This is unfortunately not as easy of a question to answer as it seems! Beacon provides a variety of services, and clinicians have different levels of availability based on the type of service an individual is seeking and the insurance a client wishes to use, if any (unfortunately, not all providers are able to perform all types of services, and not all providers can accept all insurances). Not only do we wish to assist you in getting care quickly, but we want to ensure that your child is directed towards the right kind of service, and with the best provider to meet your needs, with the soonest opening available- and if for some reason, we are not able to help, we make it our priority to provide you with recommendations for other providers in the area that may!

Therefore, we request that all potential clients complete our New Client Inquiry Form (even if a referral has already been sent to our agency).

Typically, availability is most impacted by the service a client is seeking, as well as the type of insurance a client plans to use, the type and level of provider that insurance plan allows, and therefore which permitted providers for that insurance have openings available.

• ABA Therapy: ABA therapy has a different mode of service delivery than other types of therapy, where RBTs deliver the direct therapy, with cases supervised by a BCBA. Therefore, due to the ‘team approach’ permitted for this service, there tends to be more openings. Typically your initial intake will be scheduled with one of our licensed psychologists and once all authorization is obtained, services will be scheduled with the BCBA and a team of RBTs.

• Psychological Testing: Evaluation appointments sessions are typically brief and some testing can be administered by psychometricians (whom often have more openings). Therefore, more openings tend to become available for assessment services. Services are typically scheduled with our licensed psychologists and/or in conjunction with our clinical psychology post-doctoral residents.

• Counseling/ Mental health therapy: Unfortunately, we only have a few counselors and licensed providers on staff that are able to bill for mental health therapy services through insurance, and not all providers are in network with all insurance plans. Recently, many insurance plans have begun allowing services under pre-licensed individuals (e.g., registered mental health interns [RMHI], post-doctorate psychology residents, etc.). Because the full time psychologists on staff are also the directors and behavior analysts, and therefore responsible for administrative tasks and provide other types of services, they often have fewer openings available. The RMHI on staff are dedicated to serving therapy clients and typically have more readily available appointments; post-doctoral residents assist with psychological testing, but also focus heavily on providing therapy services for clients. For clients with insurance that permits services by these providers, appointments will generally be scheduled with one of the RMHI therapists or post-doctoral residents.

If none of our in-network providers are available, we may have lower cost self-pay options available with one of our mental health externs! Please click here for more information about our amazing team!

The nature of health insurance significantly impacts what openings may or may not be available. There are many reasons for this!

Every insurance plan is VERY different, even within the same insurance company, which unfortunately can complicate the process of coordinating care for your child.

Health insurance companies typically do not credential agencies as a whole for behavioral health, but only the specific therapist, thus an agency may have some therapists in network for some plans and some that are not. Additionally, unfortunately in the field of behavioral health, many insurance companies are closed to even accepting new providers to become in network!

Due to the way health insurance credentials behavioral health providers, even if a therapist is able to take new clients, they may not be able to if they are not in network for your insurance plan! For example, if there are two providers, one with openings but whom is not credentialed with a client’s insurance, and the other whom is credentialed but does not have openings, then sadly the client cannot be seen if they wish to use their insurance benefits, despite the fact that we have a therapist available with openings, as that therapist is unable to bill that client’s insurance. This same therapist can, however, provide services to the client only if the client wishes to pay out of pocket.

Unfortunately, health insurance policies have become increasingly complicated and rules and coverage across different plans vary so widely, that it can feel confusing or difficult to find care quickly when utilizing insurance benefits.

Because our agency offers a variety of services with providers that have different areas of expertise, the availability of new client intake appointments may depend on the type of service you are seeking, the treatment needs that your child may have, and the type of insurance you are using (as not all providers are in network for all insurances). Therefore, all potential new clients must complete the ONLINE INQUIRY FORM, as we have found this to be the most efficient manner of gathering the required details for the clinical administration team to review for case assignments. By completing the online inquiry form in its entirety, this provides our team with all of the necessary details to determine what openings we may have, and if an opening is available, ensures that you are scheduled for the appropriate service and the provider that can best meet your needs. The details you provide also allow us to determine if preauthorization might be needed or look into other necessary details related to insurance coverage, if relevant.

