Inside ABA C.A.R.E.S. | Culture - Advocacy- Retention- Employee Relations- Systems

Holli Beth
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Step behind the scenes of the ABA C.A.R.E.S. Summit — exclusive conversations with the people and partners shaping the future of Applied Behavior Analysis, recorded before we gather in Boston this August. Meet the sponsors and organizations behind the Summit, understand the work they do, and walk into the room already knowing who's there and why it matters. Industry leaders, researchers, advocates, supervisors, and autistic professionals — all united by one mission: to support and strengthen the people behind the practice. Whether you're already joining us in Boston or still deciding, Inside ABA C.A.R.E.S. is your way in.  Listen to: Get to know the partners and organizations behind the Summit, and the problems they're built to solve.Explore the core themes of C.A.R.E.S. — Culture, Advocacy, Retention, Employee Relations, and Systems.Reflect on your own role in building a sustainable, human-centered ABA workforce. Press play before August, bring your questions to the sessions, and find out what the room is going to be like. We'll see you in Boston  or on the other side of the livestream.

  1. 6d ago

    The Hidden Risks of Credentialing in ABA, with Matthew Jansen

    You found the BCBA, made the offer, and celebrated the hire. Then six weeks passed before they could touch a caseload, and no one could quite tell you why. Matthew Jansen, MPA, is president and CEO of Acorn Credentialing Solutions, a credentialing and enrollment platform built for hospitals, health systems, payers, and provider groups, with a fast-growing footprint in ABA. He has spent more than 20 years in digital health, patient access, and credentialing, going back to running T1 lines to connect rural hospitals with specialists in Atlanta. Acorn was named to the 2025 KLAS Emerging Company Spotlight. His core argument is simple and a little uncomfortable: much of what we treat as a people problem in this field, turnover and burnout, is really a systems problem. And credentialing is one of the biggest hidden systems of them all. Guest host Matt Harrington, BCBA, of A-Train sits down with Matthew for this one. Here is what they get into: People problem or systems problem: why a clinician who loves the work still can't do it, and what that does to retention.Unwinding from the axle: how practices stuck in spreadsheets and half-built systems get back to compliant, current data.The single pane of glass: what it means to run credentialing off one live platform instead of siloed tools and buried inboxes.Credentialing as a revenue accelerator: the case for treating your credentialing team as front-line care, not back-office admin.The KPIs owners never see: claim hold denials, recruitment-to-clinic timelines, and payer approval speed, and why Rev Cycle and credentialing have to read from the same sheet of music.The six-week gap: how the ripple from one missing data point compounds into lost revenue and a provider already rethinking the offer.AI with a human in the loop: where automation earns its keep in enrollment, and the compliance lines Acorn will not cross.Buyer beware: the golden-record pitch, software-only promises, and the questions to actually ask a credentialing vendor.Resources Acorn Credentialing Solutions: https://acorncredentialing.comMeet Matthew Jansen: https://acorncredentialing.com/team_members/matthew-jansen/Matthew Jansen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-jansen-mpa-86078629/Find Acorn in Boston Acorn is a sponsor of ABA C.A.R.E.S., and Matthew's team will have a booth August 4 through 7 at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf. Matthew's own invitation: walk up and ask what Acorn does differently from every other credentialing company. Better yet, bring the number that keeps you up at night, the weeks between hire and first billable session, and ask his team how they would close that gap for your practice. Register for the Summit: https://abacaresstaffing.com We'll see you in Boston, or on the other side of the livestream.

