When two ABA providers both say yes, the choice can feel impossible. Both websites sound kind. Both intake coordinators were friendly. This scoring sheet turns the decision into a side-by-side comparison of the things that shape your child's experience: when services can start, how many hours are actually available, where sessions happen, how much you will see the BCBA, language, cost and communication. Fill it in after you have asked each provider the same questions.
What should I ask both providers before I compare them?
Ask the same questions of both, in writing if possible, so you are comparing like with like. Our 10 questions every parent should ask an ABA provider is a good starting list. Add these practical ones:
- What is a realistic date for my child's first session, counting assessment, plan writing and insurance approval?
- How many hours per week can you staff, and on which days and times?
- Which settings can you offer: center, home, school, daycare, community?
- Who writes the plan, how often will the BCBA see my child, and how often is parent training?
- Will my child have one consistent RBT? What happens when an RBT leaves or is out sick?
- Are you in network with my plan? What will my cost share be?
- Do staff speak our home language?
- How do you communicate with parents, and who do I call with a concern?
The scoring sheet
Give each factor a weight from 1 to 3 based on how much it matters to your family. Then score each provider from 0 to 5 on each factor. Multiply score by weight and add up the totals.
| Factor | What a strong answer looks like | Weight | Provider A score | Provider B score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start date | A clear, honest timeline for each step, with no unexplained waitlist | |||
| Hours offered vs recommended | Can staff the hours the BCBA recommends, at times your child is alert and available | |||
| Settings | Offers the settings your child's goals need (home routines, school, peers at a center) | |||
| BCBA access | A named BCBA, regular direct observation, supervision above the BACB minimum, and a plan reviewed by a senior clinician | |||
| Parent training | Scheduled, regular parent training with its own goals | |||
| Staff consistency | A consistent RBT, a backup plan for absences and a plan for handoffs | |||
| Language and culture | Staff who speak your language, or a clear interpreter plan | |||
| Approach | Play-based, assent-based, no routine restraint, least intrusive strategies first | |||
| Cost share | In network with your plan, a written estimate, and payment options that follow the law | |||
| Communication | Regular updates, a named contact and a clear path for concerns | |||
| Coordination | Willing to work with school, doctors and other therapists | |||
| Credentials verified | BCBA and RBTs found on the BACB registry | |||
| Total (score x weight) |
How do I score each factor fairly?
Start date
Ask for the timeline step by step: intake paperwork, benefits check, assessment, plan writing, insurance approval and first session. A provider that says "next week" without explaining insurance approval may be skipping steps. A provider that cannot give any estimate is hard to plan around. See finding ABA with no waitlist in Florida.
Hours offered vs recommended
The number of hours should come from the assessment, not from the provider's open schedule. If a provider recommends 30 hours but can only staff 10, ask what happens to the other 20. Times matter too: hours offered only during naps or late evenings may not work for a young child.
BCBA access
The BACB requires RBTs to be supervised for at least 5% of their service hours each month, with at least two real-time contacts, one of which includes observing the RBT with a client. That is a floor, not a goal. Ask how many hours per month the BCBA will spend on your child's case and whether that includes seeing your child in person.
Cost share
Ask each provider to confirm in-network status with your exact plan, then ask your insurer what you will owe per session and toward your deductible and out-of-pocket maximum. Be wary of any offer to "not collect" your copay or deductible. Under s. 817.234(7)(a), Florida Statutes, a service provider that makes a general business practice of billing its usual charge while agreeing or intending not to collect deductibles or copayments commits insurance fraud. A lawful hardship policy, sliding scale or payment plan is different. If you will pay yourself, you have a federal right to a good faith estimate when you schedule care at least three business days ahead or ask for one. Our ABA cost math guide shows how to estimate a year of costs.
Credentials
Florida does not issue its own license for behavior analysts. Look up the BCBA and RBTs on the BACB's free registry. See how to verify BCBA and RBT credentials.
A worked example (illustration only)
This is a made-up example to show how the math works, not a real comparison. A family in Palm Beach County weights start date 3, hours 3, BCBA access 3, language 2, cost share 2 and everything else 1.
- Provider A can start in about a month, staffs all recommended hours, and has a Spanish-speaking RBT, but the BCBA visits once a month. Start 4 x 3 = 12, hours 5 x 3 = 15, BCBA access 2 x 3 = 6, language 5 x 2 = 10.
- Provider B has strong BCBA access but cannot start for several months and can only staff part of the hours. Start 1 x 3 = 3, hours 2 x 3 = 6, BCBA access 5 x 3 = 15, language 2 x 2 = 4.
Adding the rest of the sheet, Provider A comes out ahead for this family. A different family with different weights could reasonably choose Provider B. The sheet does not make the decision; it makes the trade-offs visible.
What should outweigh a high score?
Some answers should end the comparison no matter the total:
- restraint described as a routine part of the program;
- refusal to let you observe your child or see data;
- pressure to sign immediately or to stop other therapies;
- a BCBA or RBT you cannot find on the BACB registry; or
- an offer to waive cost sharing as a routine practice.
See our full list of red flags of a bad ABA provider, and use the center tour checklist if you can visit in person.
How does Hope Center answer these questions?
- Start date: no waitlist. First call to first session can be as little as three weeks; services usually start 3 to 5 business days after insurance approves the plan. Slow paperwork can stretch the process to months.
- Settings: centers in West Palm Beach, Temple Terrace (Tampa), Port Charlotte, Jacksonville and Sebring, plus homes, schools, daycares and the community in the areas we serve.
- BCBA access: BCBAs write each program, the clinical director reviews every plan before it goes to insurance, and RBTs are supervised weekly.
- Parent training: weekly; it can be by telehealth, though in person is preferred. Parents cannot stay to watch center sessions (other children are there), and in-home sessions need an adult 18 or older present.
- Languages: English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, Bengali and Russian.
- Insurance: Blue Cross Blue Shield (Florida Blue), Aetna, Cigna (Evernorth), UMR, Personify Health and TRICARE East. Self-pay with a sliding scale is available for all services. Your costs depend on your plan; we check your benefits for free and explain your costs before you start.
- Self-pay rates (effective January 1, 2026, billed in 15-minute units): BCBA $130 an hour, BCaBA $125 an hour, RBT $100 an hour, initial assessment by the lead BCBA $155 an hour, group ABA $75 an hour per child. Self-pay families get the fee schedule and the recommended hours in writing before starting; insured families sign a benefits verification showing their costs.
- Approach: play-based, assent-based and trauma-informed, with no restraint.
Put us on your scoring sheet and see how we compare. Contact us or call 561-337-8865 for a free consultation and a free benefits check, and check our insurance page for plan details.