Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH F. VITALE
District 19 (Middlesex)
Senator JIM WHELAN
District 2 (Atlantic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Madden
SYNOPSIS
Requires one-time application for requesting services for individuals with developmental disabilities from DCF and DHS.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning eligibility of individuals with developmental disabilities and supplementing Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Division of Developmental Disabilities in the Department of Human Services, in collaboration with the Division of Children's System of Care in the Department of Children and Families, shall develop a single process for determining eligibility for services for individuals with developmental disabilities from the two divisions. The process, at a minimum, shall provide for:
(1) a one-time application to be used for determining eligibility for services from the Division of Children's System of Care and the Division of Developmental Disabilities; and
(2) consent for authorizing release of information on the application about an individual with a developmental disability to the Division of Developmental Disabilities at the time services are requested from the Division of Developmental Disabilities for the individual.
b. The Division of Developmental Disabilities may request updated or additional information on specific developmental delays or medically diagnosed mental or physical conditions of an individual with a developmental disability that is necessary to determine eligibility of the individual for the specific services requested.
2. The Department of Human Services and the Department of Children and Families shall enter into cooperative agreements with each other as necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.
3. This act shall take effect on the first day of the 13th month next following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill provides for streamlining the eligibility process for individuals with developmental disabilities requesting services from the Division of Children's System of Care (CSOC) in the Department of Children and Families and the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) in the Department of Human Services.
Under the provisions of the bill, DDD, in collaboration with CSOC, is to develop a single process for determining eligibility for services for individuals with developmental disabilities from the two divisions. The process, at a minimum, would provide for: a one-time application to be used for determining eligibility for services from CSOC and DDD; and consent for authorizing release of information to DDD at the time DDD services are requested.
The bill also provides that DDD may request updated or additional information on specific conditions of the individual with a developmental disability that is necessary to determine eligibility of the individual.
It is intended that this bill will facilitate the eligibility process for individuals with developmental disabilities by using a one-time application to request services from CSOC, when children are under 18 years of age, and from DDD, when they are 18 years of age or older.