SUPPORTIVE TRANSITIONAL SERVICES
DDD Eligibility for Adults
The first thing you need to know is that qualifying for DDD services as an adult in New Jersey is a different process from the one you may have gone through to ensure your loved one qualified for services as a child. Individuals with developmental disabilities who are 21 or older receive state services from the Department of Developmental Disabilities.
Unfortunately, your child’s qualification doesn’t simply roll over on his or her 21st birthday. Even if your child qualified for benefits as a child, you’ll still need to navigate the process again when your loved one with developmental disabilities becomes an adult. We’ll review the steps you should take and where to turn when you need help.
THE Eligibility Application Process
According to the state of New Jersey, to receive DDD services, your child must be determined to meet the functional criteria of having a disability. Your child must be eligible for Medicaid and must be a verifiable primary resident of the state of New Jersey. All of this is proven through an application and supporting documents and records. Let’s first break down these two points:
1. Functional Criteria
To meet the criteria and qualify for DDD services as an adult in New Jersey, your child or loved one must have a chronic developmental disability, which can be physical and/or intellectual, that manifested before age 22 and is a lifelong condition. This condition or combination of conditions must substantially limit your child in at least three of these areas of life activity:
- Self-care
- Learning
- Mobility
- Communication
- Self-direction
- Economic self-sufficiency
- Ability to live independently
This can be frustrating for some families whose children may be profoundly limited in two areas but only mildly limited in others, thus preventing them from qualifying.
NJ'S DDD Eligibility Application
As the caregiver, you can complete the application that will determine if your loved one will qualify for services through the DDD as an adult in New Jersey. However, he or she must sign his or her name (you’ll sign as a witness). In addition to the application, documents should also be included as needed to prove that your child or loved one meets the functional criteria for eligibility. Be sure to provide photocopies only and retain all originals.
It’s important to note that an individual must be 18 years of age or older to be evaluated by the DDD for functional eligibility for services, so you can begin the process well before your child turns 21 (when he or she becomes eligible to receive services from the DDD).
The completed Application for Eligibility, including all signed forms and related documentation, must be mailed to the
Community Services Office that serves the applicant’s county of residence and addressed to the Division of Developmental Disabilities Intake.
Contact Information:
Phone:
Email:
contact@autismcommunityservices.com
Address:
505 Thornall St, STE 306
Edison, NJ 08837
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Transitional Services For People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
