Hawaii saw 106 behavioral health providers in the latest CMS NPI registry update, with 16 new enrollments this week. This represents less than 1% of the national weekly total. Notably, these 16 new providers constitute a significant portion of the 17 total new providers added in Hawaii this year, signaling a recent concentrated push in workforce expansion.
ABA Workforce Dynamics
Within the applied behavior analysis (ABA) sector, the data shows 5 BCBA credentials and 17 RBT credentials. It is important to note that these categories are not mutually exclusive, as 1 individual holds both BCBA and RBT credentials, often signifying career progression or a comprehensive skill set. The ratio of RBTs to BCBAs, with more RBTs, suggests a developing foundational workforce of direct service providers. However, a lower number of BCBAs relative to RBTs could indicate a potential bottleneck in supervision capacity, which is vital for ensuring high-quality ABA therapy delivery and RBT professional development in Hawaii.
Provider Demographics
Of the 100 individual providers identified in this update, the workforce exhibits a near-even gender distribution: 49 are female, 48 are male, and 3 identify as nonbinary. This demographic breakdown offers insight into the composition of Hawaii's behavioral health professionals. No specific organizations appeared multiple times in this week's data, suggesting a diverse landscape of employers rather than dominance by a few large multi-state chains in this particular update.
The continued, albeit focused, growth in Hawaii's behavioral health professionals, particularly within the ABA segment, is essential for improving access to critical services and meeting the evolving workforce demands across the state.
