Delaware added 7 behavioral health providers in the latest CMS NPI registry weekly update, representing a negligible share of the national total. This modest influx suggests a limited expansion of the behavioral health workforce in the state during this period, particularly when compared to larger national trends.
ABA Workforce Composition
Focusing on applied behavior analysis, the update includes 3 Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs) but 0 Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs). This lack of new BCBA supervisors is a critical point, as RBTs require direct supervision from BCBAs to deliver ABA services. The data also shows 1 provider credentialed as a Licensed Professional Counselor of Mental Health (LPCMH). It's important to note that 3 providers in this update are associated with multiple taxonomies, meaning they may offer services under various categories, which can lead to overlapping service counts.
Provider Demographics
Of the 5 individual providers added this week, the workforce exhibits a clear gender distribution: 4 individuals, or 80%, are female, while 1 individual, or 20%, is male. In addition to individuals, 2 organizations were also added. No specific organizations appeared multiple times in this week's data, suggesting a mix of independent practices or smaller entities rather than dominant multi-state chains. The new providers are distributed across key Delaware cities, including Wilmington, Georgetown, Dover, and Milton.
The addition of RBTs without corresponding BCBA supervisors underscores a potential challenge for expanding supervised direct ABA service capacity in Delaware.
