Operator Spotlight: How California Autism Center Scaled with Clarity
From fragile integrations to real-time visibility, California Autism Center found a platform aligned with its mission
When Adam Rushing joined California Autism Center in 2016, it was a single-site provider in Fresno with a vision to build something bigger — not just in scale, but in purpose. Today, they operate six center-based ABA clinics across California’s Central Valley, supported by more than 350 staff and a growing reputation for thoughtful, culturally rooted care.
But as the company grew, so did the operational complexity. Leadership needed technology that could scale with them — and the tools they had weren’t cutting it.
🔄 From Frustration to Fit
In its early growth stage, California Autism Center used a combination of older clinical and practice management tools — platforms that have since been acquired and lost market momentum in the ABA space. The systems weren’t built to work together, and integrations often required fragile workarounds. Security, support, and long-term viability became growing concerns.
“We were running critical reporting pipelines off of fragile APIs and manually stitching together data. It wasn’t sustainable.”
After a thorough vendor evaluation, they selected Passage Health — not for a single flashy feature, but for its unified approach, responsive leadership, and operational depth.
🚀 Why Passage? Three Differentiators That Mattered
When California Autism Center transitioned to Passage, it wasn’t just looking for a better system — it needed a partner that could support smarter operations and scale. These three capabilities made the biggest difference:
1. Modern, Intuitive Interface
Unlike the clunky legacy systems they replaced, Passage’s UI is clean and familiar — reducing training time and increasing daily usability.
Adam explained. “It feels like an app our staff already know how to use. That matters when you’re hiring and training constantly.”
→ Outcome: Faster onboarding, happier staff, and fewer support issues during growth.
2. Real-Time Supervision
Passage allows BCBAs to view session notes live as they’re being entered — enabling true in-the-moment supervision.
“Our clinical supervisors don’t have to wait until after a session. They can guide BTs in real time,” Adam said.
→ Outcome: Stronger clinical fidelity, more responsive coaching, and increased efficiency at the supervisory level.
3. Utilization Tracking
With built-in dashboards, California Autism Center can easily track how teams are pacing against authorized hours for both direct care and supervision.
“We check utilization weekly — it’s just part of our rhythm now.”
→ Outcome: Fewer surprises with payors, better alignment with authorizations, and early interventions when pacing falls off.
📊 A Tech-Enabled Culture
California Autism Center isn’t just a user of Passage — they’re also building around it. With a strong internal tech team, they developed their own analytics infrastructure to export structured data from Passage into a custom Power BI dashboard. This enables executive decision-making even where vendor-delivered reporting is still maturing.
Their technical strength has also helped them navigate areas where Passage is still evolving.
“Some of the API limitations would’ve been blockers for others,” Adam noted. “Our team had the capability to work around those gaps — and that let us keep scaling while Passage evolved.”
Even more important than the feature set has been California Autism Center’s confidence in the Passage leadership team, including Bill White. From early conversations through implementation, Adam noted consistent transparency about what’s possible now, what’s on the roadmap, and what challenges still need to be addressed.
“They’ve delivered on what they said they’d deliver. And when something isn’t ready, they’re upfront about it. That gives us confidence they’re in this for the long haul.”
🌱 Growth with Purpose
California Autism Center’s growth is not just geographic — it’s strategic. The team is focused on building a sustainable regional model, rooted in community needs and supported by technology that removes friction rather than adds to it.
“We’re not interested in growth for growth’s sake,” Adam said. “We want to build something that lasts — and Passage is helping us do that.”
🧭 Why It Matters
In an industry where tech is often a barrier, California Autism Center’s experience shows what’s possible when the right platform meets the right leadership mindset.
By aligning clinical clarity with operational scalability — and partnering with a platform team that’s genuinely committed to long-term value — California Autism Center is setting a new standard for what modern ABA delivery can look like.
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