TRICARE Focus on Parent Involvement

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You already know that your involvement in your child’s therapy is one of the most important factors in whether progress is maintained over time. Skills are far more likely to last and generalize when parents are actively involved—whether that means helping strengthen and extend skills practiced during sessions or using ABA strategies to support challenges at home.

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This is also why TRICARE requires meaningful parent participation. Specifically, TRICARE mandates at least six parent training sessions and at least one active “parent goal” during each six-month authorization period. Recently, TRICARE has placed increased emphasis on documenting parent involvement. As a result, we have seen more continuation requests placed in a “pended” status when there is limited evidence of participation, requiring additional justification for ongoing services.

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Our shared goal is to avoid any interruption in your child’s therapy. Delays in authorization can result in a temporary pause in services if approval is not granted before the current authorization expires, or longer delays if extensive documentation is required. It is also important to know that TRICARE technically may deny continued services if parent involvement does not meet their requirements for two consecutive authorization periods.

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What you can do to help prevent delays or interruptions:

• Meet with your clinician on a regular basis; we recommend at least monthly parent sessions.

• Keep scheduled appointments whenever possible, and if you need to cancel, reschedule as soon as you can.

• Collaborate with your clinician to develop parent goals that feel realistic and that you can actively and consistently participate in.
   

We view parent involvement as a partnership, and we are here to support you in meeting these requirements while also helping your child make meaningful, lasting progress.