  2. Jul 14

    Why Only 9% of BCBAs Use Data to Set Treatment Hours, with Rethink BH's Dustin Carter and Brad Smith

    ABA calls itself the data-driven field. Then Rethink Behavioral Health asked 390 practicing BCBAs, and only nine percent said they use data to decide how many hours a kid actually needs. Dustin Carter is the Head of AI at  Rethink First the parent of Rethink Behavioral Health. Before that he was VP of Product, a seat he earned the hard way: he co-founded TotalABA, the ABA software company Rethink Behavioral Health acquired. Brad Smith is a senior data scientist at Rethink Behavioral Health who has spent his career in healthcare outcomes and workforce well-being data. Between them, one decides what the technology should do, and the other reads what the data is actually saying. A-Train's Matt Harrington, BCBA, sits in the guest host chair. This is the episode for everyone who has stopped believing AI pitches. Here is what we get into: What the survey actually found: 89 percent of BCBAs report work-related stress, and the surprise is the source — not caseload, but the fear of not doing the work wellClinical work at 9pm: what the write-in answers reveal about where the day really goesThe 9 percent problem: why dosing gets set by what the authorization allows, and what "decision-ready data" would changeThe clawback you never see coming: audit risk, TriCare-grade session notes, and the culture that keeps you off the listValue-based care is coming: benchmarking, peer-reviewed client subtyping, and proving your outcomes before a payer asksAI wallpaper versus real AI: the Tuesday afternoon test for any feature a vendor shows youThe questions to ask every AI vendor: whose model, where the data lives, what it is trained on, and what your AI is not allowed to doResources: Rethink Behavioral Health: rethinkbehavioralhealth.comDustin Carter on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dustincarter10Brad Smith on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-smith-ph-d-58b4786/Rethink Behavioral Health is sponsoring the welcome reception on opening night of the ABA C.A.R.E.S. Summit, August 4 through 7 at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf — find  the team there and at their booth all week. Before you do, answer one question honestly: if a payer asked for your outcome data tomorrow, could you pull it? If the answer is a nervous laugh, that is your conversation starter. Register: https://behaviorlive.com/conferences/abacares2026/registration We'll see you in Boston, or on the other side of the livestream.

  3. Jul 14

    Building an ABA Company on Non-Negotiable Values, with Melissa Rigby

    Melissa Rigby, BCBA, is co-owner and CEO of Gateway ABA Therapy, a Wareham, Massachusetts provider she co-founded in 2020 and has grown past 50 employees. Gateway delivers in-home, community-based, and center-based ABA for clients ages 0 to 64, built on the Verbal Behavior Approach and a trauma-assumed model of care. A mom of five and a self-described OBM nerd, Melissa also launched The Light, Gateway's learning platform for supervisors, BCBA candidates, and leaders who want the systems without the giant-company baggage. She is a CASP member and a BACB ACE provider. And this August, she is the reason ABA C.A.R.E.S. attendees have on-site childcare. Guest host Matt Harrington, BCBA, of A-Train sits down with Melissa for this one. Here is what they get into: The gate framework: how Gateway turned five parts of a fence into a treatment and culture model a team can actually remember.Trauma-assumed care: why so many staff arrive carrying it, and how Gateway helps them work through it instead of push past it.Saying no: how Melissa holds the line on a high-hour case when a family's values do not align with the science.Homegrown BCBAs: Gateway has hired exactly one BCBA from outside, and the rest grew up from RBT. That is not an accident.Culture past the whiteboard: the weekly ritual, the values-based shout-outs, and the unglamorous consistency that keeps culture from becoming a poster.Bi-directional feedback: why Melissa asks her own staff to critique her, and what that has to do with setting boundaries as an owner.The Light: what Gateway is giving away, and why disseminating your systems beats scaling your headcount.Growth as a value: the hard, human work of deciding that you might be the problem, and choosing to change anyway.Resources Gateway ABA Therapy: https://gatewayabama.comThe Light: https://gatewayabama.com/the-light/Supervision Simplified (for supervisors and clinical fellows): https://gatewayabama.com/the-light/supervision-simplified/Gateway on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gateway-aba-therapy-llc-ma/Gateway on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gateway_aba/Find Gateway in Boston Melissa is presenting and Gateway will have a booth August 4 through 7 at the ABA C.A.R.E.S. Summit, Boston Marriott Long Wharf. Walk up and ask her how the gate framework would map onto your own onboarding, or how Supervision Simplified could take prep work off your BCBAs' plates. And if you are traveling with your kids, this is the team running the on-site childcare room, staffed by RBTs who are first aid, CPR, and Safety-Care certified.  Register for the Summit: https://abacaresstaffing.com We'll see you in Boston, or on the other side of the livestream.

