SPONSOR OF THE MONTH: SUPPORTIVE BEHAVIOR SERVICES

INTERVIEW BY: NICOLE LANGUELL PHOTOS BY: LUCY FLUELLEN

Okay Joaquin, tell me about yourself, what was your journey to get here?

“Yeah, my absolute least favorite question ever. Let’s see, I am in my 30s and I am from Lafayette. I went to Indiana State University for my undergrad and graduate degrees. I began as a behavior consultant a long time ago and continue to practice to this day. Eventually I worked myself up to becoming an agency director and further learned and grew, which set the stage for me to build SBS. These days I oversee SBS, co-own an aba center (Indiana Full Spectrum Therapies), and host the IBA podcast, which has been an exciting challenge for me.”

Can you tell me about Supportive Behavior Services (SBS) and its mission as a company?

“Supportive Behavior Services is an Indiana Medicaid Waiver provider of Behavior Management services. Of course, in my opinion, we are the premier behavior provider that is leading the way in the industry. When I opened SBS, one of the founding principles was that Behavior Management would be the only service we will provide. This is so that we can stay focused at being the best at what we know and not venture into other services that we are not qualified in. We are statewide and have the best behavior consultants spanning all 92 counties of Indiana, providing behavior services for almost 1000 individuals that we are fortunate enough to serve. When this is published, we will likely be approaching or have reached 100 behavior consultants across

Indiana. Our primary mission is to do the best by the behavior consultants. Then they will do the best by the individuals we serve. That is how it should be.”

One thing I have been wondering, is how have you managed to pay Behavior Consultants (BCs) so much more in comparison to other companies in your industry?

“Ah yes, I get asked that one frequently. Simply put, I think they could pay more, but do not. In this very specific industry, I believe we have also identified a lot of unnecessary expenses that are made and cut them out. We serve the Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waivers and that means we provide our services in the individuals’ homes or with them in the community. We do not have a need for large buildings or offices which go unused. A typical day as a BC starts from home, then the BC goes out to see some of their individuals that day, then returns to their home to complete their paperwork. Occasionally they may need to hit the office for some printing, but we phased that out by paying everyone better so they can access printing right from home. SBS has modernized its service delivery and cut back on so many conventional, but unnecessary expenses, which directly turns into higher pay.

The reimbursement rate for our service, from the Medicaid Waiver, is $72.80 per billable hour and was set back in the early 2000s. We certainly feel the industry is due for a rate increase after all this time, but it has not happened yet. So, to lead the way and set a higher standard of pay for BCs, SBS pays clinicians up to 90% of the reimbursement rate, which is $65.52 per billable hour. We pay the best because it is the right thing to do and we pay in percentages, so when the reimbursement rate goes up, the BCs pay will also go up.”

Without a central hub, like an office, how are you creating a sense of community for the Behavior Consultants of SBS?

“I must admit, with as many clinicians as we have and how we are spread across the entire state, it can be difficult. I will say, to bring team cohesion together, the wonderful Regional Directors at SBS work on various ways to stay connected, like smaller team meetings. We also put on regular trainings and workshops the whole company is invited to, but not obligated to attend via Zoom. Additionally, we created the

Indiana Behavior Association, a professional association for behavior consultants from all agencies to come together for monthly continuing education units (CEUs) and for quarterly association meetings. Truthfully, it does vary. There are BCs that want to be more involved and there are those who want to do their own thing, they do their job, complete their paperwork, and they are good. We treat master-level clinicians with the dignity, autonomy, and respect they should be treated with. We let them decide and we really see them thrive in this environment we have been lucky enough to create.”

Okay Joaquin, tell me what sets SBS apart from the hundreds of competitors in Indiana?

“One of the things I pride myself on, is the fact that I am still a practicing clinician. Although being the executive director dominates my schedule, I still serve individuals and write behavior support plans. Every director at SBS is a practicing clinician that sees individuals, writes plans, and is in the field just like all of us. Currently, we do not have anyone working for SBS that is not a clinician. That is what certainly separates us, everyone is in the field, they see what is going on, they know the difficulties, the barriers, and the wonderful things happening out there. I believe because of those things, we are outperforming, outinnovating, and out-recruiting our competitors.”

“I also have been very outspoken about the use of non-competition clauses and restrictive covenants that many of our competitors use. We do not and will never bind any of our clinicians or families with these highly problematic covenants. A family here in Indiana could be working with a great clinician for the last 5 years, having made great progress with their child, but the clinician may be struggling with low pay as costs of living continues to rise. If that agency is not paying well, the behavior consultant may look elsewhere to continue to practice and be paid significantly better. But then the family receiving services will lose this clinician because of those restrictive covenants (and agencies often send cease & desists, threatening to sue the BC). Families should ask agencies if they use these restrictive covenants when selecting an agency so they can make truly informed decisions. These practices have been long standing and negatively impacting the Indiana disabilities industry for years. We are working diligently to usher in a better and more equitable era of behavior management services for Indiana.”

SBS is a proud member of the Indiana Behavior Association. (www.IndianaBehaviorAssociation.com).

Business Contact Information

765-337-1895

108 W. Washington St. Waynetown, IN 47990

https://www.supportivebehaviorservices.com/ SBSMain2020@gmail.com