ABA
Applied Behavior Analysis
Welcome to the ABA Program at ATC of New York Thank you for choosing to work as an independent contractor with the applied behavior analysis (ABA) program for ATC of New York. ATC, Inc. is pleased to have the opportunity to work with you, your students, and your student’s families to provide quality ABA services in Westchester, and Rockland Counties. If any questions arise regarding programming, behavior intervention, data decision or techniques and strategies while working with a student Please contact: Dr. Eyleen Ortiz, Director of Special Services 845-738-4362 ext. 103 The ABA Program at ATC services children in Early Intervention (EI), Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE) and Committee on Special Education (CSE) Programs. EI serves children birth to 3 years old, CPSE serves children ages 3-5 years old, and CSE serves children 5+ years. In EI, the therapists are to follow the child’s Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP), and in CPSE and CSE the therapists are to follow the child’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Required Documentation for Providers All therapists that work with ATC, inc. are required to maintain a valid certification at all times (i.e. Special Education Certificate, Students with Disabilities Certificate, Teaching Assistant Certificate, etc.) Please note the expiration date. In addition, all Special Instructors/Special Education Itinerant Teachers (SEITS) must maintain valid liability insurance at all times. You will be unable to work with children any time your required documentation expires. ATC, inc. adheres to established Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) confidentiality standards for all of our providers. Creating an ABA Team and Provider Responsibilities Please keep ATC informed of your hours of availability and the locations in which you would prefer to work. If a child’s IEP/IFSP matches your availability, ATC will contact you to ask if you would like to work with the particular child. We will then give you the family’s contact information so you can call the family to introduce yourself and try to establish an appropriate schedule. In creating a child’s ABA team, we carefully determine that there is a qualified Lead Teacher assigned to the child. The function of this teacher is to initially assess the student’s current level of performance. She/he is responsible for writing the student’s 3 months progress report, (EI) or quarterly progress report (CPSE). The Director of Special Services is to initially determine individual programs based on the child’s deficits and IFSP/IEP, and monitor student progress. She is also responsible for contacting all ABA service providers (i.e. the rest of the ABA team) assigned to the child on a regular basis to discuss progress and/or concerns regarding the child. It is the responsibility of all therapists on the team to keep ATC and parents informed periodically as to progress and general concerns. In EI, the ABA team will sometimes receive approval to have a family training collateral meeting once per month for 90 minutes. This meeting is for all therapists on the team and for the family to discuss the child’s ABA programs. In CPSE and CSE, the team is usually NOT approved for meetings. However, if the parent chooses, you are allowed to use 30 minutes per month of your allotted IEP hours to meet with other therapist on the team. EI Program Calendar The EI Program does not follow a typical school calendar. It functions 365 days per year, 7 days per week. Services can take place on the weekdays and/or the weekends provided the therapists are available and do not work over the hours approved as per the IFSP. It is your responsibility to set a schedule with the parents of the children you are providing services for. Once the schedule is set, immediately report it to ATC, as ATC will need to work with the child’s Ongoing Service Coordination (OSC) to obtain authorization for these services. PLEASE NOTE: It is important in EI, that all therapists follow this schedule. If you do not bill according to this schedule, you will not be paid for these services. If there are going to be changes to the schedule, please notify ATC BEFORE these changes occur, as ATC will need to obtain new authorizations for these changes.
CPSE/CSE Program Calendar The CPSE and CSE Programs function as per the child’s IEP in the child’s respective school district (i.e. 9/9/09-6/25/2010). We are obligated to follow the district’s calendar regarding vacations, school closings, snow days, and holidays. Providers are NOT permitted to provide services on days in which the school district in which the child resides is closed. This means you cannot provide services on the weekends. In addition, you are not permitted to provide services on a day in which the school district is closed due to inclement weather. Services can only be provided on days that school is in session, and during afternoon hours. PLEASE NOTE: you may not begin working prior to the start date listed on the IEP or after the end date listed on the IEP. If you work on a day that is not covered in the IEP period, you cannot be paid.