Yes - even with a referral, completion of the online new client inquiry form is required. If we receive a referral, we will reach out via text or email (if available) to request that you complete the new client inquiry form.

We appreciate referrals sent from pediatricians and specialists! Unfortunately, we have found that some obstacles may occur with the referral process, that leaves us without the referral (e.g., at times doctors have stated that a referral has been sent when it has not yet been submitted, referrals may get faxed to the wrong number or wrong agency, etc.). Therefore, even if your doctor indicates they have sent a referral, please simply complete the online form, as we may not have received it.

Additionally, referrals may or may not clearly explain the needs your child may have or the services they may need. Additionally, the contact information provided on referrals is sometimes inaccurate or incomplete. Therefore, we do require all clients to complete the online new client inquiry form even if a referral may have been submitted.

Although we always appreciate referrals from other professionals, please understand that the submission of a referral does not guarantee that we will have openings for the type of services you are seeking and/or provider that you may require. Upon your submission of a new client inquiry form, we will better be able to determine if we can meet your needs!

Depending on the day of your submission in relation to the timing of the next administrative meeting, please expect a reply from the intake coordinator within 2 to 5 business days. For your convenience, the intake coordinator will respond VIA EMAIL, unless you specifically decline consent for email correspondence and will also follow up with A PHONE CALL or TEXT to ensure the email is received. Please note what email address you provide and check your spam box if you do not receive an email from info@beaconpediatric.com within this time frame; please also be sure to check your voicemail regularly and ensure that your voicemail box is not full.

Please be aware that submission of a new client inquiry form does not ensure that a new client intake opening is available. Although we desire to help as many clients as possible, unfortunately, many provider schedules are often full, especially in regard to mental health therapy. At times, we may be able to offer a wait list for certain services; however, if wait lists are full, we will provide you with a list of other providers in the area that may be able help your child if an opening is not available at Beacon! If you feel that you cannot wait the 2-5 business days and/or are concerned that we may not have any openings to serve you at this time, we encourage you to contact other providers simultaneously as you await a response from our intake coordinator. You should never wait for services for any reason if you feel that your child is in need of more immediate help.

Please review the information on our staff page about the different types of providers we have on staff, so that you are aware of the provider types that you may be assigned to for either the initial intake interview and/or services thereafter! We have a variety of amazing providers here at Beacon, including psychologists, LMHCs, masters level registered mental health interns (RMHI), graduate level mental health externs, doctoral level clinical psychology post-doctoral residents, BCBAs, BCaBAs, and RBTs! If you have any questions about the specific individual with whom you are scheduled with for your initial intake interview, please be sure to let us know during our correspondence in scheduling your intake appointment, and we can provide you with more details at that time!

After reviewing your new client inquiry form, the administrative team will assign you to a provider based on the following criteria:

• Type of service: You will be assigned to a provider that has the required skills, training, and experience for the type of service you are seeking, as well as that has the level of licensure/certification needed (if required for the service type).

• Insurance: If you are using an insurance that we accept, you will be assigned to a provider that is able to bill your insurance plan as an in-network provider under either direct care or supervisory billing. In the event we do not have any providers available that are able to bill your insurance as an in-network provider, we will provide recommendations for other providers in the area that may be able to assist you or we may offer you the option to obtain services at Beacon as a 'self-pay' client with an available provider at Beacon that is not in-network with your insurance. Under certain insurance plans (Cigna, Aetna, specific BCBS plans, etc.), counseling/mental health therapy by a Registered Mental Health Intern (RMHI) and/or a clinical psychology post-doctoral resident is permitted; in such cases, therapy clients may be scheduled with these providers, depending on availability (many helpful details about these amazing therapists can be found on our staff page). If you are scheduled with one of these providers, they will discuss the details of the position with you at length at your intake.

