Alaska saw 31 total behavioral health providers added in the latest CMS NPI registry update, with 12 new registrations this week. This represents 0% of the national total, indicating a very small fraction of the weekly national growth in behavioral health professionals. The state added 28 individual providers and 3 organizations, primarily concentrated in cities like Anchorage, Wasilla, and Kenai.
ABA Workforce Composition and Other Credentials
Within the applied behavior analysis (ABA) sector, the data shows 6 RBT credentials but critically, 0 BCBA credentials. This complete absence of new BCBA registrations, who are responsible for supervising RBTs and designing ABA treatment plans, highlights a significant gap in the state's supervisory capacity. Without BCBAs, RBTs cannot practice independently, severely limiting the potential for expanding ABA services. There were no individuals holding dual BCBA+RBT credentials. Beyond ABA, the state also registered 3 LCSWs, 1 LPC-S, 1 PSYD, and 1 M.A., CDC-I, contributing to the broader behavioral health landscape.
Provider Demographics
The individual provider workforce in Alaska is predominantly female, with 23 individuals (82%) identifying as female and 5 individuals (18%) as male. This gender distribution aligns with established patterns observed across the broader behavioral health sector. No organizations appeared multiple times in this week's data, suggesting a dispersed or nascent organizational growth pattern.
The lack of new BCBA registrations, despite some RBT additions, suggests significant challenges for expanding ABA access in Alaska, underscoring a critical need for strategic initiatives to attract and retain board-certified supervisors to meet the state's behavioral health demands.
