May 05th, 2025

Prairie Doc Perspective Week of May 4th, 2025
SD BAND: Bridging Rural Behavioral Healthcare Needs in South Dakota 
By Ryan Groeneweg, Ed.S., BCBA
As a school psychologist working for a small public school, I remember a teacher asking me to observe a student in her classroom. She expressed concerns about an elementary student’s unusual behavior, lack of playing with classmates, lack of communication and even some unusual motor movements, including flapping her hands. This was in 2001, and I was experiencing my first referral for a student who would eventually receive an educational diagnosis of autism. 
 At that time, autism was considered rare, and providing educational support to meet their needs was challenging. I began to see a growing number of referrals, increasing communication and behavioral challenges, and came to realize that my training and experience as a school psychologist weren’t enough. In 2010, after completing the required coursework and supervision, and passing the National Behavior Analyst Certification Board examination, I began a career as a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) in South Dakota. At that time, fewer than 10 BCBA professionals were in South Dakota. 
Today, there are 88 active BCBAs registered in South Dakota, far below Minnesota (517), Iowa (282), and Nebraska (300). Even when compared to states with similar rural and frontier characteristics, South Dakota lags behind North Dakota (97), Montana (92), and Alaska (89). Currently, nationwide demand for behavior analysts is higher than ever. Annual nationwide demand for individuals holding BCBA certification has increased each year since 2010, with a striking 58% increase from 2023 to 2024. 
One major reason South Dakota has fallen behind was the absence of an in-state training program until 2021. Recognizing this critical gap, a partnership between the Public Health and Health Sciences programs in the University of South Dakota’s School of Health Sciences, the University of South Dakota’s Center for Disabilities, and LifeScape -a Sioux Falls-based non-profit organization- launched the Applied Behavior Analyst (ABA) two-year graduate program. This program aims to expand South Dakota’s behavioral health workforce and contribute essential public health services across the state.
Students who complete the USD ABA graduate program must independently complete 2,000 hours of ABA supervised fieldwork experience. When you consider that most BCBAs in South Dakota live near the state’s larger population centers, Sioux Falls and Rapid City, it’s apparent that those supervised fieldwork experience hours are mostly completed where supervision is available. This barrier creates limited access to BCBAs in rural communities but highlights a great opportunity: addressing disparities in access to specialists in rural areas. South Dakota continues to experience critical shortages of professionals trained to support individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities. 
The South Dakota Behavior Analyst Network Development (SD BAND) was formed to address the critical need for enhanced behavioral health services and the greater integration of BCBAs throughout the state, especially in underserved rural communities. This network of state partners includes the University of South Dakota (USD), Community Healthcare Association of the Dakotas (CHAD), South Dakota Department of Social Services (SD DSS), South Dakota Department of Human Services (SD DHS), and the Community Support Providers of South Dakota (CSPSD). SD BAND is tasked with expanding the presence and collaboration of BCBAs within community health centers and other health care settings across South Dakota, to raise awareness among health care providers, adult service providers, and the broader community about the crucial role of BCBAs, and to facilitate their integration into existing service delivery options. 
Ryan Groeneweg, Ed.S., BCBA, Mr. Groeneweg has been the Director of Community Education at the USD Center for Disabilities since January 2019. In this role, he is the principal investigator (PI) for the South Dakota Department of Education Training and Technical Assistance Grant (2019 to present), and the South Dakota State Autism Grant (2019 to present). He is also an assistant professor at the USD School of Medicine and the program director for the USD School of Health Science Master in Health Science, with a Specialization in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and the USD ABA Certificate Graduate program. Follow The Prairie Doc® at www.prairiedoc.org, and on social media. Watch On Call with the Prairie Doc, most Thursday’s at 7PM streaming on Facebook and listen to Prairie Doc Radio Sunday’s at 6am and 1pm.