ABA Has a Turnover Problem. Families Feel It First.

There are about 187,000 RBTs in the U.S.

Most of them will leave their job within a year (103% Turnover in 2024 on average!)

Not eventually. Within a year.

And you can feel it.

A child finally gets comfortable with someone.They start responding.Things get a little easier at home.

Then that person leaves.

Now it’s a new face.New voice.New dynamic.

And everything slows down again.

We hear the same thing from families:

“It was going so well… and now we’re backtracking.”

That’s not because ABA doesn’t work.

It’s because the people delivering it keep changing.

Let’s just say it plainly.

RBTs are underpaid in most agencies for what they do.

Schedules aren’t stable.

Cancellations hit their income.

And burnout is real.

So they leave.

Not because they don’t care.Because the system doesn’t hold them.

At Sunderlin, we’ve had to be really honest about this.

One thing we implemented is last-minute cancellation fees.

Not to be difficult.

But because when a session cancels last minute,that’s lost income for staff.

And when that keeps happening,people don’t stay.

And when people don’t stay…families feel it immediately.

This isn’t just a staffing issue.

It’s a consistency issue.

And consistency is what actually moves the needle.

If we want better outcomes,we have to support the people doing the work.

Because when they stay…

Everything else starts to stabilize too.