The National ABA Service Quality Network (NASQN) was founded on a simple but powerful idea: the quality of ABA services depends on the quality of the systems that produce clinical decisions.

 

For decades, behavior analysts have generated an impressive body of research validating assessments and interventions that improve the lives of individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities. Yet comparatively little attention has been devoted to the systems, processes, contingencies, and quality assurance practices that determine whether those evidence-based interventions are implemented effectively and consistently in real-world service settings.

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NASQN exists to help close that gap. We believe that high-quality outcomes do not occur simply because individual practitioners make good decisions. Rather, high-quality outcomes are more likely when organizations intentionally design systems that support good decision making. These systems include practitioner preparation, supervision, treatment planning, protocol modification, quality assurance, performance management, outcomes measurement, and organizational leadership. By strengthening the systems that produce clinical decisions, organizations can improve the quality, consistency, and effectiveness of the services they provide.

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Our work is informed by a growing body of scholarship focused on ABA service delivery quality, quality assurance, organizational behavior management, and cultural selection. This research suggests that quality is not an accident—it is the product of well-designed systems that align professional practices, organizational processes, and stakeholder expectations toward better outcomes. NASQN advances this vision by supporting research, developing practical resources, facilitating professional collaboration, and promoting the dissemination of evidence-based quality improvement practices throughout the ABA community.

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Ultimately, our mission is to help build a future in which ABA organizations are equipped not only with effective interventions, but also with the quality infrastructure necessary to deliver those interventions with excellence, accountability, and measurable impact. We believe that advancing the science and practice of quality assurance is one of the most important opportunities facing our profession today, and NASQN exists to help lead that work.

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References

These publications represent an ongoing research program focused on understanding how organizational systems, quality assurance practices, and clinical decision-making processes interact to influence the quality of ABA services and outcomes. NASQN serves as a bridge between this emerging science and the practitioners, organizations, and stakeholders working to improve service quality in the real world.

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Silbaugh, B. C., & El Fattal, J. (2022). Exploring quality in the ABA service delivery industry. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 15(4), 1010–1021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-021-00648-5

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Silbaugh, B. C. (2023). Discussion and conceptual analysis of four group contingencies for behavioral process improvement in an ABA service delivery quality. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 16, 421–436. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-022-00750-4

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Silbaugh, B. C. (2024). Quality Control for Behavior Analysts: How to Manage Behavioral Intervention Quality in Autism Service Settings, Routledge.

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Silbaugh, B. C. (2026). Quality assurance concepts in applied behavior analysis for clinical supervision. Behavior Analysis in Practice. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-026-01178-w

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Silbaugh, B. C. (under review). Towards a framework for conducting quality assurance research in ABA autism service organizations. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management.

 

Silbaugh, B. C. (in progress). What is a protocol modification? A behavior-analytic conceptual analysis of CPT code 97155. Behavior Analysis in Practice.