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Questions to ask an ABA company before you sign
A printable interview list for Florida parents. This is not a recommendation to start ABA. It is the questions that keep a weak company from talking past you. Complements How to Choose and Vet an ABA Provider. Last verified: August 17, 2026.
What this is / who it is for
This playbook is for a parent who has a written diagnosis, or a referral, and is now sitting across from an ABA company. You need questions, not a sales script. You need red flags you can check against a public registry and a written plan.
It is not medical advice. It does not tell you to start, refuse, or continue ABA. That call is yours. Use the choosing-an-ABA-provider guide for credentials and the honest disagreement about ABA. Use this page as the interview list.
The short version
You are hiring a BCBA, even when an RBT is in the room most hours. Ask for names you can look up. Ask for the supervision schedule in writing. Do not sign before you watch a session.
The BACB supervision floor
An RBT must receive supervision for at least 5 percent of the hours they spend giving behavior-analytic services each calendar month. Supervision must include at least two face-to-face, real-time contacts per month. The supervisor must watch the RBT work with a client in at least one of those meetings. Phone and email do not count.
VerifiedSource: BACB Registered Behavior Technician Handbook, 2026 edition (official PDF) · How we verify
Florida Medicaid hour cap
Florida Medicaid covers up to 40 hours per week of behavior-analysis intervention when the authorized behavior plan supports it. Prior authorization is written for a period of up to six months. A company that promises more hours than the authorization can carry is selling a number the payer has not approved.
VerifiedSource: Florida Medicaid Behavior Analysis Services Coverage Policy, December 2024, sections 4.2.1–4.2.2 (AHCA) · How we verify
Supervision belongs in the plan
Florida Medicaid requires supervision of BCaBAs and RBTs in accordance with current Council of Autism Service Providers practice standards, and that supervision has to be written into the approved behavior plan.
VerifiedSource: Florida Medicaid Behavior Analysis Services Coverage Policy, December 2024, section 4.2.3 (AHCA) · How we verify
If a company will not put the BCBA name, the caseload, and the monthly supervision schedule on paper, you are done asking. Walk.
Red flags in the first conversation
One flag is a reason to slow down
These are process flags, not diagnoses of a company. Two or three is a reason to keep looking.
- All-new certs. Every RBT passed the exam last month, and the BCBA cannot name a supervisor who has stayed a year. New certificates are legal. A team with no one who has stayed is a turnover story.
- High turnover they will not discuss. Ask how many BCBAs and RBTs left this site in the last 12 months. A company that calls that question “not relevant” has told you the number is bad.
- Thin supervision they will not show. The BACB floor is 5 percent of monthly service hours, with two real-time contacts and one observation. If they cannot show a written supervision schedule for your child, treat the hours as unproven. Do not accept “we follow BACB” as the answer.
- Promised hours the authorization cannot support. A pitch that starts with a fixed 40-hour package before anyone has assessed your child is a sales package, not a plan.
- Pressure to sign before you observe a session. A company that says observation is “only after you enroll” is asking you to buy blind.
The choosing guide lists green signs and more red flags, including goals that treat harmless self-soothing as a problem. Read that before you tour a clinic.
The printable question list
Print this. Ask every company the same questions. Write the answers down. Compare later, not in the parking lot.
Credentials and who will actually see your child
- What is the full name of the BCBA who will supervise my child, and what is their BACB certification number so I can look them up on the public registry?
- How long has that BCBA worked at this site? How many children do they supervise right now?
- Who will be in the room for most of the hours, and are they an RBT in good standing? Can I have those names too?
- Will you give me the monthly supervision schedule in writing before I sign? How many minutes of BCBA observation will my child get in a typical month?
Hours, authorization, and the plan
- How do you decide hours? Are you recommending a number before you have assessed my child?
- If we use Florida Medicaid, how do you stay inside the authorized hours? What happens if the authorization is less than the number you just quoted?
- How often do you reassess, and who writes the updated behavior plan?
- Can I see a sample goal written in plain words, tied to something my child needs in daily life?
Respect, observation, and the right to leave
- Can I watch a session before I sign, and can I drop in after we start?
- What do you do when my child is crying, refusing, or clearly done? What does “assent” mean in this clinic?
- What are your discharge criteria? How will we know when hours should drop?
- If I want to switch companies, what records do you release, and how fast?
Access and cost
- Do you take my Medicaid plan or insurance? What is your current wait for an open slot?
- Who bills, and who do I call when a claim is denied?
Look up every named BCBA and RBT on the BACB Certificant Registry before you sign.
The request you can send after the tour
Subject: Written supervision and staffing details before enrollment, [Child’s initials]
Hello [clinic contact],
Thank you for the tour on [date]. Before we decide, please send in writing:
1. The full name and BACB certification number of the BCBA who would supervise [child].
2. That BCBA’s current caseload (number of children).
3. The monthly supervision schedule you would use for [child], including how often a BCBA will observe a session.
4. The hours you are recommending, and whether those hours are already authorized or only proposed.
5. Your policy on parent observation of sessions.
We will look up credentials on the BACB registry. We are not asking for a guarantee of progress. We are asking for the staffing plan.
Thank you,
[Name, phone, email]
What this is not
- It is not a recommendation to do ABA. Families disagree, and autistic-led groups have published real ethical concerns. The choosing guide covers that disagreement.
- It is not a way to “get more hours.” Hours follow the assessment and the authorization. Documents decide dollars.
- It is not medical or legal advice. For a dispute with a company or a payer, a licensed clinician or an attorney is the right help.
Common questions
Do I have to pick a company this week?
No. A waitlist is not a reason to skip the registry check or the observation. Ask how they hold a slot while you finish questions.
The BCBA on the brochure is not the one who would supervise my child. Is that normal?
It happens. Only the named supervisor counts. Look that person up.
Can I switch later without losing the authorization?
That depends on the payer and the plan. Ask the new and old companies, in writing, who files the transfer. We do not print a guaranteed lag or a guaranteed keep.
Sources
- BACB Registered Behavior Technician Handbook, 2026 edition: 5 percent monthly supervision, two real-time contacts, one observation
- BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts
- Florida Medicaid Behavior Analysis Services Coverage Policy, December 2024
- How to Choose and Vet an ABA Provider: credentials, CASP caseload ranges, the honest disagreement about ABA