Kansas saw 69 behavioral health providers added in the latest CMS NPI registry weekly update, with 36 new registrations this week. This represents 1% of the national total for the week, indicating a modest but consistent level of activity in the state's behavioral health sector. While not a large share, this steady influx contributes to the overall growth of the healthcare workforce in Kansas.
ABA Workforce Composition
Focusing on the applied behavior analysis (ABA) workforce, the data shows 3 BCBA credentials and 21 RBT credentials. It is important to note that these figures are not mutually exclusive, as one individual holds both BCBA and RBT credentials. This means there are 3 unique BCBAs and 21 unique RBTs. The resulting ratio of 7 RBTs for every BCBA is on the higher side, suggesting that while there is a good number of direct service providers, the supervisory capacity from BCBAs may be stretched, potentially impacting the scalability of ABA services.
Provider Demographics
Among the 59 individual providers, 80% are female (47 individuals), 10% are male (6 individuals), and 10% identify as nonbinary (6 individuals). This gender distribution aligns with broader trends observed in the behavioral health field. No specific organizations appeared multiple times in this week's new registrations, suggesting a diverse landscape of smaller practices or individual providers rather than dominant multi-state chains driving the growth.
The current data suggests a growing RBT workforce in Kansas, but the high RBT-to-BCBA ratio highlights a potential need for more BCBA-level professionals to ensure adequate supervision and expand access to quality ABA services across the state.
