Mississippi saw 26 behavioral health providers listed in the latest CMS NPI registry weekly update, representing 0% of the national total for the week. This very small contribution to the national workforce expansion suggests a limited immediate impact on the state's overall behavioral health capacity from this week's additions.
ABA Workforce Composition
Within the applied behavior analysis sector, the data shows 6 providers identified as Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs). It's important to note that while 1 provider explicitly listed "RBT" as their credential, the remaining RBTs were identified by their primary taxonomy. There were no new Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) or individuals holding dual BCBA+RBT credentials in this update. The absence of new BCBAs, who are crucial for supervision, alongside the small number of RBTs, points to a significant challenge in expanding ABA services and maintaining adequate supervision ratios in Mississippi.
Provider Demographics
Of the 18 individual providers included in this update, 11 (61%) are female, 4 (22%) are male, and 3 (17%) identify as nonbinary. The update also includes 8 organizations. No specific organizations appeared multiple times in this week's data, suggesting a diverse range of smaller entities or individual practices rather than large multi-state chains.
Overall, this week's data suggests that Mississippi faces an uphill battle in rapidly scaling its ABA workforce, particularly at the supervisory level, which could impact access to care for individuals requiring behavioral health support.
