Tennessee added 102 behavioral health providers to the CMS NPI registry in the latest weekly update, representing 1% of the national total. A significant portion of this activity, 64 providers, were new this week, contributing to the 70 new providers registered in the state this year. This concentration of recent registrations suggests a rapid expansion of the provider base, with 90 individuals and 12 organizations joining the workforce.
Credential Mix and Supervision Capacity
Focusing on ABA-relevant credentials, Tennessee saw 11 BCBA professionals and 34 RBT individuals register. Notably, 1 provider held dual BCBA and RBT credentials, meaning this individual is counted in both totals. Excluding this dual-credentialed professional, this suggests a ratio of approximately 3.3 RBTs for every BCBA. This ratio is lower than the broader industry's typical 8-10:1 RBT-to-BCBA supervision standard, indicating a potentially favorable supervision capacity within the state that could support quality ABA service delivery.
Workforce Demographics
The individual provider data reveals a predominantly female workforce, with 75 female providers accounting for 83%. Male providers totaled 10, or 11%, while 5 providers identified as nonbinary, making up 6%. No specific organizations appeared multiple times in this update, suggesting a diverse and perhaps fragmented organizational landscape rather than dominance by large multi-state chains.
This data indicates a growing behavioral health workforce in Tennessee, with a strong recent influx of new providers and a potentially healthy BCBA-to-RBT ratio that could enhance access to ABA services across the state.
