Maryland's behavioral health sector saw 194 new providers in the latest CMS NPI registry update, representing 4% of the national weekly total. This consistent influx indicates a steady expansion of the state's behavioral health workforce, signaling ongoing demand for services.
ABA Workforce Composition
Within the applied behavior analysis field, the update includes 149 Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs) and 4 Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs). It is important to note that no providers in this update held dual BCBA and RBT credentials, which typically signifies career progression. The significant ratio of RBTs to BCBAs, approximately 37-to-1, highlights a potential bottleneck in supervision capacity, which is crucial for RBTs to deliver services and for their career advancement. The overall total also includes other behavioral health professionals, with 12 providers listing multiple taxonomies.
Provider Demographics
Among the 174 individual providers, the workforce shows a clear gender distribution: 120 (69%) are female, 31 (18%) are male, and 23 (13%) identify as nonbinary. On the organizational side, 20 new entities were registered, with Oriented Healthcare, LLC and Living Faith Health LLC each appearing twice, suggesting their active role in workforce expansion.
This data suggests a robust pipeline of direct service providers in Maryland's ABA sector, but also underscores the urgent need for increased BCBA certifications to meet supervision requirements and support the professional growth of its RBT workforce, ultimately impacting access to quality ABA services.
