CMS-approved state plan amendment – 2017 (PDF), CMS-approved state plan amendment – 2018 update (PDF), CMS-approved state plan amendment – 2019 update (PDF), CMS-approved state plan amendment – 2022 update (PDF), Minn. Stat. §256B.0949

Employee: A person who is employed temporarily, part time or full time by the agency that submits claims or billing for the work, services, supervision or treatment performed by the person. This does not include:

To qualify as a level I provider, a person must meet both of the following requirements:

1. Be an EIDBI agency employee.

2. Complete either:

In addition to the above requirements, a person must meet one of the following requirements:

1. Have a doctoral or master’s degree from an accredited college or university in behavioral health, child development or a related field (e.g., mental health, special education, social work, psychology, speech pathology, occupational therapy).

2. Be a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral (BCBA-D) through the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, Inc. (BACB). As of Jan. 1, 2025, behavior analysts must be licensed through Board of Psychology – Applying for licensed behavior analyst to continue to practice applied behavior analysis. For more information, refer to the Oct. 8, 2024, eList announcement.

3. Be a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) through the BACB.

4. Be a Qualified Behavior Analyst as defined by the Qualified Applied Behavior Analysis Credentialing Board. As of Jan. 1, 2025, behavior analysts must be licensed through Board of Psychology – Applying for licensed behavior analyst to continue to practice applied behavior analysis. For more information, refer to the Oct. 8, 2024, eList announcement.

5. Have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in behavioral health, child development or a related field (e.g., mental health, special education, social work, psychology, speech pathology, occupational therapy) and advanced certification in one of the DHS-recognized treatment modalities (refer to the advanced certification section on this page and EIDBI – Treatment modalities).

6. Be a Board-Certified assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA) through the BACB and have 4,000 hours of supervised clinical experience that meets all registration, supervision and continuing education requirements of the certification. As of Jan. 1, 2025, behavior analysts must be licensed through Board of Psychology – Applying for licensed behavior analyst to continue to practice applied behavior analysis. For more information, refer to the Oct. 8, 2024, eList announcement.

7. Meet all the following:

8. Meet both the following:

Note: If a provider no longer meets the required provider qualifications, they must adjust their enrollment status accordingly. For more information, refer for MHCP Provider Manual – EIDBI provider enrollment.

For questions about the required qualifications, contact the EIDBI team through the Minnesota Autism Resource Portal Contact Form.

DHS defines equivalent graduate coursework as a combination of:

A level I provider’s experience or training hours must make up at least 25% of the total required amount of experience (i.e., 500 hours). The provider may count coursework toward the remaining 75% (i.e., the other 1,500 hours).

Experience or training

Experience or training includes the examination and/or treatment of people with ASD or a related condition. Experience and training must be in person and can be completed in the following settings:

Coursework

A level I provider must document graduate-level coursework in one or more of the following areas:

The provider must submit a transcript to DHS with enrollment forms to demonstrate proof of completed coursework (refer to MHCP Provider Manual – EIDBI provider enrollment). One credit of completed coursework is equivalent to 45 training hours. The provider must have completed coursework at a graduate level through an accredited university or college.

Related degree fields (i.e., majors) may include but are not limited to mental health, special education, social work, psychology, speech pathology or occupational therapy. However, DHS:

Provider agencies must:

DHS review standards

DHS will confirm all the following:

Note: DHS does not consider minors, coursework, training, experience or certificates in isolation as substitutes for an unrelated major or degree program.

Provider Eligibility and Compliance (PEC) reviews each application on a case-by-case basis to verify that the degree major is in behavioral health, child development or a related field from an accredited institution. Enrollment determinations reflect current clinical standards and evolving best practices in the field.

Provider agency guidance for evaluating degree alignment

To help provider agencies evaluate degree alignment before they submit an enrollment application, DHS recommends provider agencies conduct an internal review process to verify all the following:

Provider agencies should:

1. Verify the degree major and school accreditation.

Providers can verify the degree major:

Note: The degree must be in a qualifying major or related field. The following education components do not meet degree requirements:

Providers can verify school accreditation by searching for the institution’s status in either:

2. Determine if the degree is in a related field.

A related field is a field that provides substantial educational preparation to support or deliver interventions for people with developmental, behavioral or mental health conditions.

When provider agencies review a degree major that is not clearly identified in statute (e.g., behavioral health, child development, mental health, special education, social work, psychology, speech pathology, occupational therapy), they should determine if the major includes core content in at least one of the following areas:

If at least 50 percent of the degree’s coursework or program outcomes reflect these areas, DHS may consider the degree to be in a related field.

More information

For more information on enrollment, refer to MHCP Provider Manual – EIDBI provider enrollment criteria and forms.

For questions, contact the MHCP Provider Resource Center and request to speak to PEC. For more information, refer to DHS – MHCP Provider Resource Center.

Advanced certification is specialized credentials beyond foundational training in one of the DHS-recognized treatment modalities. Advanced certification:

All EIDBI services use one of the DHS-recognized treatment modalities listed on EIDBI – Treatment modalities.

An advanced certification provider is a provider who holds advanced certification in the DHS-recognized treatment modality the agency provides. When a level I provider has advanced certification in a modality, they are responsible to oversee fidelity of the modality and training of non-certified staff. If the level I provider with advanced certification leaves the agency (e.g., resigns or disaffiliates their enrollment) or experiences an absence longer than 31 consecutive days, another provider with advanced certification must take over these responsibilities for the agency to continue providing services. An agency cannot operate without an advanced certification provider.

All enrolling EIDBI agencies must have a QSP or level I provider with advanced certification in one of the following treatment modalities:

1. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA):

2. DIR/Floortime:

3. Early Start Denver Model (ESDM):

4. Relationship Development Intervention (RDI):

5. Other specific modality certifications.

For more information, refer to EIDBI – Treatment modalities – Certified providers.

If a level I provider wants to add mental health practitioner clinical trainee services to their existing EIDBI provider enrollment record to assist with comprehensive multi-disciplinary evaluation (CMDE) completion, they must complete and submit the EIDBI Assurance Statement for CMDE Providers, DHS-7120A (PDF). On DHS-7120A, the provider must attest they meet both of the following requirements:

Upon completion of the mental health professional licensure or board certification requirements, the provider must resubmit the EIDBI Assurance Statement for CMDE Providers, DHS-7120A (PDF) and attest to the requirements of a CMDE provider listed on the form.

For more information, refer to:

The level I provider must:

For information about how to enroll with Minnesota Health Care Programs (MHCP) as a level I provider, refer to MHCP Provider Manual – EIDBI provider enrollment criteria and forms.