To find out if you are eligible for DDD services, you need to complete an Application for Determination of Eligibility. A family member or someone else can help you complete the application, but they cannot submit it on your behalf. The application must come from you.
After we receive your completed application and all required documents, it can take up to 60 days for DDD to let you know whether you are eligible. If your application is missing information or required documents, it will take longer.
Complete the Application
There are two versions of the application – the full application and short application. To find out if you need to use the full application or you can use the short application, ask yourself these questions:
(1) Have you applied for developmental disability services in New Jersey?
- If yes, go to question 2 below.
- If no, you need to use the full application.
(2) Were you determined eligible for developmental disability services through the NJ Children's System of Care (also known as PerformCare)?
- If yes, you can use the short application.
- If no, go to question 3 below.
(3) Were you determined eligible for developmental disability services through the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD)?
- If yes, you can use the short application.
- If no, you need to use the full application.
Submit the Application
- Scan the completed and signed application, as well as all supporting documents, into your computer. Submit them by email, as an attachment, to DDD.NJApply@dhs.nj.gov.
- Enter in the Subject Line: Intake Application - Individual's Initials - County of Residence (Example: Intake Application - JS - Mercer County).
- Mail your application and supporting documents to DDD Intake.
- Use the address of the Community Services Office for the county where the person with disabilities lives.
- Hand-deliver your application and supporting documents to the Community Services Office for the county where the person with disabilities lives.
- Community Services Offices are open from 9 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday.
Frequently Asked Questions
Although you cannot begin getting DDD services until you're 21 or older, you can submit an application as early as age 18. DDD will review your application and determine whether you meet all other criteria (besides your age) to be eligible for services.
- 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.
- Some people want to wait to apply until they are 19 or 20, since DDD services are not available until they are 21 or older.
To get DDD services, you must be 21 or older and you must have been determined eligible for New Jersey developmental disability services.
Services if you are aged 18 through 21
- If you are getting school-based services, you can continue getting those services until you are 21.
- Note: If you choose to graduate or leave school between the ages of 18 and 21, it is very important that you (and your family) talk with your school’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team and transition coordinator.
- Eligible youth aged 18 through 21 can get some services (in addition to school-based services) through the , within the Department of Children and Families.
- There are Limited Circumstances Where a Person Aged 18 through 21 May Receive DDD Services.
Services if you are under age 18
To learn about services available for eligible children under 18 (or for children under 20 who do not have Medicaid/NJFamilyCare), we recommend you visit New Jersey's Disability Information Hub or call a Division of Disability Services' (DDS) Consumer Resource Specialist, Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., at 1-888-285-3036.
To apply for DDD services, you need to complete the DDD Application for Determination of Eligibility. Together with the application, you need to submit documents that show the following:
- You meet the functional criteria for a developmental disability*
- You are a legal United States citizen and a resident of New Jersey
- You are eligible for or enrolled in Medicaid
*To meet the functional criteria for a developmental disability, you must provide documentation that shows that you have a chronic physical and/or intellectual 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.
For more information, see .
If you need help applying for services, you can email us at DDD.BeforeYouApply@dhs.nj.gov. You can also call or visit the DDD Community Services Office that serves the county you live in and ask to talk with an intake worker.
If you need help in a language other than English, please review DDD’s .
Please see DDD's and .