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Originally posted to http://www.abapracticesig.org/pr06.htm

01/05/2008 12:39:23 PM -0600

Letter from Mike Dorsey:

Dear Colleagues,

I am writing to request your written endorsement of the attached bill.

  As you may be aware, there has been a bill submitted to the MA

legislature every session for the past 20+ years which would place an

outright ban the use of any type of punishment procedure in agencies

funded by the Commonwealth.  This bill has been come to be known as the

"Anti-Aversives Bill."  While many Behavior Analysts in MA have fought

to block the passage of this bill over the years, it appears to have a

real chance of passage this year due to the negative publicity

 regarding the use of punishment in MA.  As a compromise, several of us have

 worked to develop a bill (see attached -- the "Level IV Bill") with the

 support and guidance of Rep. John Scibak and Sen. Bryan Joyce, which we fell is

a good compromise.  This bill both protects a persons Right to an

Effective Treatment as adopted by the Association for Behavior Analysis

and, at the same time, acts to protect their human rights by providing

appropriate professional oversight over the use of such techniques.

 This bill enjoys the support of a large number of the members of both

the MA House of Representatives and Senate, as well as many of the

state advocacy organizations.

I, and several others, will be testifying on January 15, 2008 and

would like to be able to provide evidence in the form of written

letters of support (either personally or on your business letterhead) for the

adoption of this bill from practitioners in the field of ABA, parents,

or other interested parties.  As such, please consider sending me a

letter (attached to an email addressed to: mfdorsey@comcast.net) in

this regard.

Thank You for your time,

Mike

Michael F. Dorsey, Ph.D., BCBA