NJ DDD Supports Program: 2026 Tier Rates, Eligibility, and How to Apply

The Supports Program is one of two Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS) waiver programs for adults 21 and older with developmental disabilities, administered by the Division of Developmental Disabilities as part of the New Jersey FamilyCare Comprehensive Demonstration, authorized under Section 1115 of the federal Social Security Act. It funds day programs, supported employment, and in-home family care for adults living with family or independently, rather than in licensed group homes. DDD's Quick Guide says: “The Supports Program is a Medicaid waiver program that provides services for eligible adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, age 21 and older, living with their families or in other unlicensed settings.”

Under N.J.A.C. 10:46 and DDD's program rules, an applicant must be a legal United States citizen, reside in New Jersey, maintain active NJ Medicaid (NJ FamilyCare), and have a documented developmental disability (such as autism) that originated before age 22, is lifelong, and substantially limits at least three of seven major life activities: self-care, language, learning, mobility, self-direction, independent living, or economic self-sufficiency. DDD's application page says you must document a disability that “Began before you were 22 years old, and” “Is expected to be lifelong, and” “Substantially limits you in at least three of these life areas: self-care, receptive and expressive language, learning, mobility, self-direction, capacity for independent living, and economic self-sufficiency.”

The Supports Program does not have a formal enrollment waitlist. Services still require DDD eligibility, Medicaid, a Support Coordination Agency, a signed enrollment agreement, and an approved Individualized Service Plan (ISP). Ask the coordinator when each authorized service can actually start. The separate Community Care Program (CCP) maintains a waiting list. DDD's waiting list page: “There is a waiting list to enroll and receive services in the Community Care Program (CCP). (There is no waiting list to enroll and receive services in the Supports Program.)”

Contact DDD during the final school year to confirm which eligibility application applies and when to submit it. If the applicant previously received services through the Children's System of Care (CSOC/PerformCare), ask whether the DDD Short Application applies. A student turning 21 may complete the NJCAT in the fall or winter of the final school year. Ask DDD and a Support Coordination Agency about the remaining Medicaid, enrollment-agreement, and ISP steps. DDD's application page says: “Although you cannot begin getting DDD services until you're 21 or older, you can submit an application as early as age 18.” It adds: “Some people want to apply as soon as they are 18 so they can know well before they turn 21 whether they are eligible for DDD services.”

DDD's Full Application checklist (June 2021) asks for the signed application and Forms A through D; proof of the disability such as medical documentation, the most recent psychological evaluation with IQ scores, neurological and psychiatric evaluations, Child Study Team or school reports, and DVRS assessments; proof of Medicaid (SSI award letter, Medicaid approval letter, or Medicaid card); a birth certificate; a Social Security card, proof of U.S. citizenship, or green card; one New Jersey residency document; and a guardianship order if one exists. The checklist says: “The more documentation that is provided, the easier it is for DDD to process the application.”

Email the scanned, signed application and documents to DDD.NJApply@dhs.nj.gov with the subject line 'Intake Application - Individual's Initials - County of Residence,' mail them to DDD Intake at the Community Services Office for your county, or hand-deliver them there. Eight offices cover all 21 counties: Flanders (Morris, Sussex, Warren), Paterson (Bergen, Hudson, Passaic), Newark (Essex), Green Brook (Somerset, Union), Freehold (Monmouth, Ocean), Trenton (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex), Egg Harbor (Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, Salem), and Voorhees (Burlington, Camden, Gloucester). DDD's application page says: “Mail your application and supporting documents to DDD Intake.”

Appeal in writing within 30 days of the date on the ineligibility letter to the Administrative Practice Office, Division of Developmental Disabilities, P.O. Box 726, Trenton, NJ 08625-0726. DDD treats eligibility appeals as contested matters, offers a settlement conference, and can transmit the case to the Office of Administrative Law for a hearing. You can also reapply at any time with a new formal evaluation; DDD answers within 30 working days whether it will accept the new application. Division Circular #37 says: “Appeals of eligibility under N.J.A.C. 10:46-2 or specific offers of non-waiver-funded services shall be initiated within 30 days from the date on the written notification of ineligibility or offer.”

Yes, through the NJ Children's System of Care rather than DDD. Families of children under 18 apply to PerformCare online or at 1-877-652-7624, and PerformCare serves eligible youth until 21, when they transition to DDD. A PerformCare eligibility finding lets you use DDD's Short Application at 18. The NJ Disability Information Hub says: “Services will be provided through PerformCare until age 21, at which time the eligible individual will transition to DDD.”

Effective January 1, 2026, New Jersey's Supports Program establishes 10 annual budget tiers scaling from Tier A at $28,635 to Tier Ea at $113,205 per year. Each tier is divided into an Employment/Day allotment and an Individual/Family allotment, set by the NJCAT assessment score. DDD's NJCAT page: “The results also establish the person's tier, which determines the annual budget they will have available for services.”

The New Jersey Comprehensive Assessment Tool (NJCAT) is a mandatory evaluation administered by a trained DDD facilitator with the individual and family. It includes a Functional Capacity Assessment (FCA) to verify eligibility and a Developmental Disabilities Resource Tool (DDRT) to determine the budget tier. Scores are processed electronically by Rutgers University's Developmental Disabilities Planning Institute (DDPI). DDD's Quick Guide: “There are no “right” or “wrong” answers on the NJCAT.” “Answers should reflect an individual's support needs and conditions at the time of the assessment.”