  4. Jul 4

    Is Your Practice Actually Profitable? The Conversation ABA Owners Avoid, with Camber's Nathan Lee —

    Is Your Practice Actually Profitable? The Conversation ABA Owners Avoid, with Camber's Nathan Lee Is your practice actually profitable? Not "is there money in the bank this week" — profitable, meaning sustainable, meaning you can pay your clinicians next year too. Most owners have never had that conversation with anyone. Nathan Lee and his team have it every week. Nathan Lee is a co-founder of Camber, the revenue cycle company built to take owners off the critical path of their own billing. A former healthcare consultant at McKinsey, Nathan started Camber after watching family friends who ran clinics text people for payroll loans while payers sat on their money. Today Camber runs billing operations for ABA practices across 45 states, with a team of more than a hundred in New York City, backing from Andreessen Horowitz and Y Combinator, and predictive models trained on over 2.5 billion dollars in real claims data that flag a denial before the claim is ever submitted. This is the conversation about the difference between hoping you get paid and knowing. Here is what we get into: Why owners who never worried about cash suddenly are: medical record requests, eligibility denials, and payer tightening across the entire portfolioThe spotlight on ABA: what rising payer scrutiny means for your denial rate, and why it is not out of your controlThe hard conversations: is this practice actually profitable, and why profitable means sustainable, which means paying your cliniciansWhat automated billing actually looks like day to day, and why the fix has to start with the feedback loop, not the appealThe collection-rate truth: 97 percent in eighteen months is not the same as 95 percent in thirty daysFrom uncertainty to security: what the first ninety days feel like on a dashboardThe pending-authorization session you deliver anyway: turning a gamble into a math problem you can run with a family in mindYour homework before Boston: one litmus-test question and the two numbers that answer itResources: Camber: camber.healthNathan Lee on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/nathanlee-145Nathan's session, From Reactive to Predictable: Designing a Business That Scales Without Burning Out Your Team, runs at the ABA C.A.R.E.S. Summit, August 4 through 7 at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf, and stays on demand all year for registrants. The Camber booth is right at registration, straight across from ours. Before you walk up, sit with one question: do you feel secure about the financial health of your organization? If your honest answer is "maybe," this episode is your prep work. Register: https://behaviorlive.com/conferences/abacares2026/registration Go take care of your people. I'll see you in Boston, or on the other side of the livestream.

  5. Jul 4

    What Happens When a BCBA Builds Your ABA Software, with Shridhevi Veerappan

    Most ABA software is built by people who have never run a session. Artemis put a BCBA in the room where the roadmap gets decided. Shridhevi Veerappan, M.Sc., M.Ed., BCBA, LBA, is the Solutions Manager for Clinical Products at Artemis ABA. She has spent 15 years in the field, 12 of them as a BCBA, working her way up from intern to behavior technician to practice owner. Before any of that, she was an architect and engineer, which means she is the rare person who speaks both languages in the room: people, relationships, and variables on one side, logic and workflows on the other. She found Artemis as a customer running her own practice. Now she builds the tools she spent 15 years wishing she had. A-Train's Matt Harrington, BCBA, sits in the guest host chair. This is what it sounds like when your software company speaks fluent clinician. Here is what we get into: The engineering room: what a BCBA says to a room full of engineers when a workflow is perfect in theory and dead on arrival in a sessionWhy nothing in ABA is linear, and why rigid software does not just annoy clinicians, it breeds workarounds that can do real harmThe parent portal as an on-ramp: real-time schedules, messaging, and progress that meet overwhelmed families where they areWhat clinicians get wrong about software: the four-sprint truth hiding behind "it's just a simple feature"The honest demo: why "it's in our roadmap" beats overpromising, from someone who does sales calls without being a salespersonFrom AI skeptic to builder: she told her own boss no, and what changed her mindTokenization, guardrails, and clinician-final-say: the AI compliance questions to ask any vendor, not just this oneA Zoom room open 7am to 7pm: what radically accessible support actually looks likeResources: Artemis ABA: artemisaba.comArtemis ABA on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/artemis-aba-incShridhevi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shridhevi-veerappan-78547862/Find Shridhevi and the Artemis ABA team at their booth at the ABA C.A.R.E.S. Summit, August 4 through 7 at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf. Before you stop by, write down the one workflow your current software forces you to work around. That is your conversation starter. Register: https://behaviorlive.com/conferences/abacares2026/registration We'll see you in Boston, or on the other side of the livestream.

