In-home ABA therapy in Georgia
ABA therapy where it actually needs to happen: in your home, around your child's real day. That is where the morning routines, the meltdowns, and the small wins all happen.
Mastermind brings BCBA-led, in-home care to families with children on the autism spectrum across Georgia. Savannah to Warner Robins to the rural counties in between.
Insurance we accept in Georgia
How in-home ABA works in Georgia
Georgia is geographically big and demographically split. Atlanta and its near-suburbs operate like a major metro. Drive 90 minutes in any direction and the landscape changes: fewer providers, longer drives to a pediatric specialist, county seats serving as the only real service hub for a 50-mile radius.
Our Mastermind Behavior in-home ABA therapy model is built for exactly that. A Board Certified Behavior Analyst completes the assessment by video call, and a Behavior Technician runs direct sessions in your home, where the carpool drop-off, the iPad transition and bedtime actually happen, typically 10 to 20 hours a week, with regular BCBA supervision and parent training built in.
Mastermind Behavior Services in Georgia
All four are delivered in your home by a BCBA-led team, anywhere we serve in Georgia.
Areas we serve in Georgia
Active service corridors in Savannah / Coastal Georgia and Macon / Warner Robins, with in-home delivery to families across the rest of the state. Tap any town below to see what in-home ABA looks like locally.
Insurance and coverage in Georgia
Most GA families are covered. Georgia Medicaid covers 25 to 40 hours a week with no dollar cap. Private plans are covered through age 20 (federal parity may waive caps). We verify your specific plan completely free.
| Coverage element | Georgia detail |
|---|---|
| State mandate | Ava's Law (HB 429, effective July 1, 2015), amended by SB 118 (signed 2018, effective January 1, 2019), codified at O.C.G.A. § 33-24-59.10 |
| Coverage | Diagnostic assessments and ABA therapy, plus speech, OT, PT, and counseling for autism spectrum disorder |
| Annual dollar cap | $35,000/year for ABA services (federal MHPAEA parity may make this unenforceable on plans subject to parity; verify per plan) |
| Age limit | Coverage mandated through age 20 (i.e., individuals 20 and under) |
| Plans covered | Individual grandfathered plans; fully insured large group plans; fully insured small group grandfathered plans |
| Plans not covered | Self-funded employer plans (federal MHPAEA parity may apply if the plan covers mental health); individual non-grandfathered and small group non-grandfathered plans |
| Medicaid | GA Medicaid (DCH) covers ABA for individuals under 21 since January 1, 2018, via EPSDT. Up to 40 hours/week for under-6, 25 hours/week for ages 6 to 20. Requires DSM-5 ASD diagnosis from a licensed professional and prior authorization through the assigned Care Management Organization. |
| Medicaid CMOs | Amerigroup, CareSource, Peach State Health Plan |
| BCBA licensure | Georgia Behavior Analyst Licensing Board operational; behavior analysts are required to be state-licensed. Our BCBAs serving GA families hold both BACB certification and a current GA license. |
| Private plans we're in network with | Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Humana, Kaiser Permanente, Oscar |
| Other programs | Katie Beckett Medicaid Waiver, Family Support Services, Georgia TEFRA: alternative pathways for children with disabilities whose family income exceeds standard Medicaid limits |
What this means for your specific plan
Private (fully insured) plan in Georgia
Ava's Law applies: ABA is covered up to age 20 with a $35,000 annual cap. Federal MHPAEA parity may render that cap unenforceable depending on plan structure. We verify exact coverage during the free benefits check.
Self-funded employer plan
Ava's Law doesn't apply, but federal Mental Health Parity does. If the plan covers mental health, ABA is generally covered on parity terms. Many large GA self-funded plans cover ABA; check the SPD or HR.
Georgia Medicaid
Comprehensive coverage through your CMO. Up to 40 hours a week under age 6, up to 25 hours a week for ages 6 to 20. A DSM-5 diagnosis and prior authorization are required, and there is no $35K cap. For most GA families, Medicaid is the broader benefit.
Income over Medicaid limits
Look at the Katie Beckett Waiver, TEFRA, and Family Support Services. These pathways are designed for children with significant disabilities whose family income exceeds standard Medicaid eligibility. We'll talk you through them on the consultation call.
What Georgia requires before ABA starts
The diagnosis
The diagnosis must come from a licensed physician or psychologist. A school evaluation or screening alone won't unlock coverage.
