New Jersey Medicaid Waiver Guide

New Jersey's services for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities are run by the Department of Human Services Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD). DDD serves people age 21 and older through two Medicaid (NJ FamilyCare) waiver programs: the Supports Program, for adults who live at home or with family, and the Community Care Program (CCP), which adds residential services. New Jersey moved these supports to a fee-for-service system, so each person gets an individual budget based on their assessed needs, measured by the New Jersey Comprehensive Assessment Tool (NJ CAT). A Support Coordination Agency you choose then helps plan and arrange services. Children and youth under 21 are served separately through the Children's System of Care (PerformCare) and transition to DDD at age 21.

To receive DDD services, a person must be a New Jersey resident age 21 or older, be enrolled in NJ FamilyCare (Medicaid), and have a qualifying intellectual or developmental disability — such as intellectual disability, autism, or Prader-Willi syndrome — that began before age 22 and substantially limits major life activities. Eligibility and the individual budget are set through the NJ CAT assessment. The Community Care Program has additional requirements: an ICF/ID level of care and either being reached on the CCP waiting list or being found at imminent risk of homelessness.

New Jersey's two programs work differently. The Supports Program has no waiting list — once you're eligible and enrolled in NJ FamilyCare, you can enroll at any time. The Community Care Program, which adds residential services, uses a waiting list with three categories: Priority, Priority Deferred, and General. You ask to be added, and DDD enrolls people as funding allows. Being on the list is not a guarantee of enrollment — DDD determines both eligibility and need for CCP at the point you are reached on the list, so it is worth keeping your file current while you wait.

Type

Community Care Program waiting list (Supports Program has none)

Typical timeline

Supports Program: enroll once you're found eligible. Community Care Program: residential capacity is limited, so waits can be long; imminent-risk situations are prioritized.

How to check status

Contact your Support Coordinator or DDD (1-800-832-9173). To join the residential list, submit the Community Care Program Waiting List Request Form, or email DDD.CCPWaitListRequests@dhs.nj.gov. Ask which of the three categories you are in — it is not always stated on correspondence.

1. Submit the DDD intake application

   Complete the DDD eligibility application and provide supporting documentation to establish a developmental disability.

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2. Get a DDD eligibility determination

   DDD reviews medical and evaluation records to confirm functional and clinical eligibility for services.

3. Complete the NJ CAT

   You'll be referred to complete the New Jersey Comprehensive Assessment Tool, which sets your eligibility tier and individual budget.

4. Enroll in NJ FamilyCare (Medicaid)

   Medicaid enrollment is required to receive DDD-funded services. DDD staff can help you understand the requirement.

5. Choose a Support Coordination Agency

   Pick a Support Coordination Agency. Your Support Coordinator builds your Individualized Service Plan (ISP) and helps you choose providers or self-direction.

• The person's age, diagnosis, and county of residence.
• Medicaid status or whether you still need to apply.
• Current supports, urgent needs, and living situation.
• School, medical, evaluation, or eligibility documents.
• Questions about waitlists, timelines, and next steps.

Exact covered services depend on the waiver, assessed need, Medicaid rules, funding, and state program requirements. Confirm services, availability, and payment acceptance with the state, support coordinator, and provider.

New Jersey lets you self-direct your individual budget — finding and managing your own providers and, through the Self-Directed Employees model, hiring your own support staff with help from a fiscal intermediary that handles payroll and paperwork. You can also use a traditional vendor/agency model, or combine both approaches within your budget.

1. Early Intervention (birth–3)

   The New Jersey Early Intervention System serves infants and toddlers with developmental delays or disabilities.

2. School age (3–21)

   Public schools provide special education through an IEP, while the Children's System of Care (PerformCare) can provide behavioral and developmental disability supports.

3. Transition to DDD (before age 21)

   Apply for DDD eligibility and complete the NJ CAT before the person turns 21 so adult services are ready when they age out of the Children's System of Care.

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4. Adult services

   A Support Coordinator helps adults use the Supports Program or Community Care Program — day and employment services, residential, respite, and behavioral supports.

5. Decision-making at 18

   Families weigh guardianship, powers of attorney, and supported decision-making as the person reaches adulthood.

If a service is denied, reduced, or ended, you can appeal and request a Medicaid fair hearing. To keep a service you already receive in place during the appeal, file quickly — often within 20 days of the notice — and you generally have up to 90 days to request a hearing. Disability Rights New Jersey provides free help.

DDD

The New Jersey Division of Developmental Disabilities, which runs adult (21+) intellectual and developmental disability services.

Supports Program

A DDD waiver for adults who live at home or with family; it provides community supports with an individual budget and no waiting list.

Community Care Program (CCP)

A DDD waiver that adds residential and supported-living services; it requires an ICF/ID level of care and uses a waiting list.

NJ CAT

The New Jersey Comprehensive Assessment Tool — a needs-based assessment that sets a person's eligibility tier and individual budget.

Support Coordination Agency (SCA)

An agency you choose whose Support Coordinator helps you plan, build your ISP, and access services.

ISP

Individualized Service Plan — the person-centered plan that lists a person's goals and the services to meet them.

NJ FamilyCare

New Jersey's Medicaid program, which funds DDD waiver services for eligible people.

Children's System of Care (CSOC)

New Jersey's system, accessed through PerformCare, that serves children and youth under 21 before they transition to DDD.

Fee-for-service

The model DDD moved to, in which services are paid per service from a person's individual budget rather than through agency contracts.

Self-directed services

Options that let a person find and manage their own providers, and hire their own staff, within their individual budget.