Rhode Island saw 28 behavioral health providers added to the CMS NPI registry in the latest weekly update. This represents 0% of the national total, indicating a very small fraction of overall national growth. While the total number is modest, 10 providers were new this week, suggesting some ongoing expansion in the state's behavioral health workforce.
ABA Workforce Dynamics
Within the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) sector, Rhode Island's new additions include 2 BCBA credentials. Notably, there were no RBT credentials recorded this week, nor any individuals holding both BCBA and RBT credentials. The absence of new RBTs, who provide direct services under BCBA supervision, suggests that the state's ABA workforce growth is currently concentrated at the supervisory level. This limited growth in RBTs could impact the capacity for direct ABA service delivery, as BCBAs require RBTs to scale their services effectively.
Provider Demographics
Of the 25 individual providers, 20 (80%) are female, 4 (16%) are male, and 1 (4%) identifies as nonbinary. This gender distribution aligns with national trends in behavioral health, where women constitute a significant majority of the workforce. No specific organizations appeared multiple times in this week's data.
This snapshot indicates a modest but consistent addition of behavioral health professionals in Rhode Island, with a particular need for growth in direct service roles like RBTs to support ABA access.
