The New Jersey Division of Developmental Disabilities Fee For Service Transition
The New Jersey Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD), which serves individuals 21 years of age and older, is moving closer to implementing a fee for service system. To prepare you for this shift, The Arc of New Jersey Family Institute has begun to develop materials and trainings. Over the next couple months The Arc of New Jersey Family Institute will email out materials to keep you informed, and hold webinars and workshops to give you the training necessary to navigate this new service delivery system.
We strongly encourage all caregivers to carefully review the fee for service materials below. It is important to understand how the changes will affect your loved one's services so that you can better advocate on their behalf.
Be sure to bookmark this page to your favorites and check back often for updated materials and announcements.
Fee For Service Transition Updates from DDD
Posted on DDD's website on 7.31.15
Attend One of Our Live Supports Program Q&A Sessions
The Division will be hosting regularly scheduled Live Supports Program Q&A Sessions to provide an opportunity for individuals, families, support coordination agencies, and providers to ask questions and share issues related to the launch of the Supports Program with Jennifer Joyce, Director, Supports Program and Employment Services.
Supports Program FAQs will be developed from these sessions, and questions and issues that arise will be reviewed by the Supports Program Launch Workgroup.
The sessions will be held Fridays from 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM on the following dates:
- July 31, 2015
- August 7, 2015
- August 21, 2015
- September 4, 2015
Register Now for a Live Supports Program Q&A Session
NJ CAT Notifications
The final batch of NJ CAT notification letters has now been distributed. (Notifications for individuals residing in licensed residential settings were distributed to residential providers). Please note that every individual who is eligible to receive and/or currently receiving Division-funded services must complete the NJ CAT (New Jersey Comprehensive Assessment Tool). If you do not receive a notification regarding completion of the NJ CAT, please contact the Supports Program Help Desk (DDD.SuppProgHelpdesk@dhs.state.nj.us).
Tier Assignments
The Division has begun the process of releasing tier assignment information to individuals/families who submitted a request to receive that information. If it has been 30 days or more since you completed the NJ CAT assessment , you may submit a Request for Tier Assignment Form by uploading the completed form to our [DDD] secure online site or sending it via regular postal mail. Please see the form link and submission instructions below.
Please complete and submit the fillable Request for Tier Assignment Form, which is also available on the Fee-for-Service Implementation page of the Division's website.
Submit Online (preferred method):
Submit By Mail:
COMPLETE the fillable request form and SAVE to your computer files
Go to the secure site: https://secureupload.dhs.state.nj.us/su/
Enter Contact (Requestor's) Name, Phone Number and Email Address
In the DDD SU Unit dropdown menu, please select "Request Tier"
Browse your computer files and UPLOAD the saved Form
Click Submit
Submit By Mail:
Tier Assignment Request
NJ Division of Developmental Disabilities
PO Box 726
Trenton, NJ 08625-0726
Please note: due to the high volume of assessments being conducted, we expect it may take 60 - 90 days from completion of the NJ CAT in order for an individual to access this tiering information.
Posted on DDD's website on 6.18.15
Update on the NJ CAT Re-Assessment Process
As previously announced, in order to ensure that we have the most current and accurate information about individuals' support needs prior to shifting into the new Fee-for-Service system, the Division is reassessing all individuals utilizing the New Jersey Comprehensive Assessment Tool (NJ CAT). Beginning in April and continuing through the end of summer, NJ CAT notification letters are being sent to individuals in phases.
IF an individual is:
(a) currently in the interim system (those who have entered DDD services starting in 2013, are in iRecord, have the new ISP, and have a Support Coordinator) -OR-
(b) currently receiving day services ONLY (and no other services, such as respite, family support, etc.) -OR-
(c) living in a licensed residential setting
THEN that individual (or the residential provider) should have received a notification letter to contact the Developmental Disabilities Planning Institute (DDPI) to request to complete the NJ CAT. (If you fall into one of these three categories and have not yet received a notification letter, contact the Division's Fee-for-Service Help Desk at DDD.FeeForService@dhs.state.nj.us.)
Please note: it can take 1-2 weeks after contacting DDPI to receive a response with instructions for completing the NJ CAT online or by telephone.
Posted on DDD's website on 6.18.15
Accessing Individual Tier Information
Once an individual has gone through the NJ CAT, he/she will be able to access his/her "tier" assignment (which is utilized to determine the budget level) by completing and submitting the attached Request for Tier Assignment Form, which is also available on the Fee-for-Service Implementation page of the Division's website.
