From Chaos to Clarity: Streamlining Your ABA Fieldwork with Ripley

Ripley turns scattered fieldwork records into one monthly workflow: enter activities, connect the correct supervisor and organization, monitor supervision and activity categories, then generate a pre-filled verification form PDF for review and signatures. The tracker handles organization and arithmetic. You and your supervisor remain responsible for determining whether hours qualify.

Why fieldwork records become disorganized

The difficulty is not only the 2,000-hour or 1,500-hour total. Each supervisory period has its own requirements. Trainees need to distinguish restricted and unrestricted work, record supervision and observations, separate organizations and fieldwork types, and retain forms that agree with the supporting log.

Spreadsheets can support that process, but errors appear when formulas, versions, and records live in different files. A reliable workflow makes the monthly review repeatable.

Step 1: Configure the correct fieldwork type

Choose Supervised Fieldwork or Concentrated Supervised Fieldwork based on the supervision arrangement. Concentrated fieldwork has a lower total-hour requirement and a higher monthly supervision requirement.

If your expected application date is in 2027, review the transition guidance before selecting requirements. The monthly cap and concentrated supervision percentage change in 2027. The fieldwork types guide explains the Ripley setting.

Step 2: Add supervisors and organizations carefully

Attach each entry to the correct organization and supervisor. Adding someone as a supervisor for tracking does not automatically grant account access. Account access is a separate supervisee-controlled setting.

This separation helps records and forms reflect the actual supervisory arrangement, especially when a trainee changes jobs or works with multiple supervisors.

Step 3: Log specific activities

Enter hours while the details are recent. Choose restricted or unrestricted based on the actual activity and your supervisor's determination. Use descriptions that allow later review without including client names or electronic protected health information.

Ripley displays running totals, but a clean total begins with clear entries. Review unclear activities during supervision instead of guessing.

Step 4: Monitor the month before it closes

Check supervision percentage, observation, total hours, and the unrestricted trend throughout the month. A percentage can fall when additional hours are entered, so a week-three review is safer than a final-day review.

Under current rules, standard fieldwork needs at least 5% supervision and concentrated fieldwork needs 10%. For 2027 applications, concentrated supervision becomes 7.5% and observation is measured in cumulative minutes.

Step 5: Generate and review the form

Ripley uses recorded totals to create a pre-filled Monthly Fieldwork Verification Form PDF. Review the form with your supervisor, correct the underlying entries if totals are wrong, complete the required signatures outside Ripley, and retain the signed copy.

The form is a summary, not the complete documentation system. Keep contracts, forms, and supporting records together. See the verification form guide for deadlines and versions.

A simple monthly close process

1. Confirm every entry belongs to the correct month, organization, and supervisor.
2. Review restricted and unrestricted classifications.
3. Check supervision, individual supervision, and observation.
4. Resolve discrepancies with the supervisor.
5. Generate the applicable form.
6. Review and sign it.
7. Store the signed form with supporting records.
8. Export a backup.

What Ripley does and does not do

Ripley helps log time, calculate totals, display monthly requirements, manage multiple supervisors and organizations, and pre-fill verification form PDFs. Core tracking is free.

Ripley does not approve fieldwork, replace a supervision contract, decide whether an activity qualifies, or submit certification documents to the BACB. It is independent and is not affiliated with the BACB.

Start with the Ripley user guide or review the current BCBA fieldwork requirements before configuring a new account.

Sources

• BACB: Board Certified Behavior Analyst Handbook
• BACB: BCBA fieldwork forms and resources
• BACB: FAQs About Supervised Fieldwork Requirements