Behavior analysis teaches functionally equivalent replacement skills for challenging behavior, built on a functional assessment, direct observation and measurement, and caregiver training — with a fading plan from the start. It's delivered at three credential levels, each with its own rate. Behavior assistant services support it by training caregivers to carry out the plan. Both run on a strict calendar set by the iBudget Handbook and Rules 65G-4 and 65G-8.
Who can provide each level
Behavior Analysis Level 1
A BCBA or BCBA-D, or a Florida chapter 490/491 licensee, with more than three years of post-certification ABA experience backed by work samples.
Behavior Analysis Level 2
A BCBA or BCBA-D, a Florida-certified behavior analyst with a master's degree, or a 490/491 licensee with at least a year of supervised ABA experience.
Behavior Analysis Level 3
A BCaBA, or a Florida-certified behavior analyst with a bachelor's, associate's degree or diploma — supervised at least one hour a month by a Level 1 or 2 BCBA.
Behavior Assistant
18+, high school diploma or GED, and two years of developmental disabilities experience, 120 hours with people with complex behaviors, or 90 ABA classroom hours — plus APD's 20-contact-hour curriculum from a behavior analysis provider (RBT certification substitutes) and emergency-procedures training. Renews with 8 in-service hours a year.
Licenses and certifications must be active. Rule 65G-4.001 limits behavior analysis providers to BCBA-D, BCBA, BCaBA, Florida-certified behavior analysts, or chapter 490/491 licensees.
The calendar that decides the review
- Behavioral assessmentBefore behavior analysis services begin (Qlarant expects it within 30 days of first service); one per year
- Behavior plan (BASP)Within 90 days of the first billed date
- To the Local Review Committee chairWithin 5 working days of implementing a plan that needs LRC review; modifications within 1 week
- LRC responseAcknowledges within 21 days, decides within 90; a plan not approved is resubmitted within 14 working days
- Data and graphsData collected throughout and graphed weekly; Qlarant checks monthly graph updates
- Quarterly summariesEvery quarter — the third is the annual report, with an annotated graph
- Behavior Assistant supervisionA signed supervision log and data to the analyst every month
- Reactive strategy useDocumented by end of shift, signed within 24 hours or next business day; report to the LRC chair within 30 days
What goes in the plan
The behavioral assessment (Rule 65G-4.009) defines the behaviors operationally, identifies when they're likely and unlikely, records current levels, medical and history factors, and hypothesized functions, and makes recommendations. The behavior analysis service plan has 15 required elements — among them goals, target and replacement behaviors, data methods, interventions, caregiver training, fading criteria, the rationale for any Behavior Assistant, and fidelity monitoring. Reactive strategies follow Rule 65G-8: written policies, an approved curriculum only, and an annual internal review kept five years.
Limits and rates
Behavior analysis: up to 16 quarter hours a day, 496 a month and 5,840 a year, with indirect time capped at 25% of the year's units. Behavior assistant: up to 32 quarter hours a day, and more than 24 needs monthly review by the LRC chair or regional behavior analyst; renewal after six months requires the supervision logs. The behavioral assessment is one a year at $431.84, in every region.
| Ratio | Palm Beach, Broward, Dade solo / agency | All other counties solo / agency | Monroe solo / agency |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | $15.92 / $23.54 | $15.92 / $21.98 | $15.92 / $23.54 |
| Ratio | Palm Beach, Broward, Dade solo / agency | All other counties solo / agency | Monroe solo / agency |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | $13.90 / $21.36 | $13.90 / $21.36 | $13.90 / $21.36 |
| Ratio | Palm Beach, Broward, Dade solo / agency | All other counties solo / agency | Monroe solo / agency |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | $8.66 / $17.09 | $8.66 / $15.94 | $8.66 / $17.09 |
| Ratio | Palm Beach, Broward, Dade solo / agency | All other counties solo / agency | Monroe solo / agency |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | $10.71 / $13.67 | $10.51 / $13.57 | $10.71 / $13.67 |
APD iBudget rates effective July 1, 2026. Every service and region is in the searchable rate table.
What Qlarant checks
The Behavior Analysis tool (version 9, July 2026) has 18 standards: complete service logs matching claims, the assessment on file and on time, a BASP with its required parts written within 90 days, LRC submission within 5 working days and data presented before the review, the plan implemented as written, quarterly summaries and the annual report, valid authorizations, billing after service, no more than 16 units a day, monthly graphs, caregiver training, and varied, person-centered logs. The Behavior Assistant tool (version 9) has 17, adding the LRC eligibility form, monthly supervision, the 32-unit daily cap, a link to a support-plan outcome, and rights and health.
For the review, the September 2026 checklists ask for service logs, the most recent assessment, support plans, the initial BASP and updates, LRC documentation, monthly graphs, training records, summaries and the annual report — and six months of payroll if you bill the agency rate.
Keeping the calendar
Many of the scored standards are dates — the plan by day 90, graphs updated monthly, the LRC submission within five working days. Waiversoft keeps each person's record, documents and authorizations together with expiration tracking, alongside the incident reports and staff training files these services depend on.
Frequently asked questions
What are the APD behavior analysis levels?
Level 1 is a BCBA/BCBA-D or Florida 490/491 licensee with more than three years of post-certification ABA experience; Level 2 is a BCBA/BCBA-D, a master's-level Florida-certified behavior analyst, or a 490/491 licensee with a year of supervised ABA experience; Level 3 is a BCaBA or Florida-certified behavior analyst without a master's, supervised monthly by a Level 1 or 2 BCBA. Each level has its own rate.
When does a behavior plan need Local Review Committee review?
When it uses restricted procedures (such as extinction, blocking longer than 15 seconds, time-out, response cost, overcorrection, protective devices, or dietary manipulation); targets behavior causing injury, threatening life, destroying major property, leading to arrest, or at Behavior Focused or Intensive Behavior levels; needs extra staff or a Behavior Assistant; or is a group system like a token economy. It goes to the LRC chair within 5 working days of implementation.
How long do I have to write the behavior plan?
The iBudget Handbook requires the behavior analysis service plan within 90 days of the first billed date, and Qlarant scores that deadline. The behavioral assessment comes first — Qlarant expects it within 30 days of first providing service.
What does a Behavior Assistant do?
Mainly trains caregivers to carry out the behavior plan, as authorized in a behavior assistant plan within the BASP and approved by the regional behavior analyst. It's time-limited, not provided in schools, capped at 32 quarter hours a day (above 24 needs monthly review), and needs a signed monthly supervision log.
How many units of behavior analysis can be billed?
Up to 16 quarter hours a day, 496 a month, and 5,840 a year. Indirect time is capped at 25% of the year's units — or on average one hour a month when service is four hours a month or less.