Procedural Integrity Maintenance Checklist for BCBAs

Maintaining procedural integrity is crucial for BCBAs who supervise RBTs. Treatment drift can ruin even the best behavior plans. A review in Behavior Analysis in Practice from 2008-2019 found that only 46.8% of studies reported treatment integrity data. Worse, 47.8% were at high risk for implementation errors. This shows why systematic checks matter to deliver interventions right.

Your procedural integrity maintenance checklist helps catch RBT drift documentation problems early. It meets treatment integrity checks BCBA duties too. This guide gives a full checklist. It's based on BACB rules and research. Use it to plan checks, track errors, and decide next steps based on data.

Key Takeaways:

• Build checklists with program-specific steps and IOA for reliability.
• Schedule checks weekly for new or high-risk programs, fading with data.
• Document errors precisely and tie actions to thresholds like 80-90%.
• Graph trends to spot drift and link to client progress.
• Meet BACB ethics by observing at least 5% of RBT hours monthly.

What Is Procedural Integrity and Why Track RBT Drift?

Procedural integrity, or treatment fidelity, checks if interventions match the written plan. This covers every step, timing, and dosage. In ABA, it stops small mistakes from making good procedures look bad.

RBT drift happens when accuracy slips over time. RBTs might fall back to old habits or unclear steps. Studies link low integrity to shaky client results. Common goals are 80-90% or higher. Below 80% often means retrain. These come from training research and field standards ASAT treatment integrity article.

BACB Ethics Code requires this. Task list item H-6 says: "Monitor client progress and treatment integrity" (BACB Task List 5th ed.). For RBTs, supervise at least 5% of hours each month. That's a minimum of 2 hours. Include direct observation (BACB RBT Fact Sheet).

What Are the Key Components of a Procedural Integrity Maintenance Checklist?

Tailor your procedural integrity maintenance checklist to the program's steps. Score each as yes/no/N/A. Then figure the percent:
Integrity % = (Correct steps / Applicable steps) × 100.

Pull from proven templates for these main items:

• Got materials and data sheets ready before the session starts?
• Stuck to the exact words for SDs and instructions as scripted.
• Followed the prompting hierarchy with right timing and waits.
• Gave reinforcement on schedule, with the planned amount.
• Handled errors and blocked/redirected per the BIP rules.
• Took data accurately, no filling in later.
• Kept the right dosage, like trial count and session length.
• Stuck to safety rules and ethics every time.

MasterABA's checklists use a 2-1-0 scale: 2 for full, 1 partial, 0 none. This gives clear percentages (MasterABA fidelity checklists). Add IOA to 20-33% of checks. It confirms your scoring is reliable interobserver agreement study.

Spot drift fast this way. Think delayed reinforcement over 5 seconds. Or prompts that get too pushy.

How to Schedule Treatment Integrity Checks for Lasting Fidelity?

BACB rules call for direct observation in RBT supervision. Do at least two face-to-face meetings monthly. Make one one-on-one (BACB RBT Handbook). For new programs, check weekly. Fade to monthly or 5% of hours once stable.

Here's a workable plan:

1. High-risk programs like BIPs with punishers: Check weekly. Cover 10-20 trials.
2. Routine skills such as DTT: Every two weeks. Observe 10-15 minutes.
3. Low-risk maintenance: Monthly checks. Review trends too.

Put integrity on a graph over time. Flag drops under 85% for two checks in a row practitioner's guide to procedural fidelity. Tools from Praxis Notes fidelity resources make tracking easy.

Only fade supervision with solid data. Wait for ≥90% integrity over 3 months BHCOE ethical fading suggestions.

How Do You Document RBT Drift and Take Corrective Steps?

Start RBT drift documentation in the checklist's notes. Note exact errors, like "Skipped prompt for replacement behavior." Log feedback and next check.

Use this template:

Date	RBT	Program	Integrity %	Errors Noted	Feedback/Action	Follow-Up Score

Give targeted feedback. Say, "Let's model that 3-second prompt wait right now." Retrain with BST: instructions, demo, practice, feedback.

BACB says document all supervision. Cover integrity issues too (BACB supervision standards). Use these thresholds:

• 90-100%: Keep routine checks procedural integrity measurement guide.
• 80-89%: Quick booster session.
• Below 80%: Full retrain. Hold off on data-based changes.

This keeps things ethical and driven by numbers.

How Does Data Guide Decisions to Stop Drift?

Look at graphed integrity next to client progress. If fidelity drops and skills stall, fix implementation first. Studies show this uncovers hidden wins.

Follow these steps:

1. Average monthly percentages across programs.
2. Check against goals, like 90% for mastery.
3. Match with IOA and client results.
4. Ramp up supervision if decay shows.

No one-size-fits-all error rate. But graphing prompts retraining in practice.

Frequently Asked Questions About Procedural Integrity Checks

How often do BCBAs need to observe for procedural integrity?

BACB sets RBT supervision at 5% of hours monthly, minimum 2 hours. Include direct observation in some. In practice, do weekly for new skills. Shift to monthly for steady ones. Sample 10-20 trials (BACB RBT Fact Sheet).

What trips up treatment integrity most?

Time crunches, vague steps, and old habit drift. Beat them with checklists and quick feedback. Graph everything too. Studies flag 47.8% at risk without checks.

How do you figure procedural integrity percentages?

Correct steps divided by total applicable ones, times 100. Aim ≥90% for strong. Below 80%? Retrain. Score per step or trial (MasterABA checklists).

What stops RBT drift best?

Regular checks on a schedule. BST refreshers. Trend graphs. Data-based fading. Watch for drops under 85% over two checks ABA treatment integrity guide.

How does integrity impact ABA results?

Weak fidelity hides what works. It leads to spotty behavior changes. Strong levels at 80-90% give data you can trust.

Which BACB rules cover RBT integrity?

H-6 requires treatment integrity checks. Supervision needs observation and feedback for skills (BACB Task List).

Wrapping up, a strong procedural integrity maintenance checklist lets BCBAs keep interventions solid against RBT drift. Mix in BACB-approved schedules, spot-on notes, and data-led fixes. You'll hit ethics marks and boost results. Research points out fidelity issues hit almost half the studies.

Next steps:

1. Adapt a template from Praxis Notes checklists.
2. Graph baseline integrity monthly for each RBT.
3. Book those first checks to hit 5% supervision.

This setup nails BACB needs. It drives steady client gains with true fidelity.