Intellectual and Developmental Disability Services from the New Jersey Children's System of Care

Before applying for eligibility, parents should review this page to see what intellectual and developmental disability (I/DD) services are available through the New Jersey Children's System of Care (CSOC).

Services not offered by CSOC

If the service you need is not provided through CSOC, families and caregivers can look for services from other sources, such as insurance and your child's school district. Services that are currently not offered by CSOC include:

  • Occupational therapy.
  • Physical therapy.
  • Speech and language therapy.
  • Prevocational services.
  • Medication management.

If you plan to apply for eligibility, please review the following documents:

Please note: If your child also has mental health needs or is in crisis, the eligibility application is not required to immediately access behavioral health services through CSOC. PerformCare is available to help you 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at 1-877-652-7624. For a life-threatening emergency, always dial 911.

IDD services available through CSOC

Intensive In-Home (IIH) services

While traditional therapies are typically provided at the health care provider’s office location, Intensive In-Home (IIH) services are provided in the child’s home or at another location in the community, which makes sense to both the family needs and the goals of the service. IIH covers a variety of services geared to assist youth with challenging behaviors that may impact their ability to remain at home.

  • Clinical and therapeutic interventions — These services are rehabilitative, focused on the restoration of a youth's functional level after an acute episode or decline in functioning related to mental illness or a significant life stressor.
  • Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) — ABA is a set of habilitative services, designed for decreasing dangerous behaviors while assisting youth in acquiring and retaining self-help, communication, and adaptive skills. Services focus on helping youth learn these skills while working with and training the youth's parent or caregiver to implement the behavioral plan.
  • Individual Support Services (ISS) — ISS is skill development for activities of daily living, including self-care tasks and the enabling of an individual to live independently in the community.

Family Support Services (FSS)

Family Support Services (PDF) are available for youth who are determined eligible for developmental disability services and meet the criteria for FSS. The services described below may be provided based on availability and appropriateness to the needs of your child and family. An FSS application, which is separate from the I/DD eligibility application, must be completed to access these supports.

  • Respite means "break" or "relief." Respite services are intended to provide temporary relief for the primary caregiver from the demands of caring for an individual with disabilities during the times when the caregiver would normally be available to provide care. The service relieves family members from care on a temporary basis for short periods of time.
    There are several different settings for respite, including home-based, agency after-school, overnight stays, and weekend recreation. Please note that respite services are dependent upon funding availability.
  • Assistive Technology is designed to increase the functional skills of a youth with a developmental disability, and enhance their ability to live successfully in the community. An assistive device is an item to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of the youth, and is not solely therapeutic.
    Vehicle and home (environmental) modifications are also included in this category. It must be an item not covered by medical insurance, and cannot be used to restrain the youth.
  • Educational Advocacy is a service provided to youth and their families when the youth needs in-depth help with education-related needs.

CSOC Summer Camp Services

CSOC offers limited financial support for eligible youth to attend summer camp. Youth can attend either a specialized camp or a mainstream camp, as long as the camp becomes qualified as a camp provider through CSOC. A listing of currently qualified camps is available on the PerformCare website.

Summer Camp Services are based on available resources in a given fiscal year. Families and caregivers are also encouraged to explore all avenues for funding summer camp tuition, such as contacting local recreation departments and civic groups, and asking camp providers about the availability of scholarships.

CSOC financial support toward summer camp tuition does not cover the following costs: camp registration, deposit, transportation to and from camp, or trips taken during camp.

One-to-One Aide services may also be available for youth deemed eligible for CSOC developmental disability services who would otherwise be unable to participate in camp.

Out-of-Home (OOH) treatment

Specialized I/DD Out-of-Home (OOH) treatment options are available. While the goal of CSOC is to provide the services and supports necessary to keep a child at home and connected to their school and community, sometimes this is not possible for the safety of the child or the community, or for the unique challenges of the child or family.

Recognizing that your child may need care beyond your own abilities can be overwhelming, and the decision to do so is never made lightly. Whenever possible, CSOC works to provide supports that will enable a child to remain at home.

If your child requires OOH treatment, PerformCare will work with your child’s CSOC providers to identify the least restrictive type of treatment setting to best meet your child’s identified needs.

Revised Family Crisis Handbook 

In addition to these services, the Children's System of Care also offers An Enhanced Family Support Crisis Handbook (PDF),* as well as a Spanish version: Un Manual Mejorado de Apoyo Para las Familias e Momentos de Crisis (PDF).* This handbook can assist you and your family with daily challenges, including overcoming barriers to care. This handbook can empower you by providing information on advocating for services and supports. In turn, this can help minimize behavioral health crises and their negative effects, and promote an improved quality of life.

* PerformCare and the New Jersey Children’s System of Care (CSOC) provide this information for your convenience. However, this document was not authored by PerformCare or CSOC. If you have questions or believe any of the information to be erroneous, please contact the document’s publishers.

Parents and Caregivers