The ABA Intake Process Checklist

The ABA intake process is the single biggest leverage point in agency operations. Done well, families feel cared for from the first call, paperwork is complete by the first session, and claims pay cleanly the first time. Done badly, the same family enters service three weeks late, with missing consents, an unverified VOB, and a billing error waiting to surface in 90 days.

This checklist is what an ABA agency intake actually looks like when it works. It assumes commercial or Medicaid billing, an autism diagnosis, and a BCBA on the receiving end. Adjust for your specific payer mix and state rules.

Stage 1 — The inquiry call (Day 0)

When a family first reaches out — phone, web form, referral — the goal is not to sign them up. It is to understand whether you can serve them, and to set expectations for what comes next.

Capture, in this exact order:

Child's name, date of birth, and primary diagnosis (or referral reason).
Insurance — name of the plan, member ID, group number if known.
Parent or guardian's name, phone, email, address.
School district, IEP/504 status, current services.
Geographic preferences — in-home, center, telehealth — and the family's reasonable schedule.
How they heard about you. (This becomes the referral source data you mine for the next two years.)

Tell the family explicitly what happens next: "We'll verify your insurance benefits in 1–2 business days, then schedule an intake call to walk through paperwork. You should hear from us by [date]."

Set the expectation. Then meet it.

Stage 2 — Insurance verification (Days 1–2)

Run a verification of benefits before sending any further paperwork. This is the most-skipped, highest-leverage step in the entire intake. A clean VOB tells you:

Whether ABA is a covered benefit on this plan, in this state.
The session limit, hour cap, or annual maximum, if any.
Whether prior authorization is required and what the process is.
The deductible, copay, and coinsurance the family will owe.
Whether the plan has any unusual exclusions (e.g., school-day exclusions).

Document the VOB in writing — call reference numbers, names of insurance reps, the exact answers to the questions above. This document is what audits and appeals will hit later.

Call the family back the same day with the result. If ABA is not covered, tell them so they can pursue another option. If it is, schedule the intake call.

Stage 3 — The intake call (Days 3–5)

The intake call is where the agency collects the rest of the information needed to clear paperwork. Forty-five minutes, scheduled, with a parent who can give attention.

The clinical side of the intake call:

Developmental and medical history.
Current behaviors of concern — specifics, not vague descriptions.
Skill strengths.
Other services the child receives (SLP, OT, school).
Family routines, preferences, and goals.

The administrative side:

Confirm insurance details and family identifying information.
Walk through the onboarding paperwork so the parent is not surprised by what arrives.
Confirm session preferences — in-home, in-center, telehealth — and any scheduling constraints.
Set the next milestone with a date: "We'll send paperwork tonight; once it's signed, we'll request prior auth, which takes 2–4 weeks."

This is also the moment to ask about siblings, photo/video release, communication preferences, and which adults are authorized to consent for the child. None of these belong on a form a parent fills out alone — they are best captured in conversation.

Stage 4 — Send the paperwork packet

Within 24 hours of the intake call, send a single packet of forms — not seven separate emails. The packet should include:

Parent or guardian consent for treatment.
Notice of Privacy Practices (HIPAA).
BAA — only if you are using a vendor that requires the family to acknowledge data sharing (rare; most BAAs are vendor-to-agency).
Photo and video release (mark as optional).
Authorization to communicate with school, pediatrician, SLP, OT.
Telehealth consent (if applicable).
Financial responsibility agreement, including deductible and copay disclosures.
Cancellation and missed-session policy.
Emergency contact form.

Use e-signature. The single biggest intake speed-up in any agency is killing the print-sign-scan loop.

If you are using a tool with weak forms, this is a moment where intake software like IntakeQ or a purpose-built ABA platform saves real time. The point is to send one link, get one signed packet back, and have the document filed against the client record automatically.

Stage 5 — Submit prior authorization

Once paperwork is signed, submit the prior authorization request to the payer. Most commercial plans require an assessment authorization (typically tied to CPT 97151) before any clinical work begins, then a treatment authorization for ongoing service codes (typically 97153 / 97155 / 97156).

The pre-auth packet typically includes:

The child's diagnostic report (if not on file from the assessment phase).
A request letter specifying assessment hours.
The signed treatment consent.

Track the auth in the credentialing and authorization tracker — start date, end date, hours approved, hours used. Authorizations expire and the most common revenue leak in ABA is sessions provided after an auth lapsed.

Stage 6 — Schedule the assessment

The first billable touch is usually the assessment — observation, parent interview, and standardized tools (VB-MAPP, ABLLS-R, AFLS). Schedule this once the assessment auth is approved, not before. Most assessments span 6–12 hours and bill under CPT 97151.

The assessment yields the clinical foundation for everything that follows: treatment plan, goals, hours requested, parent training plan. Until this is done, the agency cannot bill ongoing service codes.

Stage 7 — Treatment plan and ongoing auth

Once the assessment is complete, the BCBA writes the treatment plan and the agency submits the ongoing authorization request. This typically takes another 2–4 weeks for approval. Plan for it. The single biggest intake delay we see is agencies treating treatment-plan auth as a one-week task; it is not.

Once approved, the agency can begin direct service — RBT-delivered sessions under CPT 97153, BCBA supervision under 97155, and parent training under 97156.

How long should the whole intake take?

A clean intake from inquiry to first session runs 4 to 8 weeks for commercial insurance, often longer for Medicaid. Anything under 4 weeks usually means a step was skipped (most often the VOB). Anything over 12 weeks usually means a step is bottlenecked — usually credentialing, prior auth, or the family taking time to return paperwork.

Track time-to-first-session as a metric. If it creeps up, you have an operational problem, not a clinical one.

How GoodABA helps

GoodABA's intake module turns the seven stages above into a single workflow: branded inquiry form, automated VOB tracking, scheduled intake call with built-in reminders, e-signed paperwork packet, auth tracking, and family communications — all tied to the client record. Solo BCBAs and small agencies typically replace four or five tools with GoodABA's intake.

If you are evaluating tools, see the best ABA intake software roundup or compare specific options like IntakeQ alternatives.

FAQ

What's the difference between intake and assessment?

Intake is the administrative process — paperwork, insurance verification, scheduling. Assessment is the clinical process — observation, interview, standardized tools — that produces the treatment plan. Intake comes first; assessment is the first billable clinical touch.

Do I need a separate intake software for ABA?

Not necessarily. Some ABA platforms include intake modules; others have weak forms and most agencies pair them with a separate intake tool. The right answer depends on your existing stack — see best ABA intake software.

How long should families wait between inquiry and first session?

Four to eight weeks is realistic for commercial insurance. Longer for Medicaid in some states. If your time-to-first-session is over 12 weeks, audit the workflow — you almost certainly have a bottleneck at credentialing, prior auth, or paperwork return.

Can I start ABA before the prior authorization is approved?

You can do unbillable assessments in some payer contexts (parent-funded), but you cannot bill insurance for service codes before authorization. Some plans allow retroactive auth in narrow cases; do not rely on it.