  6. Jul 4

    The Security Problem Hiding Inside ABA Turnover, with Tom McCadden Episode

    n ABA, we count what turnover costs us in hiring, in training, in continuity of care. Almost nobody counts what it leaves open. Tom McCadden is the EVP and Chief Technology Officer of Alliance InfoSystems, a Baltimore-based managed IT and security firm that has spent over two decades protecting businesses across the country and has built a specialty serving ABA practices, from single clinics to multi-state organizations. Tom has spent twenty years inside the company building the unglamorous, mission-critical layer: the systems that decide whether a departure is a non-event or a breach. He has watched ABA companies grow every way a company can grow, de novo and by acquisition, and he has seen what happens to client data when nobody owns the offboarding. A-Train's Matt Harrington, BCBA, sits in the guest host chair for this one. This is the conversation about the risk your practice is already carrying. Here is what we get into: Offboarding as two problems, identity and equipment, and why high RBT churn means you cannot solve either one manuallyThe "too small to be a target" mindset, and why behavioral health keeps ending up on attackers' lists anywayGrowth by acquisition: when you buy a practice, you buy its risks tooBYOD done right: protecting client data on personal phones without surveilling your staff's personal livesWiring your HR system to your access controls, so a departure closes every door automatically, with a human still watchingPhishing tests, MFA, and the HIPAA security rule changes turning yesterday's optional into tomorrow's requiredThe one thing Tom would have every owner do by FridayResources: Alliance InfoSystems: ainfosys.comTom McCadden on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tom-mccadden-76453116Find Tom and the Alliance InfoSystems team at their booth at the ABA C.A.R.E.S. Summit, August 4 through 7 at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf. Before you stop by, answer one question: the last time someone left your practice, how long did their access stay open? If you do not know, that is your conversation starter. Register: https://behaviorlive.com/conferences/abacares2026/registration We'll see you in Boston, or on the other side of the livestream.

