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Department of Mental Health commits corrective action plan to resolve shortcomings at Behavior Analyst licensing board
Summary
The Alabama Department of Mental Health told the Joint Sunset Committee it has accepted responsibility for administrative failures at the Behavior Analyst Licensing Board and submitted a corrective action plan with staffing, policy and training steps and a November deadline.
Officials from the Alabama Department of Mental Health and members of the Behavior Analyst Licensing Board told the Joint Sunset Committee that the board had lacked sufficient administrative support and that the department has moved to fix the problem.
Lauren Elliott, acting interim chair of the Behavior Analyst Licensing Board, and Collier Tynes Dixon, chief of staff for the Alabama Department of Mental Health, described delays in responding to information requests and difficulty assembling audit documentation because the board had operated with volunteers and no dedicated staff.
Dixon said the Department of Mental Health hired a staffer in May to answer phones and respond to emails and provided office space, IT, equipment and supplies. He said the department elevated the issue to the commissioner’s office, created a corrective action plan with three categories—policy and procedures, staffing, and training—and intends to have the plan completed by November 28. Dixon recommended adding an executive director position (possibly a part‑time retired state employee) and a shared administrative assistant to coordinate board functions. He said leadership will review progress at every leadership meeting until the deadline.
Committee members pressed for geography and representation on boards and asked whether the board should continue to exist. Department witnesses and board members said the board is necessary and committed to compliance; they noted the board’s small budget and limited prior staffing as part of the cause of the backlog.
No formal committee votes were recorded during the hearing; department officials requested that the committee bring the board back for follow‑up to review progress against the corrective action plan.
