Recruiting

Staff are recruited primarily from local graduate and undergraduate schools of psychology.  IBC participates in ongoing intern and practicum training programs with LaSalle University, West Chester University and Immaculata University.  Many staff attracted for TSS work are in Graduate school, preparing for a career in Education or Human Services.  Some staff receive course credit for their paid work under the supervision of a licensed psychologist.  Paying practica are almost unheard-of and the pay & benefits IBC offers TSS is higher than that offered by most other agencies, so IBC has been very successful at recruiting and retaining highly educated and motivated TSS providers.  Licensed psychologists request authorization and bill at the lower “Masters Level” rate for Behavior Specialist services when they anticipate utilizing an unlicensed Behavior Specialist so that, if the psychologist needs to step in personally from time to time, there isn’t any problem with billing.

Compensation

IBC compensates its employees well in comparison to other providers of Behavioral Health Rehabilitation services.  TSS providers start at $15 hourly and can earn up to $19 hourly based on performance and education.  If travel to an assigned location requires one hour or more, TSS providers are paid $8 additionally for travel to the location.  Mobile Therapists receive $24 hourly, and Behavior Specialists $27 hourly (except in Philadelphia, where BSCs earn $35 hourly, but are required to have at least 2 years of post-graduate experience at the time of hire).  BSCs and MTs are paid 4% of their gross pay in addition as a tax-free reimbursement for gasoline expenses.

Fringe Benefits

IBC offers health insurance benefits including vision, dental and prescription benefits to staff who document 30 or more hours per week (a co-pay is required for health insurance) in addition to malpractice insurance, worker's compensation, unemployment, and a no-interest loan program.  Over-time is paid to TSS employees for work hours in excess of 40 in a week.  BSC providers are performing executive, administrative and/or professional services and are accordingly exempt from overtime regulations.  Paid Time Off (PTO) may be offered at the discretion of the Executive Director after 6 months of service have been delivered.  Up to 40 hours of PTO can be granted in a year.

In addition to a general orientation to IBC, (explained in detail via an employee handbook), a review of several fundamental “role and responsibility” documents obtained at various state-sponsored trainings is performed.  Copies are given to staff.  TSS providers receive 15 hours of pre-service training and three to six hours of observation before beginning to deliver services to children independently.  All staff receive 15 additional hours of training in Autism, in addition to 8 hours of orientation to IBC policies and procedures relevant to the delivery of TSS services.  IBC offers ongoing mentoring by TSS and BSC providers.  Our staff always have experienced, successful professionals at their disposal for support, including licensed psychologists, whenever it is needed.

Training and supervision

All staff are encouraged to strive to understand the child they’re working with, so that they can participate actively in the development of an effective, eclectic intervention program that addresses the most important needs of the child in the most efficient way possible.  IBC staff develop “intensive behavioral treatment” programs rather than more general treatment plans, and strive to include the child, the parent(s), all assigned IBC staff, and all other adults involved in the child’s life in the treatment planning process.  Treatment is monitored on a weekly basis from the parent's perspective and the child’s progress is charted graphically for review as necessary by parents, teachers, supervisors, and funding agency representatives.

IBC staff are encouraged to contact their Behavior Specialist and/or Licensed Psychologist supervisor at any time if they have any question about their work with a child in-between scheduled supervision meetings.  They understand that the licensed psychologist is accountable for all aspects of treatment delivered under the scope of his/her practice.  For children with Autism spectrum disorders, IBC staff sometimes use videotape to capture treatment sessions involving the parents, TSS providers and Behavior Specialists so that staff can all review each other’s work (as often as once weekly if progress is slower than expected).  Parents are encouraged to make other videotapes (including tapes of school-based programs) that are reviewed by the Behavior Specialist.  A Licensed Psychologist provides all of the psychological services in support of BHR Services delivered under the scope of his/her practice, so a psychologist is always integrally involved in the evaluation, planning, treatment and ongoing monitoring in each child’s case.  IBC complies with all mandated training for TSS and other providers, including 24 additional hours of training in the first six months of employment and at least 20 hours of continuing education for each TSS provider annually.  Our BSCs attend all of the "TSS" training too, so they fully understand the role and responsibilities of TSS providers.

All intern and practicum students are offered at least one hour of face-to-face supervision with a Licensed Psychologist each week, plus additional supervision by a unlicensed (Masters-level) Behavior Specialist as necessary. When staff require additional training or support, the Licensed Psychologist decides whether they need direct attention or the attention of an unlicensed Behavior Specialist. Licensed Psychologists are paid $50 hourly for their supervision activity, and $50 hourly for travel to assigned evaluation or supervision sites.  If a staff member is not actively involved in a practicum or internship, they receive at least one hour of face-to-face supervision from an unlicensed Behavior Specialist each week. 

Mobile Therapists and Behavior Specialists are supervised personally by a Licensed Psychologist. Additionally, the Licensed Psychologist monitors the performance of these staff via episodic consultations with families and school personnel.  Behavior Specialists collect behavioral data on clients from parents weekly and produce anecdotal and graphical summaries of the frequency and severity of target behavior.  These data are easily synchronized with ongoing records of all services provided.  The psychologist reviews behavior record data periodically in supervision sessions with Behavior Specialists. 

In addition to the training provided to staff via ongoing supervision, IBC provides specialized training seminars in various aspects of psychological assessment and treatment.  Planned and recently delivered seminars include sensitivity training for human service workers, depression, psychological testing, personality testing, mental retardation, EPSDT vs Wraparound history, and treatment via the DIR model (Greenspan) and Verbal Behavior model (Carbone) for children with Autistic spectrum disorders. 

For more than 25 years (before The Me Book was written), IBC staff have been working with children with autistic spectrum disorders to improve behavior, communication and socialization skills.  Building on the work of Greenspan, Lovaas, Carbone and others, our staff have created “Intensive Behavioral Treatment” programs that have been funded continuously by Managed Care Organizations throughout Chester, Delaware and Philadelphia counties since 1997.   Our highly trained and closely supervised staff consistently deliver the highest quality professional services, under the direct supervision of licensed psychologists and certified school psychologists.  No other organization offers comparable quality and expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of autistic spectrum disorders.

We are growing, and are seeking to expand our professional staff.  Our TSS providers must have a BA or BS degree.  Those with a BA or BS degree in Psychology or a closely related field require no prior experience working with children.  We provide ongoing and intensive training, and close supervision of all service providers.  Experienced TSS providers earn $15 to $19 hourly, with health insurance, paid time off, paid practicum opportunities, flexible schedules, and other benefits available. 

       The Institute for Behavior Change is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Send us E-mail with your Resume:  employment@ibc-pa.org