Standard 3.02: Honesty with the BACB and your supervisor
RBTs are honest and accurate in every communication with the BACB and their supervisor. If they learn they gave the BACB inaccurate or false information, they contact the BACB immediately to correct it; if they gave it to their supervisor or employer, they contact them immediately to correct it and work out whether a self-report to the BACB is needed.
What it means in practice
Communications with the BACB include your certification application, competency assessment documentation, recertification applications, responses to audits and self-reports. Communications with your supervisor include your data, notes, time records and answers to their questions.
The standard covers honest mistakes as well as deliberate falsehoods. Once you realize something you submitted was wrong, the duty to correct it starts "immediately". Don't wait to see whether anyone notices.
The two correction routes differ. Inaccurate information sent to the BACB is corrected directly with the BACB. Inaccurate information sent to a supervisor or employer is corrected with them, and you also decide whether the situation needs to be self-reported to the BACB (see 3.04).
Scenarios
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| After submitting your certification application, you realize you entered the wrong completion date for your 40-hour training. | Contact the BACB immediately to correct the date. |
| You notice that last week's time sheet overstated one session by an hour. | Tell your supervisor or employer right away so the record and any billing can be corrected, and decide with your supervisor whether the situation needs to be self-reported to the BACB. |
| Your supervisor asks whether you ran a client's reading program every day this week, and you skipped two days. | Tell the truth and explain why. Accurate information is what your supervisor needs to make good decisions about the plan. |
Practice questions
-
Question 1After entering today's data, an RBT notices they typed 12 instances of aggression when the data sheet shows 2. What should the RBT do?
Show answer
B: Fix it using the organization's procedure and tell the supervisor. RBTs must keep documentation accurate. A known error is corrected through the organization's correction procedure, and the supervisor is told so decisions are not based on the wrong value.
- A: Leaving a known error in place keeps the record inaccurate; errors are corrected through the proper procedure.
- C: Deleting the session removes accurate information along with the error; only the wrong value needs correcting.
- D: Corrections should be made openly through the organization's procedure, not quietly.
Task A.4 · 40-hour curriculum section C · RBT Ethics Code 2.02 · RBT Ethics Code 3.02
-
Question 2An RBT realizes that for the past week they delivered reinforcement on a different schedule than the plan specifies. What should the RBT do?
Show answer
A: Tell the supervisor promptly, explain what happened, and follow their direction. The supervisor needs to know about implementation errors to interpret the data correctly and decide what to do. RBTs are honest and accurate with their supervisor and correct mistakes openly.
- B: Deleting data without the supervisor's direction hides information the supervisor needs.
- C: Without being told, the supervisor will read that week's data as if the plan had been followed.
- D: Changing data to what might have happened is falsification.
Task A.8 · RBT Ethics Code 3.02 · RBT Ethics Code 2.02
-
Question 3An RBT realizes that last week they entered one client's data into another client's record. What should the RBT do?
Show answer
B: Tell the supervisor and correct it the proper way. RBTs are honest and accurate with their supervisor and in documentation. If they find an error, they report it and correct it in the way the organization requires (Standards 2.02 and 3.02).
- A: Wrong data in two records can lead to wrong decisions for two clients.
- C: Deleting data destroys the record and is not an acceptable correction.
- D: Fixing it without telling the supervisor hides an error that may have affected decisions.
Task E.2 · RBT Ethics Code 2.02 · RBT Ethics Code 3.02
-
Question 4A supervisor tells an RBT to stop recording data for the rest of the month because the clinic is short-staffed. The RBT believes this harms the client. What should the RBT do first?
Show answer
B: Raise it with the supervisor and document the conversation. The Ethics Code says RBTs first bring a concern to the supervisor's attention and document what they do. If it cannot be resolved, they take it to the appropriate authority.
- A: The first step is to raise it with the supervisor; reporting comes if it is not resolved.
- C: Going along silently may harm the client.
- D: Ignoring the direction without discussing it is not honest communication with the supervisor.
Task E.2 · RBT Ethics Code 2.02 · RBT Ethics Code 3.02 · 40-hour curriculum section F
Answer every question to see your score.
Where it sits in the code
Standard 3.02 is in section 3, Responsibilities to the BACB and BACB-Required Supervisor, of the RBT Ethics Code (2.0). On the exam it relates to task F.1 Core ethics principles. Read the official text for the exact wording.
Related standards: 1.01 Honesty and following the rules, 2.02 Following direction, accurate implementation and documentation, 3.04 Self-reporting to the BACB.