Submit Online (preferred method):
1. Go to the secure site: https://secureupload.dhs.state.nj.us/su/
2. Enter Contact (Requestor's) Name, Phone Number and Email Address
3. In the DDD SU Unit drop down menu, please select "Request Tier"
4. Click Submit
Submit By Mail:
Tier Assignment Request
NJ Division of Developmental Disabilities
PO Box 726
Trenton, NJ 08625-0726
Please note: due to the high volume of assessments being conducted, we expect it may take 60 - 90 days from completion of the NJ CAT in order for an individual to access this tiering information.
Posted on DDD's website on 6.18.15
Important Update for 2015 Graduates Aging Out of the School System
The Division is recommending that 2015 graduates in need of Division funded services enter into the system as soon as services are needed rather than waiting to be enrolled into the Supports Program once enrollment begins this July/Summer. Once enrolled into the Supports Program, the individual will have to select service providers that have completed the provider application process and become an approved Medicaid and DDD provider. While providers continue to submit applications and become approved, there are concerns that not enough providers have completed this process to ensure that individuals have a wide enough selection of providers at this time. The Division anticipates that provider capacity will build over the summer and individuals in the system will be able to shift into the Supports Program within weeks to months of entering the system this summer.
Posted on DDD's website on 6.18.15
DDD System Reform Live Webinars a Great Success
The Division has received very positive feedback regarding the DDD System Reform live webinars that we have been running since April. Please note that each of the live webinars will run one more time over the summer, and you can register by following the links below. (In addition, we hope to make additional live webinars available in the fall.)
DDD's System Reform: Understanding What It Means for Someone Entering DDD Services
(Monday, July 13, 2:00 pm - 4:30 pm)
DDD's System Reform: Understanding What It Means for Someone Currently Receiving DDD Services
(Saturday, August 15, 9:30 am - 12:00 pm)
Posted on DDD's website on 05.07.15
Draft Supports Program Policies & Procedures Manual Released
Following preliminary stakeholder feedback, we are pleased to release this new draft Supports Program Policies and Procedures Manual. Additional stakeholder input will be accepted through Tuesday, May 26, 2015 and can be forwarded to the Supports Program Help Desk at DDD.SuppProgHelpdesk@dhs.state.nj.us.
Posted on DDD's website on 05.07.15
New Fee-for-Service Rate Schedule Released
Following a comprehensive rate-setting process and follow-up input from all stakeholder groups, we are pleased to release the new Fee-for-Service Rate Schedule: Quick Reference Guide.
Posted on DDD's website on 05.01.15
DDD Provider Database Launched
We are pleased to announce the launch of the new DDD Provider Database, a real-time searchable database of agency and individual service providers that are Medicaid/DDD approved to offer Division-funded services in New Jersey.
Posted on DDD's website on 4/10/15
Assessment / Re-Assessment Through NJ CAT
In order to successfully implement the reforms that are underway, the Division will be assessing each individual eligible for Division-funded services through the New Jersey Comprehensive Assessment Tool (NJ CAT). This tool will help determine an individual's needs and also will help us determine an individualized budget to be used for the "purchase" of needed services.
To ensure that the Division has the most up-to-date and accurate status for each individual receiving services, we will assess everyone who currently is eligible for Division-funded services, except individuals assessed since November 1, 2014. Letters will be mailed and/or emailed to all participants beginning this week and continuing through the summer (for residents in a licensed setting, letters will be sent directly to the residential provider). This letter explains the steps that must to be taken in order to complete the assessment.
PLEASE NOTE: everyone will be contacted by the Division with instructions on beginning the assessment process. Until you, your loved one, or an individual in your care has been contacted, there is nothing that you need to do. To maximize the efficiency of this process, participant contact, as well as the assessments themselves, will occur in phases over the next several months.
Please do not be concerned if you are not contacted right away. The Division will be monitoring the progress of the participant contact/assessment process and will announce any updates and/or changes via the Division Update e-news bulletin and on the DDD News and Announcements web page.
The Division has also developed a short pre-recorded webinar, Completing the New Jersey Comprehensive Assessment Tool (NJ CAT), to help individuals, families and providers better understand and prepare for the assessment process. Information about this webinar will be included in the letters sent to individuals and is available on the Division Fee-for-Service Implementation web page.
Fact Sheets
Support Coordination
Under DDD's Fee For Service system individuals eligible for DDD services will no longer have a case manager. Instead individuals and their caregivers will choose a Support Coordinator to provide case management services.