The ABA Program Book It is the responsibility of the Director of Special Services to assess the child’s assets and deficits and write ABA programs on this assessment ATC has a master List of ABA Programs that we will be using to choose appropriate ABA programs for the child. ATC also has data sheets and graphs that should be in place in the child’s program book. It is the responsibility of everyone working with the child to run programs, record data, graph, and keep the child’s program book neat and accurate. ATC has copies of our graphing guidelines, graphs, and data sheets. Please notify Dr. Eyleen Ortiz if you would like to request these forms be mailed or emailed to you. ABA Graphs Submission ATC requires that the Lead Teacher for each child submit copies of relevant ABA documentation to ATC on a monthly and a yearly basis. A copy of the child’s DAILY TOTAL LEARN UNIT GRAPH should be submitted to ATC on a monthly basis. In addition, copies of the Program Summary Sheets for each week should also be submitted to ATC on a monthly basis. At the end of the IFSP/IEP period (i.e. the end of the school year), copies of all ABA graphs should be submitted to ATC. Billing Documentation of Service Provision We ask that you fill out service notes and obtain signatures from parents/teachers at the end of every session. This will insure that there is no confusion as to the date and time the service was provided. Please note that billing rules and forms are different between the different programs (EI, CPSE, and CSE) and for different service providers (SEIT, ABA, etc.) ATC has blank bills and examples of what correctly filled out bills look like should you need this information. Also, please feel free to request this information and we will be happy to mail it to you. Please note: All providers must submit bills no later than 45 days after the date of service. If you do not submit your bills in a timely manner, you cannot be paid.
Your service summary notes should qualitatively and /or quantitatively explain each session. Please write the behaviors of the child, what ABA programs were run, and the outcomes of the programs. It is required that you state the goals and outcomes for each session. For example, "The child had a great session today. He was attentive and compliant. We worked on many programs/skills including, eye contact, following 1-step directions, matching letters A and B etc. He met 2 criteria and had a total of 198/260 correct learn units."
Cancellation/Make-Up Policy Parents have been instructed to cancel the session if their child has a temperature of 100 degrees or more, pink or swollen eyes, vomiting, diarrhea, sore throat, severe headache or dizziness, among others. This would be an informed absence and you cannot bill for this nor are you allowed to make-up this session. There also may be times when the family neglects to tell you they will be canceling a session. This is called an uninformed absence, and unfortunately you cannot bill or make up these sessions either. There may be times in which you miss a session. Please call the family as soon as you know that you will be unable to attend the session. You are encouraged to make-up any sessions that you have cancelled. Unfortunately, we do not have a list of substitute teachers to call on a last minute basis for a provider’s illness. If we are given enough advance notice, we will make every effort to fulfill a scheduled leave of absence for an extended period of time. In CPSE and CSE we encourage make-ups to be done within 30 days of the cancellation session (this does not apply to related services or EI). If you had to cancel a session we will pay up to 3 absences per month per child. In EI, make-up sessions must be done within the same IFSP period that the cancellation took place. CPSE/CSE Annual Review Meeting Prior to the student’s annual review meeting with the CPSE/CSE in their home school district, you are encouraged to meet with the parents and all professional providers in advance to discuss progress, as well as eligibility and possible options for the following school year. All final decisions related to the program for the child will be discussed at the annual review meeting. The SEIT/Head Teacher is required to write an annual review report and choose appropriate IEP goals. In addition, the SEIT/Head Teacher is expected to attend the annual review meeting in order to present the most consistent and comprehensive picture of the child. If a problem arises, and the Lead Teacher is unable to attend, the Director of Special Services attends all meetings with another SEIT from the team should attend the meeting. The annual review meeting is to be billed in lieu of a regular session. The SEIT that attends the annual review meeting is responsible for filling out an OUTCOME FORM, which states the outcomes of the meeting. The SEIT is then responsible to send this form to ATC. CPSE/CSE Summer Services The SEIT/Lead Teacher is also responsible for writing a regression statement at t he same time the annual progress report is written. If it can be documented that the student has demonstrated substantial regression and the Committee on (Preschool) Special Education agrees with this determination, the student would then be eligible for summer services. Summer services are provided based on the school district calendar and are limited to six weeks during the months of July and August. Please bear in mind that summer services are provided to offset the effects of substantial regression, not for skill improvement. ATC will send you a summer IEP only if the child has been approved for summer services. Please DO NOT start working during the summer until you have received the IEP/appropriate paperwork/approval from ATC. If you are unsure whether or not the child you work with has been approved for the summer services, please contact ATC. Conclusion As a final note, we expect professionalism from all ATC service providers. We encourage a mutually respective relationship between our providers, families with whom you work, and the administrative staff at ATC. We would encourage being informed should you have any questions or comments.
ABA Programs
Thank you again for choosing ATC of New York!