The short version
- Check every credential yourself. The BACB Certificant Registry lists RBTs, BCaBAs and BCBAs and shows whether each is active, inactive or expired.
- Ask for goals your child can reach and measure, a written treatment plan, supervision hours and criteria for reducing or ending services.
- Walk away from flat hour minimums, goals aimed only at compliance, withholding food, toys or other basics, and a team that rotates constantly.
- HB26-1425 creates state licensing for ABA clinics and for behavior analysts. Analysts must be licensed from July 1, 2028. Ask each clinic where it stands on licensing.
- A good provider can explain the plan, show you data and accept a no from your child.
Choosing an ABA provider in Aurora means judging a team, a plan and a set of habits, not just a clinic’s website. The checks below help you separate a careful provider from a risky one before your child starts.
How do I check credentials?
Start with the BACB Certificant Registry. You can search by name or certification number, choose RBT, BCaBA, BCBA or BCBA-D, and filter by active, inactive or expired status.
Check three people: the BCBA who wrote your child’s plan, the BCBA who will supervise the team, and, once assigned, the technician. Registered Behavior Technicians do the daily hands-on work. CASP’s practice guidelines say technicians should get specific, formal training before treating a client, and that cases should be matched to a technician’s skill and experience. HCPF’s emergency rule page says staff delivering Medicaid pediatric behavioral therapy must be properly trained, certified and supervised.
What should I ask on the first call?
| Topic | Question | What a good answer sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | Can I see a sample treatment plan? | Measurable goals, baseline data, setting, hours and when services will be reviewed |
| Goals | Who picks the goals? | You do, with the BCBA, and your child’s preferences count |
| Hours | How do you decide how many hours? | Based on assessment and response, not a set package |
| Supervision | How often does a BCBA watch my child’s sessions? | Regular direct observation, not occasional check-ins |
| Team | Who will work with my child, and how often do staff change? | A small, steady team and a plan for transitions |
| Parent role | How will you train me? | Scheduled caregiver training with clear skills |
| Safety | What do you do when my child says no or is upset? | A plan that starts with the least intrusive step |
| Ending | When would you reduce or stop services? | Written criteria tied to goals |
A treatment plan with these pieces is also where Colorado’s rulemaking is heading. HCPF’s draft rule says a plan must include individualized, measurable, functionally based goals, baseline data, interventions, frequency and duration of services, caregiver training when appropriate and objective criteria for continuing, reducing, transitioning or ending services. It is a draft, but it is a fair checklist today.
On supervision, CASP calls two hours of case supervision for every 10 hours of direct treatment the general standard of care. At 10 hours a week or less, it says a minimum of two hours a week is generally required.
What are the red flags?
A flat minimum number of hours. If a clinic will only accept your child at a fixed number of hours, ask why. On Colorado Public Radio, the state’s Medicaid director listed requiring families to commit to a minimum number of hours among the practices HCPF considers inappropriate. CASP’s guidelines say hours should be raised or lowered based on how a child responds. See how many hours of ABA for the ranges.
Compliance-only goals. Goals such as “sits quietly,” “makes eye contact on command” or “follows all instructions” with no link to communication, independence or safety deserve a question: what skill does this give my child? The BACB ethics code says behavior analysts involve clients and relevant stakeholders in selecting goals, and HCPF’s draft rule excludes therapy for non-clinical behavior goals, such as etiquette, from coverage.
Food, toys or comfort items held back. Ask directly whether meals, snacks, the bathroom, a comfort item or a favorite toy are ever withheld until your child complies. The ethics code tells behavior analysts to prioritize positive reinforcement and to minimize risk of harm. It allows restrictive or punishment-based procedures only after less intrusive means have failed, or when the intervention team judges the risk of harm to be greater, and with required review. If the answer is yes or vague, leave.
No room for “no.” The ethics code says behavior analysts are responsible for obtaining a client’s assent when it applies, meaning a sign of willingness to take part. Ask what the team does when your child leaves, cries or refuses. A good answer includes a way for your child to ask for a break.
High staff turnover. A child learns from relationships. Ask how many different technicians your child will see in the first three months, who covers when someone is out, and how a new technician is trained on your child’s plan. CASP says a technician must be prepared for the client’s protocols before starting.
Billing for non-therapy time. HCPF’s draft rule lists custodial care, such as nap time and lunch time, as not covered, while teaching self-help, daily living or safety skills during those times still counts as covered therapy. If a clinic proposes billing Medicaid for naps, ask why.
Pressure to leave school. The draft rule says a provider shall not require or recommend that a child withdraw from school, reduce required attendance or move to home instruction only to fit the provider’s preferred schedule. See Aurora Public Schools and Cherry Creek for how outside providers work with the district.
Pressure to sign on the first call. A clinic that is confident in its plan will give you a day to compare.
What does Colorado’s new ABA licensing law mean for me?
HB26-1425 was signed in June 2026. Its bill summary says it creates a Colorado behavior analyst licensing board. From July 1, 2028, nobody may practice or offer ABA in Colorado without a license, subject to exemptions. Applicants must hold a valid certification in good standing, complete a fingerprint-based criminal history check and carry professional liability insurance. Assistant behavior analysts must work under a licensed behavior analyst.
The act also directs the Department of Human Services to set licensing standards for ABA clinics. The summary says facilities that meet the amended day treatment facility definition must submit an application by August 1, 2026 and be licensed before August 1, 2027. The 2027 date concerns clinics and the 2028 date concerns analysts, so ask each clinic whether it has applied for or holds a clinic license and whether its analysts expect to be licensed. A missing license today is not proof of a problem, but a clinic should be able to tell you its plan.
The act also addresses Medicaid payment for services by certified behavior technicians.
What if something feels wrong?
Ask for a meeting with the BCBA and the clinic director. Write down what you saw. You can pause services, switch providers or call HCPF’s Member Contact Center at 1-800-221-3943 if you are on Health First Colorado. A new Medicaid provider needs its own approval request, so ask for your child’s records and treatment plan before you leave. For help comparing options, see what to expect from an ABA assessment and the first 90 days after a diagnosis.
Our in-clinic ABA team is glad to answer every question in the table above, and we take all major insurance, including Medicaid, with no waitlist and starts within two weeks of approval. Contact us to ask for a sample treatment plan.
Sources
- BACB, Certificant Registry
- BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts (updated August 2024)
- CASP, Applied Behavior Analysis Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Practice Guidelines (2nd edition)
- Colorado General Assembly, HB26-1425 Applied Behavior Analysis Services
- HCPF, Pediatric Behavioral Therapy draft rule update (Section 8.281), September 2026
- HCPF, Emergency Rule: Pediatric Behavioral Therapy (PBT) Providers Stakeholder Meeting
- Colorado Public Radio, Parents and advocates warn of consequences from proposed cuts to autism therapy
- HCPF, Pediatric Behavioral Therapies (member page and provider list)
- HCPF Policy Memo PM 25-005, Pediatric Behavioral Therapy Policy Clarification