How to choose an ABA provider in Colorado: red flags

To choose an ABA provider in Colorado, start with three practical filters: does the provider serve your address, does it take your coverage and can it staff the hours your child needs. Then check the supervising analyst’s certification, ask how the provider builds goals and handles hard moments, and watch for warning signs such as hours set before an assessment or rewards like food withheld as a routine tactic. Colorado will not license ABA clinics until August 1, 2027, or behavior analysts until July 1, 2028, so for now most of the checking is up to you.

Our Colorado ABA directory lists 83 providers across 25 cities. Results appear in a rotating random order that stays the same within a day. The order is not a ranking or a recommendation, and we do not rate providers.

The short version

Narrow the list by address, coverage and setting first. A provider that cannot serve your home or take your plan is not an option, however good it sounds.
Look up the supervising BCBA in the BACB Certificant Registry. It shows certification status and published disciplinary actions.
Ask who owns the company, who supervises your child and how often, and how many technicians a family typically works with in a year.
The BACB ethics code says behavior analysts prioritize positive reinforcement and use restrictive or punishment-based procedures only after less intrusive ones have not worked.
Goals should come from an assessment of your child and include skills your family cares about, not only sitting still and following directions.
On Health First Colorado, a provider cannot bill you for covered services. Read any payment agreement before you sign it.

Step 1: Narrow the list

Use the directory filters for your city, insurance and setting. Then call and ask:

Do you serve our address? In-home teams set a travel radius.
Do you take our exact plan, and are you enrolled with Health First Colorado or authorized by TRICARE if that is our coverage?
Are you taking new clients, and how long from intake to the first session?
Can you staff the hours my child is likely to need, at the times we can do?

If you are weighing home against clinic, our guide to in-home or center-based ABA covers the tradeoffs. For hours, see how many hours of ABA a child needs.

Step 2: Check credentials

Until Colorado’s new licenses exist, national certification is the credential you can check yourself. The BACB Certificant Registry lets you look up a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) or Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) by name. The BACB says the registry is updated daily and shows certification status and reportable disciplinary actions. Search by the name on the certificate, which may differ from the name a person goes by.

Under HB26-1425, ABA clinics must be licensed by the Colorado Department of Human Services by August 1, 2027, and behavior analysts must be licensed by DORA by July 1, 2028. Technicians do not need a state license. Ask a clinic whether it has started its licensing application and whether its staff have fingerprint-based background checks.

Step 3: Ask how the program works

These questions come from what the BACB ethics code requires of behavior analysts and from what Health First Colorado requires of providers.

About the plan and goals

Which assessment will you use, and when will I see the results?
How do you choose goals, and how do I take part? The BACB Ethics Code says behavior analysts involve clients and families in selecting goals and interventions.
Will I get the treatment plan in writing before therapy starts? The code requires a written description of the objectives, procedures and review schedule before an intervention begins.
How will you know my child is making progress, and how often will I see the data?
How do you get my child’s assent, and what do you do when my child says no or shows distress?

About staffing

Who is the BCBA on my child’s case, and how many hours a month will they supervise in person?
How many children does each BCBA supervise?
How many technicians has a typical family worked with in the past year?
What happens to my child’s hours when a technician leaves or calls out?

About ownership and billing

Who owns the company? Is it locally owned, part of a larger chain or backed by investors? Ownership does not tell you about quality on its own, but it tells you who sets staffing and scheduling rules.
How do you record session times and notes, and can I see them? A February 2026 HHS Inspector General audit found at least $77.8 million in improper Colorado Medicaid ABA payments, with problems in documentation and billable time. Only sign session notes that match what happened.
What will I owe out of pocket, and will you ask me to sign a payment agreement?

Warning signs

Some of these are clear ethics problems. Others are reasons to ask more questions.

Hours set before an assessment. The BACB code says interventions are based on assessment results. A provider that tells every family 40 hours, or names a number on the first call, has skipped that step.
Goals only about compliance. Following directions can be a reasonable goal. A plan made up only of sitting still, eye contact and doing what adults say, with nothing about communication, play, daily living or what your family asked for, is a reason to push back.
Food, toys or comfort items withheld as a routine tactic. The BACB code says behavior analysts prioritize positive reinforcement. Restrictive or punishment-based procedures come only after less intrusive ones have not worked, or when the team decides the risk of harm from the behavior is greater, and they have to be reviewed and documented.
You are not allowed to watch. Ask to observe a session or see the data. A provider that keeps parents out of the room with no clinical reason, and will not show you progress data, makes it hard for you to take part in decisions.
No named BCBA. You should know who supervises your child and be able to look them up.
Rigid scheduling. A provider that will only take your child for a fixed block of hours, and will not discuss school, preschool or family schedules, is fitting your child to its staffing. Ask whether the hours can move.
Pressure to sign quickly. That includes a payment agreement for services Medicaid would cover. Health First Colorado’s billing manual bars billing members for covered services.
Frequent technician turnover with no plan. Ask how the provider trains a new technician and how it keeps your child’s hours on track.

What if something goes wrong?

Start by talking with the BCBA, then the clinical director. The BACB suggests trying to resolve a concern directly first. If that does not work:

Report alleged ethics violations by a BCBA to the BACB through its reporting page. For RBTs, some concerns go first to the technician’s supervisor.
If your child is on Health First Colorado, call the Member Contact Center at 1-800-221-3943 about billing or coverage problems.
If a private plan is involved, the Colorado Division of Insurance takes complaints about insurers.

You can change providers. On Health First Colorado and TRICARE, the new provider will need its own authorization, so ask it to start before you end services with the old one.

Questions to bring to every call

Do you serve our address, and do you take our coverage?
How long from intake to the first session?
Who is the BCBA, and how often will they see my child?
How many hours can you staff, and when?
How do you handle refusal, distress and challenging behavior?
Can I observe sessions and see the data?
Who owns the company?
Have you applied for your Colorado license under HB26-1425?

Start comparing in the Colorado ABA directory, or by city: Denver, Colorado Springs, Aurora and Fort Collins.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if an ABA provider is good?

Check the BCBA’s certification in the BACB registry, ask how goals are chosen and how progress is measured, and ask to observe. A provider should give you a written plan based on an assessment of your child and show you data on how it is going.

Does Colorado license ABA providers?

Not yet. Under HB26-1425, ABA clinics must be licensed by the Colorado Department of Human Services by August 1, 2027, and behavior analysts by DORA by July 1, 2028. Technicians do not need a state license.

Is the Colorado ABA directory a ranking?

No. Results appear in a rotating random order that stays the same within a day. We do not rank, rate or recommend providers.

What are red flags in ABA therapy?

Hours set before an assessment, goals made up only of compliance, rewards like food or toys withheld as a routine tactic, parents kept out of sessions without a clinical reason, no named BCBA and pressure to sign a payment agreement.

Should I avoid large ABA companies?

Size and ownership alone do not tell you how a provider treats your child. Ask any provider, large or small, about BCBA caseloads, technician turnover, scheduling rules and who makes those decisions.

Can I switch ABA providers in Colorado?

Yes. The new provider will need its own assessment and, on Health First Colorado or TRICARE, its own authorization. Ask it to start that process before you end services with the current provider.

Sources

Checked October 2026.

How to choose an ABA provider in Colorado: questions and red flags