Who Can Count as a Client for BCBA® Supervised Fieldwork?
- Ashleigh Evans (BCBA)
- 24 hours ago
- 4 min read
Getting started on your path to BCBA certification? It's an exciting time, but navigating BCBA supervised fieldwork can also feel overwhelming. There are so many BACB requirements to keep up with, and evolving standards don't make it any easier. One of the most common questions trainees ask is: Who qualifies as a “client” when accruing hours? Let's break it down.
Appropriate Clients for BCBA Fieldwork
If you don't work in a typical ABA setting or you're accruing additional hours outside of your workplace, you may be considering alternative options for clients. A supervisor, colleague, or well-meaning commenter on social media might suggest using your children or pets as clients. We urge immediate caution when you hear this advice.
The BCBA Handbook, the primary source of up-to-date fieldwork requirements, states:
Appropriate clients are "any person (or group of people) for whom behavior-analytic services are appropriate. The trainee and supervisor must have a formal relationship with the client who is receiving services as part of the fieldwork activities."
While this definition is broad, the BACB provides critical clarifications to prevent ethical conflicts and dual relationships. Specifically, trainees cannot be:
Related to the client
The client's primary caregiver
Related to the client's primary caregiver
What This Means in Practice
This means you cannot use:
Your own children
Nieces, nephews, siblings, cousins, or other relatives
Individuals you primarily care for (e.g., as a parent, guardian, or full-time caregiver)
Clients where a personal relationship exists that could compromise objectivity
This applies to all fieldwork, including both restricted and unrestricted activities.
But what about dogs or other pets?
While behavior-analytic principles can be applied to animals, pets don't qualify as appropriate clients for BCBA supervised fieldwork. The handbook clearly states that clients must be people or groups of people, which would exclude animals.
So, Who Can Be Your Clients?
Excluding the people and animals previously discussed, any individual or group for whom behavior-analytic services are appropriate may be considered a client for BCBA supervised fieldwork, provided all BACB requirements are met.
Potential clients could include:
Individuals receiving services at an ABA clinic
Parents or caregivers participating in parent training
Students in a school setting
Residents of group homes or community-based programs
Individuals in an office (e.g., OBM-focused supervision)
Teens or adults in vocational support or day programs
Individuals participating in social skills or life skills groups
This is not an all-encompassing list. Discuss potential client options with your supervisor and ensure they qualify based on BACB regulations.
What About Remote Supervision?
Remote supervision is allowed for supervised fieldwork, but it's important to remember that clients and service relationships must still meet BACB requirements. Whether supervision occurs in person or remotely, trainees and supervisors must have a formal relationship with the client who is receiving services. This means one of the following must be true:
The trainee and supervisor are working at the same organization where the client is receiving behavior-analytic services.
The trainee and supervisor each have a service contract with a specific client.
The trainee and supervisor have a contractual relationship with the organization where the client is receiving services.
What This Means in Practice
Remote supervision doesn't allow for shortcuts or informal arrangements. Meaningful supervision relies on supervisors understanding the client’s background, needs, and programming. Your supervisor doesn't have to be from your job, but they do need a formal, professional relationship with the client or the organization providing services.
What are Acceptable Fieldwork Activities?
All fieldwork hours have to be related to actual client programming. Activities based on hypothetical situations or mock clients are not allowed.
Note: This was clarified in an August 2025 update to the handbook.
Acceptable activities include, but aren't limited to:
Administering assessments
Designing, implementing, and monitoring programs
Delivering caregiver training
Writing BIPs, TPs, progress summaries, transition summaries, and clinical notes
Supervising or training staff
Communicating and collaborating with stakeholders
What are Unacceptable Fieldwork Activities?
Many activities are valuable, but can't be counted toward fieldwork hours, including:
Professional conferences, workshops, or ACE events
University coursework
Billing, scheduling, or other administrative tasks
CPR or other non-behavior-analytic trainings
Reading or research unrelated to a current client's programming
Listening to podcasts
Reviewing hypothetical scenarios and writing up mock responses
Teaching at RBT professional development events. *This is important to note, as it's new
Role-playing behavior-analytic procedures not related to a client
More Resources
BACB Resources:
ABA Resource Center Supervision-Related Blogs:
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