The Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) is a division of New Jersey’s Department of Human Services. The DDD provides public funding for certain services designed to assist eligible New Jersey adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, age 21 and older, to live as independently as possible.

The DDD has developed a new resource for families in collaboration with the Regional Family Support Planning Councils. The Supports Program Policies and Procedures Manual: A Quick Guide for Families can assist families in gaining a basic understanding of the Supports Program and its service benefits.

The Supports Program is a Medicaid program which provides services for eligible adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, age 21 and older, living with their families or in other non-licensed settings.

The services and supports available through enrollment in the DDD’s Supports Program fall into three broad categories:

• Employment/Day Services
• Individual/Family Supports
• Supported Employment

Within the above three categories, specific services available through the Supports Program include the following:

• Assistive Technology
• Occupational Therapy
• Behavioral Supports
• Career Planning
• Physical Therapy
• Cognitive Rehabilitation
• Prevocational Training
• Community Based Supports
• Respite
• Community Inclusion Services
• Speech, Language, and Hearing Therapy
• Day Habilitation
• Support Coordination
• Supported Employment – Individual and Small Group Employment Support
• Fiscal Management Services
• Goods & Services
• Interpreter Services
• Transportation
• Vehicle Modification

Other services are also available.

To enroll in and access services through the Supports Program, an individual first must be found eligible for DDD services. All individuals who have been determined eligible for DDD services can enroll in the Supports Program.

To be determined eligible for DDD services, an individual must:

• Be a New Jersey resident
• Be Medicaid eligible
• Meet the functional criteria of having a developmental disability, and must document that s/he has a chronic physical and/or intellectual impairment that (1) manifested before age 22; (2) is lifelong; and, (3) substantially limits the individual in at least three of the following life activities: self-care; learning; mobility; communication; self-direction; economic self-sufficiency; and the ability to live independently.

Of the above requirements, the most difficult to attain is Medicaid eligibility. An individual seeking DDD eligibility in order to access services through the Supports Program can attain Medicaid eligibility in one of three ways:

• Via the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. SSI is a federal income supplement program designed to help people who are “aged, blind, and/or disabled” who have little/no income;
• Via New Jersey Care, a state program. NJ Care is a special program that provides Medicaid for individuals who are 65 years of age or older, blind or disabled and are unable to afford the health care they need; and,
• Via the New Jersey Workability program. Through the New Jersey Workability program, New Jersey offers full Medicaid health coverage to individuals with disabilities who are working, and whose earnings would otherwise make them ineligible for Medicaid.

Additional information about the Medicaid programs identified above can be found on the Medicaid Eligibility for the Supports Program fact sheet.

Finally, to be determined DDD eligible, an individual must complete the DDD Intake Application and go through the DDD Intake Process.

The Supports Program Policies and Procedures Manual: A Quick Guide for Families  is based on the information contained in DDD’s Supports Program Policies and Procedures Manual. The complete policy manual is available on the DDD website, here: http://tinyurl.com/supportsprogrammanual

For additional information concerning disability planning, visit: https://vanarellilaw.com/special-needs-disability-planning/