body. Where this app and the official code differ, the code is right. Your supervisor is the person to ask first.