Physician or psychologist diagnosis
Assessments are covered
Under Ava's Law the diagnosis has to come from a licensed physician or licensed psychologist, and the plan must cover the assessments and tests used to make it. A school evaluation or a screening tool is not enough on its own to unlock the benefit.
Who decides medical necessity
Your insurer decides whether ABA is medically necessary and can recheck it every year.
Insurer decides (SB 118)
Rechecked at least yearly
Measurable goals
Since SB 118 took effect in January 2019, it is the covering entity, your insurer, that determines whether ABA is medically necessary, and it may ask a licensed physician or psychologist to demonstrate ongoing medical necessity at least once a year. That annual redetermination is why treatment plans in Georgia are written with measurable goals and reviewed on a schedule, and why we keep the data that supports them.
If your child is on Georgia Medicaid
Every Medicaid ABA service needs prior approval. Approvals last six months.
Approval every 6 months
Assessment and plan approved separately
We renew early
Prior authorization is required for every Medicaid-covered ABA service, without exception, and it is issued in six-month increments. The assessment and the treatment plan each need their own authorization, and both must be requested by the enrolled qualified provider. Services delivered without a current authorization are not covered, so timing matters: we start the reauthorization well before the six months run out.
If your plan says no
Finish your plan's own grievance first. Then the state can send your case to an independent reviewer.
Use the deadline on your denial letter
Decision in 15 working days
Urgent: 72 hours
Georgia's independent review process only opens once the plan's own grievance process has been exhausted, and the deadline for starting that internal grievance is set by the plan, so use the date printed on the denial letter and file promptly. Independent review requests then go to the Georgia Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire, which took over the program from the Department of Community Health in July 2022.
A standard review is decided within 15 working days of the record being complete; an expedited review, where a delay would harm your child, within 72 hours. Self-funded employer plans sit outside this process and use the federal external review route instead.
What to expect: the Mastermind Behavior clinical model
The path from your first call to a BT in your living room runs five steps:
Free consultation
A 20-minute call where we listen to what's going on, walk through your coverage options, and tell you honestly whether ABA is the right fit.
BCBA assessment
The BCBA runs standardized assessments, typically the Vineland alongside a skill-based assessment like the VB-MAPP or AFLS, to determine your child's current skill level and overall level of functioning. This usually happens by video call, with you and your child.
Individualized treatment plan
The BCBA pulls together the standardized assessments, parent interview, and direct observation to build a plan with specific goals, skill acquisition and, where applicable, behavior reduction, to work toward over the next six months. At the six-month mark we reassess and continue.
In-home sessions
A Behavior Technician runs sessions in your home, generally 10 to 20 hours a week. The BCBA supervises directly, reviews data, and adjusts the plan as your child progresses.
Parent training
Built in from the start. The point is to give you the tools so the techniques keep going during the carpool, at Publix, at grandma's on Sunday.
A few details specific to GA practice
- Georgia Medicaid requires a documented DSM-5 ASD diagnosis from a licensed physician, psychologist, or designated qualified professional before ABA can begin. Wait times for developmental peds in GA can run six to nine months; we'll talk you through diagnostic resources on the consultation call.
- CMO prior authorization is its own multi-step process. Initial authorization typically covers the assessment and a discrete number of treatment hours; reauthorization happens every six months based on data and progress.
- Behavior Analyst licensure is required to practice ABA in Georgia. Verifying that your provider's BCBAs are state-licensed is a meaningful question to ask, and the answer should be yes.
If things escalate between sessions
A treatment plan is built for ordinary days. For a behavioral or emotional crisis that is not immediately life-threatening, the Georgia Crisis and Access Line at 1.800.715.4225 is the state's single door: free, confidential, staffed 24 hours a day by licensed clinicians, and run by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. It covers crises related to intellectual and developmental disabilities as well as mental health.
GCAL can talk you through the moment, and it can dispatch a mobile crisis team to your home in any of Georgia's 159 counties. You can call on behalf of your child, and it helps to be with them when you do. Younger family members can reach the same clinicians by text or chat through the My GCAL app, and since 2022 dialing 988 in Georgia also connects to GCAL. For anything life-threatening, call 911 first.
We are not a crisis service. What we do afterward is look at what led up to it, adjust the plan, and, with your consent, share our data with whoever else is supporting your child.