DDD publishes a specific glossary of billable services. Employment and day-focused services include Day Habilitation, Career Planning, Prevocational Training, and Supported Employment (individual or small-group); these three employment services must first be attempted through the NJ Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services or the Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired before DDD funding kicks in. Individual and family services include Community Based Supports, Community Inclusion Services, Respite, Behavioral Supports, Cognitive Rehabilitation, Interpreter Services, Natural Supports Training, Occupational/Physical/Speech Therapy (habilitative, or rehabilitative once insurance and Medicaid State Plan benefits are exhausted), Assistive Technology, Environmental Modifications, Vehicle Modifications, a Personal Emergency Response System, Transportation, and Goods and Services for needs not covered elsewhere. Every service must be prior-authorized in the Individualized Service Plan (ISP). DDD's Quick Guide: “This means the individualized budget will only pay for services that are prior authorized in an approved ISP.”

DDD issued provider-facing behavioral-supports authorization and billing parameters on September 15, 2026. The bulletin does not change general Supports Program eligibility or establish a blanket service limit for every participant. Ask your Support Coordinator and provider whether the parameters affect the services and units in your individual ISP, and whether an exception or authorization update is appropriate. The bulletin says the parameters “only apply when authorizing or billing units for the two procedure codes indicated (H0004HI22 and H0004HI).”

Not directly. DDD waiver funding does not activate until an individual turns 21. Prior to 21, students remain under the jurisdiction of local public school districts under IDEA for educational placement and private health insurance mandates for behavioral therapy. DDD's application page: “To get DDD services, you must be 21 or older and you must have been determined eligible for New Jersey developmental disability services.” “If you are getting school-based services, you can continue getting those services until you are 21.”

Yes, on state-regulated plans. New Jersey's autism insurance mandate (P.L. 2009, c. 115) requires fully insured commercial plans, state employee plans, and school employee policies to cover medically necessary Applied Behavior Analysis without arbitrary dollar caps. Self-funded employer plans governed by federal ERISA laws are exempt from state mandates. The statute covers “medically necessary behavioral interventions based on the principles of applied behavioral analysis and related structured behavioral programs, as prescribed through a treatment plan” when “the covered person is under 21 years of age and the covered person's primary diagnosis is autism.”

Yes, strictly through the district IEP process. When a local public school Child Study Team agrees that district programs cannot deliver a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), the district must fund 100% of tuition and transportation to an Approved Private School for Students with Disabilities (APSSD). DDD's transition page: “The local educational agency (LEA) is responsible for ensuring all services are provided at no cost to the student or parents.”

No. New Jersey has neither Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) nor private school vouchers. Specialized private school placements are funded entirely through school district IEP placements or due process settlements.

The fastest path is Supplemental Security Income (SSI): any New Jersey resident who qualifies for federal SSI automatically receives NJ Medicaid, so DDD strongly encourages applying for SSI as soon as the individual turns 18. If income or assets are too high for SSI, for example the individual has savings or receives benefits tied to a parent's death or retirement, you can still apply for NJ Medicaid directly through your County Welfare Agency or Board of Social Services. Program-specific 'Medicaid Only' pathways and NJ Workability are also allowable Medicaid types for both the Supports Program and Community Care Program. DDD's Quick Guide: “Every New Jersey resident who qualifies for and receives federal SSI (Supplemental Security Income) automatically receives New Jersey Medicaid. Therefore, it is highly recommended and strongly encouraged that individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities immediately apply for SSI when they turn 18.”

Yes. You can choose and change your Support Coordination Agency, Support Coordinator, specific services, and service providers, all documented in your Individualized Service Plan (ISP). For certain services (Community Based Supports, Individual Supports, Interpreter Services, Respite, Support Brokerage, and Transportation), you can also hire a Self-Directed Employee (an aide of your choosing, sometimes a trusted family friend) under one of two models: Vendor Fiscal/Employer Agent, where you or a designee is the employer of record, or Agency with Choice, where a fiscal intermediary is the employer of record and you are a co-employer. Note that your Support Coordination Agency cannot also be your service provider; DDD treats that as a conflict of interest. DDD's Quick Guide: “The Supports Program and Community Care Program give individuals and families the flexibility to choose and change any of the following:” “Support Coordination Agency” “Support Coordinator” “Support Services” “Service Providers.”

Per the Participant Enrollment Agreement, you need to submit required information on time, keep your information current, participate in your Support Coordinator's scheduled contacts, and maintain Medicaid eligibility. Services can be interrupted if you lose Medicaid eligibility, move out of New Jersey, enroll in another Medicaid waiver program (since Medicaid does not allow enrollment in more than one at a time), or do not access any program services other than Support Coordination for more than 90 days due to not needing them (as opposed to services being unavailable). The Supports Program manual lists, among reasons for disenrollment: “The participant is no longer Medicaid eligible;” “The participant has moved out of the State;” and “The participant is not accessing Supports Program services other than Support Coordination for greater than 90 days.”

Both are Medicaid programs run by DDD for adults 21 and older with a qualifying developmental disability. The Supports Program is fee-for-service with an annual budget tier, has no waitlist, and covers day habilitation, employment, and individual/family supports for people generally living in the community. The Community Care Program is DDD's other track, typically for people who need more intensive or residential-level support, and it does carry a waiting list managed separately by DDD. DDD's Programs and Services page: “While they share basic eligibility rules, the Community Care Program has additional eligibility criteria.” “Right now, there is a waiting list to be evaluated for the Community Care Program.”

Start with our therapy directory by city (Chatham, Clark, Passaic) and our New Jersey schools directory, which includes Approved Private Schools for Students with Disabilities. You can also connect with our free concierge team to match with local ABA providers and special needs schools fitting your child's clinical profile and insurance network.