Reopening the Doors to Center-Based ABA Services: Clinical and Safety Protocols During COVID-19
Use the ready-made checklist to reopen your ABA center safely instead of building a plan from zero.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The authors read every piece of childcare guidance they could find. They boiled it down to one checklist. The checklist covers safety, clinical care, and daily routines. Any ABA center can use it to reopen during COVID-19.
The paper is a narrative review, not an experiment. It gives you a map, not new data.
What they found
The checklist has three big buckets: safety steps, clinical steps, and office steps. Safety steps include masks, cleaning, and symptom checks. Clinical steps cover smaller groups, outdoor sessions, and extra PPE. Office steps handle billing, staff training, and parent drop-off rules.
You pick the items that fit your building, staff size, and local rules.
How this fits with other research
Aiello et al. (2022) shows families stayed engaged through video-feedback telehealth when centers stayed closed. Kornack et al. (2020) gives the plan for when you do reopen. The two papers work as a timeline: stay remote first, then use the checklist to come back safely.
Lee et al. (2022) surveyed school staff who leaned on parents during closures. The checklist now gives schools a mirror tool for center-based ABA programs.
Papatola et al. (2016) and Kornack et al. (2017) taught us how to fight insurance denials. The reopening checklist adds a new layer: proving your COVID plan meets health rules so insurers keep paying.
Bacotti et al. (2022) tells you to coach parents in quick home tactics. The checklist tells you how to welcome those same parents back through your doors.
Why it matters
You do not need to invent a reopening plan. Print the checklist, circle what fits your site, and train staff in one afternoon. You will meet health rules, keep families calm, and keep revenue flowing.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
In the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, U.S. organizations that provide applied behavior analysis (ABA) programs to individuals with autism spectrum disorder have implemented a variety of safety precautions to minimize the spread of the virus, often shifting center-based services to the home or telehealth. Considered essential workers, ABA providers are exempt from government directives to close, so they have both the freedom and the great responsibility to make their own decisions about how best to keep their clients safe while continuing to provide medically necessary services. In the coming weeks and months, ABA providers will be faced with the decision about whether to reopen centers. This article does not address that decision, except to acknowledge the urgency to reopen, both to help clients and to remain solvent. Political rhetoric and contradictory public information further complicate this daunting decision. Because ABA providers do not have legal guidance to shift the burden of such decisions to local and state regulators, the burden is theirs alone. The unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 pandemic means that no decision is clearly wrong or right, and every decision has consequences. Although ABA providers do not have their own state guidance, many states have issued guidelines for childcare providers whose operations have continued throughout the pandemic. This article analyzes that guidance, identifies common variables potentially relevant to ABA organizations, highlights clinical considerations and procedural compliance, and provides ABA organizations with the tools to make the best decision for their clients, in their community, and on their timeline. The online version of this article (10.1007/s40617-020-00462-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2020 · doi:10.1007/s40617-020-00462-7