• Presenting concerns: It is important that providers operate within their scope of competence. Though providers may be trained to offer a specific service, they may specialize in certain areas and not others. You will only be scheduled with a provider that has the ability to treat/assess the specific areas of concern that you have identified on your new client inquiry. We understand that more information will be shared with us during your intake interview; in the event it is determined during the intake that the presenting concerns are different than anticipated and beyond the provider's scope of ability, we will provide you with recommendations for other providers in the area that may be more specialized in the areas you may need.

• Provider availability: Some of our providers may have more or less openings in their schedule than others. This may be due to current caseload, changes in provider schedule, or variability in the types of responsibilities the provider may have here at Beacon. After considering the variables discussed in previous bullets, we will assign you to a provider that meets that criteria with the soonest opening available.

We understand that when clients contact our agency, they are often experiencing significant need and hope to obtain services as soon as possible! However, we appreciate your patience as the Executive Director and Assistant Director personally review each new client inquiry to better understand your clinical needs, determine if an opening is available for the service you are seeking, and to match your case with the most appropriate provider if an opening is available. Administrative meetings occur twice a week to allow for new client case reviews and assignments. Depending upon the day of your submission in relation to the timing of the next administrative meeting, the response time to your inquiry may vary.

Such in depth review of new client inquiries is necessary for several reasons:

• Some therapists are often full and unable to take on new clients; however, caseload openings can sometimes change within a matter of days. Therefore it is important to review your clinical needs in conjunction with therapist schedules to see whom may be available that can best meet your needs.

• Because we provide a variety of services (e.g., mental health therapy, ABA therapy, psychological testing, etc.), we must take into account the type of service that an individual is seeking to determine if the appropriate type of provider is available. Sometimes intake forms are unclear as to the type of service one is seeking, therefore we must review the intake forms to determine needs and/or seek out additional information.

• We have an amazing team of providers here at Beacon; however, some providers may specialize in particular clinical areas, while some have expertise in others areas! It is important that we clearly understand the types of needs and concerns that your child may have so that we can ensure that the provider we schedule you with has the necessary skill set to help you best! This requires an in depth review of your inquiry form and an analysis of our staffing availability.

• Therapist openings are often impacted by the type of service a client is seeking and the type of insurance they have (as not all providers are in network for all insurance plans). Until we have the details of your new client inquiry form, we cannot know if we have any openings to meet your needs.

We try to move the intake process along as quickly as possible, but unfortunately, the complexity of services that we provide, the types of providers we have on staff, and the insurance rules make it so that we really need to look more in depth at the incoming new client inquiries to determine if client needs and therapist availability is a match across all these various domains!

If you feel that you cannot wait the 2 - 5 business days, we encourage you to contact other providers simultaneously as you await a response from our intake coordinator.

The intake date and time offered to you is the next available opening for the type(s) of service you are seeking with the type of provider required by your insurance (if using insurance). If the offered date and time does not work for your schedule, please let us know as soon as possible and we will do our best to offer you the next available opening; however, please be aware that there is no guarantee as to how soon the next opening may become available.

We understand that scheduling can often be difficult due to school and work schedules, and with that, many clients prefer sessions during afternoon times. As a result, these later time slots tend to fill up first in our schedules and are typically reserved for recurring therapy sessions (rather than intakes or testing appointments). Because new client intake interview appointments are 'one time' appointments, they are generally scheduled in the morning or mid-day. At the end of the intake session, the provider will look at the calendar with you to coordinate the date(s) and time(s) for your follow up appointment(s); however, there is no guarantee of openings during the late afternoon. If you have very specific scheduling needs, please do let us know prior to scheduling your new client intake so that we may determine if our providers might be able to meet these needs or assist in guiding you to alternative providers if we are unable to do so.

Once you are scheduled, in the event you need to cancel this appointment, please contact us at least 48 hours before your appointment by emailing the provider info@BeaconPediatric.com or by calling or texting the main line at (904) 419-7792.

We permit rescheduling of the new client intake interview no more than 2 times.

The intake coordinator can be reached via the main line at 904.419.7792 (via call or text) or via email at Info@beaconpediatric.com. For the quickest response, please use email!