Americans for Autism Advocacy Calls on Indiana General Assembly and Attorney General to Strengthen Background Check Process for Autism Technicians in The Hoosier State

The Indianapolis Star reported on Monday  that a woman with a previous felony conviction for child neglect was working at an Autism clinic in the Indianapolis area for nearly two years.

Mary Strikwerda, under her former last name Corrigan, was convicted of felony child neglect in 2005.  Ms. Strikwerda (née Corrigan) was sentenced by a Marion County (IN) circuit judge to one year of house arrest, one year probation, and 250 hours of community service.  Ms. Strikwerda began working for Autism Companion Services in Indianapolis in 2021 as an applied behavioral analysis (ABA) Technician.  Ms. Strikwerda elevated to operations coordinator until her firing in December 2023.   Staff for Autism Companion Services told The Indianapolis Star that an outsourced company failed to background check  Ms. Strikwerda under her former name before marriage.

Autism or ABA Technicians have not been required to hold a state license in Indiana.  They are required to seek certification from the Behavior Analyst Certification Board which is a private organization.  The Indiana General Assembly passed legislation in 2021 that will soon require Autism technicians to be licensed by the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency.    Americans for Autism Advocacy calls on the Indiana General Assembly along with Attorney General Todd Rokita (R-Indiana) to strengthen the background check process on Autism technicians in Indiana during the 2025 legislative session. This is important given that Indiana will soon require professional licensing of ABA’s.  Neurodiverse Hoosiers and their families should have every assurance that all Autism technicians in Indiana are not just competent but must have the highest standards of character.  The responsibility of the Indiana state government is to ensure all individuals in a position of trust with the neurodiversity community have met that standard.  It is up to the General Assembly and Attorney General Rokita to ensure another situation like what happened with Autism Companion Services does not ever happen again.