Early intervention contacts by county
For a child under three, Georgia's early intervention program is Babies Can't Wait, and the door into it is Children 1st, the public health single point of entry for children up to five. Referrals go to the Children 1st office for your health district, which sets up a free developmental screening. The statewide referral line, 1-800-229-2038 (Parent to Parent of Georgia), reaches the program from anywhere in the state.
Georgia runs public health through 18 districts rather than county by county, so the contact for your family depends on which district your county belongs to. Babies Can't Wait serves children from birth to three with developmental delays or qualifying diagnoses, regardless of income. Evaluation and service coordination are free; some services use a sliding fee scale. At age three, responsibility moves to the local school system.
| County | Who to call | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Bartow, Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Floyd, Gordon, Haralson, Paulding, Polk, Walker | Northwest Health District, Babies Can't Wait, Northwest (Rome) health district | 706-802-5072 |
| Banks, Dawson, Forsyth, Franklin, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Lumpkin, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union, White | North Health District, Babies Can't Wait, North (Gainesville) health district | 1-800-204-8731 alt 770-535-6907 |
| Cobb, Douglas | Cobb & Douglas Public Health, Children 1st, Cobb-Douglas health district | 770-514-2759 |
| Fulton | Fulton County Board of Health, Children 1st, Fulton health district | 404-612-8770 |
| Clayton | Clayton County Health District, Children 1st, Clayton health district | 678-610-7259 |
| Gwinnett, Newton, Rockdale | Gwinnett, Newton & Rockdale Health, Children 1st, East Metro / GNR (Lawrenceville) health district | 770-339-5048 |
| Butts, Carroll, Coweta, Fayette, Heard, Henry, Lamar, Meriwether, Pike, Spalding, Troup, Upson | District 4 Public Health, Children 1st, District 4 (LaGrange) health district | 706-298-7760 |
| Bleckley, Dodge, Johnson, Laurens, Montgomery, Pulaski, Telfair, Treutlen, Wheeler, Wilcox | South Central Health District, Children 1st, South Central (Dublin) health district | 478-274-7717 |
| Baldwin, Bibb, Crawford, Hancock, Houston, Jasper, Jones, Monroe, Peach, Putnam, Twiggs, Washington, Wilkinson | North Central Health District, Children 1st, North Central (Macon) health district | 478-751-6359 alt 478-751-6303 |
| Burke, Columbia, Emanuel, Glascock, Jefferson, Jenkins, Lincoln, McDuffie, Richmond, Screven, Taliaferro, Warren, Wilkes | East Central Health District, Children 1st, East Central (Augusta) health district | 706-667-4757 |
| Chattahoochee, Clay, Crisp, Dooly, Harris, Macon, Marion, Muscogee, Quitman, Randolph, Schley, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Taylor, Webster | West Central Health District, Babies Can't Wait, West Central (Columbus) health district | 706-327-0189 alt 706-307-6365 |
| Ben Hill, Berrien, Brooks, Cook, Echols, Irwin, Lanier, Lowndes, Tift, Turner | South Health District, Babies Can't Wait, South (Valdosta) health district | 229-245-6565 alt 229-293-6286 |
| Baker, Calhoun, Colquitt, Decatur, Dougherty, Early, Grady, Lee, Miller, Mitchell, Seminole, Terrell, Thomas, Worth | Southwest Health District, Children 1st, Southwest (Albany) health district | 229-299-4447 |
| Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, Long, McIntosh | Coastal Health District, Babies Can't Wait, Coastal (Savannah) health district | 912-644-5806 alt 912-644-5804 |
| Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Brantley, Bulloch, Candler, Charlton, Clinch, Coffee, Evans, Jeff Davis, Pierce, Tattnall, Toombs, Ware, Wayne | Southeast Health District, Babies Can't Wait, Southeast (Waycross) health district | 1-800-429-6307 alt 912-287-4843 |
| Barrow, Clarke, Elbert, Greene, Jackson, Madison, Morgan, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Walton | Northeast Health District, Children 1st, Northeast (Athens) health district | 706-227-7191 |
Verified September 2026. Offices move and numbers change; if a line does not connect, use the statewide referral line above. District boundaries from the Georgia Department of Public Health. Program description from DPH, Babies Can't Wait.
A partner for your family, from the first call on
We walk alongside families across Georgia, from Savannah to Warner Robins to the rural counties in between. If you're ready to explore what in-home ABA could look like for your family, let's talk.
Healthcare or education professional? Refer a child and our intake team will contact the family directly.
