House committee advances bill to license ABA providers and clinics

A House committee voted to advance legislation that would create professional and facility licensure for applied behavior analysis (ABA) providers, a step sponsors said is intended to protect children and standardize care across Colorado.

Representative Brown, a sponsor, told the House Health and Human Services Committee that HB 14‑25 aims to “clarify requirements and align Colorado’s approach with current best practices in behavioral health,” and to ensure families can “trust the care that their loved ones are receiving no matter where they go.” Representative Gilchrist, the other co‑sponsor, said the bill combines professional licensure for ABA practitioners with a separate licensure stream for ABA clinics so departments can “evaluate and then take action” when maltreatment allegations arise.

State agencies and providers expressed broad support for the bill’s goals during testimony, while flagging several technical issues. Tom Miller, director of the Office of Children, Aging and Community Services at the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS), said the department supports the facility‑licensure language. Logan Ellet, provider development manager in CDHS’ Division of Child Welfare, told the committee the proposal would add an ABA clinic license under Title 26, giving CDHS statutory authority to license, monitor and oversee day‑to‑day operations. Ellet said the department estimates “about 410 to 500 unlicensed ABA clinics operating across Colorado today” and reported it has received “35 separate complaints on 15 different unlicensed ABA clinics” that the department has been unable to investigate fully without licensing authority.

Adela Flores Brennan, Medicaid director at the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF), said HCPF is generally supportive of a licensure framework but is in an amend position on Section 6. Flores Brennan told the committee Medicaid serves “over 8,000 Medicaid members” who receive ABA services at an annual cost she placed at about $287,000,000 and said the bill’s provision allowing reimbursement for services by behavioral technicians for up to 60 days before credentialing is complete risks paying for “minimally trained and uncertified individuals” and creates fiscal and safety concerns.

Providers and professional groups said they back licensure but asked for clarifications. Will Martin, public‑policy chair for the Colorado Association for Behavior Analysis, said providers want facilities classified consistently as medical clinics rather than child‑care centers and defended a reasonable training or grace period for registered behavior technicians (RBTs) to accommodate testing and certification logistics in rural areas. Ken Winn, CEO of Advanced Behavioral Resources, argued licensure would protect consumers and practitioners and help enforce ethical standards in practice.

Parents and advocates urged the committee to act. Sean Davis, a father of a nonverbal teenager with autism, described the trust families place in providers and urged lawmakers to create stronger oversight. Hillary Jill Hansen of the Colorado Cross Disability Coalition recounted a family complaint and said licensing is needed because many clinics and providers currently operate without statutory oversight.

Committee members pressed sponsors and agency witnesses about rulemaking timelines and interim protections. CDHS officials said statute allows a provisional license for up to six months while rules are promulgated and that the department can investigate complaints under existing authority while a standalone ABA clinic license is developed.

Representative Gilchrist said sponsors plan to work with agencies and stakeholders to craft amendments — particularly on childcare‑vs‑medical‑clinic language and the RBT training window — and moved the bill to the Finance Committee on a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on roll call, 8–5; the clerk recorded the yes and no votes in committee. The committee adjourned after the vote.