  7. Jul 4

    Where ABA Practices Actually Lose Their Money, with Thomas John

    In ABA, the claim is the last thing to happen. The denial is just the first place you see it. Thomas John is the founder and CEO of Plutus Health, a revenue cycle management company that processes three and a half billion dollars in medical claims a year with denial rates under five percent, roughly half the industry average. He has spent thirty years at the intersection of healthcare, technology, and execution, and he has watched clinics close not because the care failed, but because the cash arrived too late. In 2023 he founded Artemis ABA after seeing the same operational failures repeat across ABA practices. His mantra runs through this whole episode: process first, automation second, AI third. A-Train's Matt Harrington, BCBA, sits in the guest host chair. This is the episode to hear before you blame your billing team. Here is what we get into: Revenue as a care problem: clinical capacity is financed by cash conversion, and a wrong bill to a family drives churn just like a bad session doesThe KPI ladder: denial percentage, days in AR, and net collection ratio, and why a healthy-looking P&L can hide a practice quietly losing moneyWhy denials do not happen in the back office: credentialing, prior authorization, and benefits verification, the three front-office failures behind almost all of themThe first 90 to 120 days with an RCM partner: quick modifier fixes, then the harder conversations about scheduling and credentialingAI as the intern: brilliant, tireless, and useless without thirty years of SOPs and payer intelligence wrapped around itFive things to demand from anyone selling you RCM, starting with a partner who does not get paid unless you doAudits: the one thing payers actually test, and the documentation culture that keeps you off their listFalling in love with your AR: why claims past 90 days are probably gone, and the honest math most owners avoidResources: Plutus Health: plutushealthinc.comThomas John on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thomasjohn101Find Thomas and the Plutus Health team at their booth at the ABA C.A.R.E.S. Summit, August 4 through 7 at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf. Before you stop by, pull one number: your net collection ratio for last quarter. If you have never calculated it, that is your conversation starter. Register: https://behaviorlive.com/conferences/abacares2026/registration We'll see you in Boston, or on the other side of the livestream.

  8. Jun 18

    What Every ABA Owner Wishes They Knew When They Started, with Dan Dube

    In ABA, finding clients was never the hard part. The hard part is everything that comes after you open the doors.  Dan Dube and Dr. Ally Dube built Compass Innovative Behavior Strategies from a kitchen table into one of the largest ABA providers in New Hampshire, then sold it in 2021. Dan ran the business; Dr. Ally, a BCBA, ran the clinical side. Together they made every mistake in the book so their clients would not have to. Today they run ABA Growth Team, coaching owners through the exact climb they already made. Dan came to ABA after 25 years in high tech, so he reads the business like a founder and the field like a parent. Dr. Ally has spent her career in the work itself. Between them, they have seen an ABA company at every stage, from three people to a national organization spanning a dozen states. This is the conversation most owners never get to have before they need it. Here is what we get into: The leadership triad: the three roles every scaling practice needs, and why the founder cannot keep wearing all the hatsCash flow in an insurance-reimbursement world, and why bank-balance accounting quietly sinks good practicesHow much money you actually need in the bank before you open the doors, and why fifteen thousand is not itDiversifying beyond insurance: foster care, vocational rehab, schools, and the funding most owners never considerClinical versus non-clinical ownership, and what actually predicts whether a practice succeedsThe delegation trap that keeps clinicians stuck, and the OBM tools that get you out of itCompliance and audit readiness: getting your house in order before someone makes youThe one KPI most owners cannot tell you, the one eating your profit and your outcomes at the same timeResources: ABA Growth Team: abagrowthteam.comDan Dube on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dandubeFind Dan and Dr. Ally in Boston. They are both speaking at the ABA C.A.R.E.S. Summit, August 4 through 7 at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf, and ABA Growth Team is an exhibiting a sponsor . Before you stop by, look up one number: your utilization of authorized hours. If you do not know it, that could be your conversation starter.  Register: https://behaviorlive.com/conferences/abacares2026/registration We'll see you in Boston, or on the other side of the livestream.

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Step behind the scenes of the ABA C.A.R.E.S. Summit — exclusive conversations with the people and partners shaping the future of Applied Behavior Analysis, recorded before we gather in Boston this August. Meet the sponsors and organizations behind the Summit, understand the work they do, and walk into the room already knowing who's there and why it matters. Industry leaders, researchers, advocates, supervisors, and autistic professionals — all united by one mission: to support and strengthen the people behind the practice. Whether you're already joining us in Boston or still deciding, Inside ABA C.A.R.E.S. is your way in.  Listen to: Get to know the partners and organizations behind the Summit, and the problems they're built to solve.Explore the core themes of C.A.R.E.S. — Culture, Advocacy, Retention, Employee Relations, and Systems.Reflect on your own role in building a sustainable, human-centered ABA workforce. Press play before August, bring your questions to the sessions, and find out what the room is going to be like. We'll see you in Boston  or on the other side of the livestream.

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