Standard 1.06: Competence
RBTs begin providing services only after their supervisor confirms they have shown competence, and they keep evaluating that competence with their supervisor. If they are asked to do something beyond the scope of their certification or their competence, they tell their supervisor or another appropriate person at work right away and document it.
What it means in practice
Competence is shown, not assumed. Before certification, the Initial Competency Assessment confirms you can perform core tasks. After that, whenever you take on a new procedure, client or setting, your supervisor should confirm you can carry it out accurately, usually through instruction, modeling, rehearsal and feedback with observation.
The code separates two limits. Your scope of certification is what an RBT may do at all; designing plans, conducting assessments on your own and changing goals fall outside it. Your scope of competence, defined in the code's glossary as the services you "can accurately carry out", is narrower and personal: a procedure may suit an RBT in general but still be one you have not been trained in.
Competence is ongoing. Skills drift, so work with your supervisor to keep checking your implementation, for example through observations and agreement checks on your data.
When a request crosses either line, act immediately. Tell your supervisor, or another appropriate person at your workplace if the supervisor is the one making the request, and document it: the date, who asked, what was asked and what you said.
Scenarios
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| Your supervisor emails you a new toilet-training protocol and asks you to start it tomorrow, but you have never been trained on it. | Tell your supervisor you have not been trained on the protocol and ask for training, such as a model and a chance to practice with feedback, before you start. Keep a record of the request. |
| The clinic director, who is not a behavior analyst, asks you to complete a new client's intake assessment and write their goals. | Explain that this is outside the RBT role. Inform your supervisor immediately and document the request and your response. |
| An agreement check shows your data on a client's interval recording differs a lot from your supervisor's. | Share the result openly, ask your supervisor for retraining on the recording procedure, and practice until your data agree reliably. |
Practice questions
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Question 1An RBT is unsure how to carry out a step in a newly added procedure. What is the best action to protect procedural fidelity?
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B: Ask the supervisor to clarify or demonstrate the step before using it. Fidelity depends on knowing exactly what the plan requires. RBTs do not use procedures they have not been trained on, and they go to their supervisor when anything is unclear.
- A: An outside description may not match the plan the supervisor wrote.
- C: Silently skipping a step is a fidelity error the supervisor would not know about.
- D: Another client's plan may differ in important details.
Task A.8 · RBT Ethics Code 2.04 · RBT Ethics Code 1.06
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Question 2A supervisor asks an RBT to help give a skills assessment that the RBT has never been trained on. What should the RBT do?
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D: Ask the supervisor for training before giving the assessment. RBTs provide services only after their supervisor has confirmed their competence, and they do not use unfamiliar procedures without proper training.
- A: A video alone is not training with the supervisor confirming competence.
- B: Errors in giving an assessment can make the results unusable.
- C: Handing the assessment to a caregiver does not solve the training gap and is not the RBT's decision.
Task B.2 · 40-hour curriculum section D · RBT Ethics Code 1.06 · RBT Ethics Code 2.04
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Question 3A supervisor adds a new discrete-trial program, and the RBT is not sure how to run its error-correction steps. What should the RBT do?
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C: Ask the supervisor for training before running it. RBTs use procedures only after they have been trained on them, and they bring questions to their supervisor. Asking for training first protects the client and the data.
- A: Guessing from another program may not match how this program is written.
- B: Online sources may not match the client's plan; the supervisor gives direction.
- D: Skipping a program without telling the supervisor leaves the plan unimplemented.
Task C.3 · RBT Ethics Code 2.04 · RBT Ethics Code 1.06
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Question 4A new plan for a child's escape-maintained behavior includes physical guidance to complete tasks. The RBT has never been trained in that guidance procedure. What should the RBT do?
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C: Tell the supervisor and get training before using the guidance. RBTs use only procedures they have been trained in and found competent at. When a plan includes something new, the RBT tells the supervisor and gets training first.
- A: Using an unfamiliar procedure without training risks harm and poor fidelity.
- B: Allowing breaks after protests changes the plan and reinforces escape.
- D: Handing a procedure to a caregiver is not the RBT's decision and does not solve the training gap.
Task D.4 · 40-hour curriculum section E · RBT Ethics Code 2.04 · RBT Ethics Code 1.06
Answer every question to see your score.
Where it sits in the code
Standard 1.06 is in section 1, General Responsibilities, of the RBT Ethics Code (2.0). On the exam it relates to task F.2 Practicing within your competence, task F.4 Effective supervision practices. Read the official text for the exact wording.
Related standards: 2.04 Unfamiliar interventions and populations, 2.05 Restrictive and punishment-based procedures, 1.03 Working in a defined role under supervision.