South Dakota registered 15 behavioral health providers in the latest CMS NPI registry weekly update, representing 0% of the national total. This indicates a relatively small influx of new providers in a state with a more modest behavioral health market, suggesting that growth in behavioral health services may be gradual.
ABA Workforce Composition
Within the applied behavior analysis (ABA) sector, South Dakota saw 2 BCBA credentials and 2 RBT credentials. It is important to note that these figures are not mutually exclusive, as 1 individual holds both BCBA and RBT credentials. This 1:1 ratio of RBTs to BCBAs is unusually low for typical ABA service delivery models, where one BCBA often supervises multiple RBTs. This suggests either a very nascent ABA workforce, a focus on direct BCBA-led services, or a limited capacity for scaling supervised RBT teams, potentially impacting the availability of entry-level ABA services.
Provider Demographics and Key Employers
Of the 10 individual providers registered, 90% are female and 10% are male, a gender distribution that aligns with broader trends in the behavioral health field. Among organizations, the Great Plains Tribal Chairmen's Health Board appeared 2 times in the new registrations, indicating its active presence in the state's provider landscape.
The modest number of new providers and the unique BCBA-to-RBT ratio suggest that South Dakota's ABA workforce is still in an early growth phase, potentially impacting the breadth of service access across the state.
