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NJ Support Coordination 2026: What a DDD Support Coordinator Does and How to Choose an Agency

By Ameriwell Care

10 min read

Illustration of a care coordinator reviewing a service checklist with a client

Every adult in New Jersey’s DDD Supports Program or Community Care Program has a Support Coordinator. It’s the person who writes their service plan, helps them choose providers and checks that services are working. This guide covers what a Support Coordinator does, how often you’ll hear from them, what it costs, and how to choose or change a Support Coordination agency, using the rules in DDD’s own manuals.

Quick answer: A Support Coordinator manages care for an adult who gets DDD-funded services in New Jersey. They write the Individualized Service Plan (ISP), help you choose providers, and monitor services: at least one contact every month, a face-to-face visit every quarter and a visit at home once a year. Support Coordination is not paid from the person’s DDD budget. You choose the agency after DDD confirms eligibility, or DDD assigns one, and you can switch agencies with a change form. Switches take effect at the start of a month.

What is Support Coordination in NJ?

Support Coordination is what the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) calls care management for people enrolled in its two Medicaid waiver programs, the Supports Program and the Community Care Program. DDD’s manuals describe it as services that help participants get the program and State plan services they need, along with medical, social, educational and other services.

Each person has one Support Coordinator, who works for a Support Coordination agency approved by Medicaid and DDD. The manuals say every person eligible for the Supports Program must have one, and the Community Care Program manual has the same rule. The Support Coordinator is responsible for developing and maintaining the Individualized Service Plan with the person, their family and others they choose, and for monitoring the services in that plan.

Support Coordination agencies work independently from the agencies that provide services. DDD follows the federal “conflict-free” rule for care management, which keeps care management separate from providing direct services. For the same reason, a Support Coordinator can’t be the person’s legal guardian, can’t live with them, and can’t be related by blood or marriage to them or to any of their paid caregivers.

What does a Support Coordinator do?

DDD sums up the job in four parts: getting to know the person, developing the plan, coordinating services, and monitoring. In practice, the manuals list responsibilities like these:

  • Interviewing the person, and their family if appropriate, so the person stays at the center of planning.
  • Scheduling and running planning team meetings, writing the Person-Centered Planning Tool (PCPT) and the ISP, and sharing the ISP with the team and the service providers.
  • Asking whether you’d like your service providers at the ISP meeting, and inviting them if you do.
  • Giving you an informed choice of providers, helping you narrow the list, and contacting providers about openings, referral paperwork and start dates.
  • Checking other resources first. DDD-funded services are meant for needs that other programs, community resources and natural supports can’t meet.
  • Making sure services are delivered safely and as planned, reporting suspected abuse or neglect, and following up on incidents.
  • Updating the ISP and telling you and your providers whenever services change, are reduced or end.
  • Explaining housing options, including ones that aren’t disability-specific, and helping with housing assistance applications.

For people with enhanced behavioral or medical needs, the Support Coordinator also updates the Addressing Enhanced Needs form at least once a year and makes sure the planning team has discussed a behavior plan where needed.

How often will you hear from your Support Coordinator?

DDD sets minimum contact requirements, and they’re the same in both programs:

WhatHow often
Contact with your Support Coordinator (in person, by phone or by video)At least once a month
Face-to-face visitEvery quarter
Visit in your home, including a review of the ISPOnce a year
A completed PCPT and approved ISPWithin 30 days of enrolling, then each year, and when the budget, tier or program changes

Agencies must also be reachable at all times. The manuals require a live person to answer calls, even after hours, with an on-call Support Coordinator for emergencies. If you can’t meet during business hours, the agency has to schedule visits and meetings outside them.

Does Support Coordination cost anything?

It doesn’t come out of the person’s DDD budget. DDD’s manuals list Support Coordination as an administrative cost that does not come out of the individual budget. The agency is paid a monthly rate for each person it serves. The budget, set by the person’s tier, is left for the services in the plan.

How to choose a Support Coordination agency

Choosing an agency comes right after DDD confirms that the person is eligible. If you haven’t started yet, see who qualifies for DDD and how to apply. The steps are:

  1. Your DDD Intake Worker gives you a Support Coordination Agency Selection Form.
  2. You look up agencies in DDD’s Provider Search. Filter the Service to “Support Coordination”, pick the county where the person lives, and add a language if you need one. Our guide to DDD Provider Search walks through it.
  3. You talk to a few agencies before deciding. The Boggs Center at Rutgers has a free guide to help with this (questions to ask are below).
  4. The person, guardian or family fills in the form with the preferred agency. DDD only accepts the form from them, not from an agency.
  5. DDD assigns the agency you chose if it serves your county, has room for a new person, and meets the conflict-free policy. If not, or if you leave the choice blank, DDD assigns one based on location and capacity.
  6. The agency chooses a Support Coordinator, who contacts you to introduce themselves and start planning. You can tell the agency if you’d prefer a particular coordinator, but it can’t guarantee one.

For students moving from school into the Supports Program, DDD assigns a Support Coordination agency up to 60 days before the person’s 21st birthday, so the ISP can be approved on the birthday. Our guide to turning 21 in New Jersey covers that transition.

Questions to ask a Support Coordination agency

These are worth asking any agency you’re considering, along the lines of the Boggs Center’s guide:

  • How many people does each Support Coordinator work with? DDD doesn’t set a caseload limit, so the answer varies by agency.
  • How long do people usually keep the same Support Coordinator?
  • Who answers the phone after hours, and how quickly does someone follow up?
  • Do you have Support Coordinators who speak our language?
  • How well do your coordinators know providers and community resources in our county? Can you give examples?
  • How will you include our family in planning and in choosing services?
  • What training do your coordinators get beyond what DDD requires?
  • Can we speak with families you already work with?

How to change your Support Coordinator or agency

To change the Support Coordinator, but keep the agency: ask the agency, following its own process. DDD’s manuals say the agency should try to assign a new coordinator, but it isn’t required to.

To change the agency: anyone enrolled in the Supports Program or Community Care Program has the right to switch. The steps are:

  1. Research agencies that provide Support Coordination in the county where the person lives.
  2. Pick a first choice and a second choice, in case the first has no opening or doesn’t serve your county. Or ask DDD to auto-assign one. Auto-assignment can’t honor a language preference, so if you need one, choose agencies that offer it.
  3. Fill in the Support Coordination Agency Change Form, which is on DDD’s Support Coordination page.
  4. Send it to DDD by email to DDD.SCAChoice@dhs.nj.gov (preferred), or by mail to NJ Division of Developmental Disabilities, ATTN: SCA Choice, PO Box 726, Trenton, NJ 08625. Use only one method.

Because agencies are paid by the month, you have to complete a calendar month with your current agency before a change can happen, and changes take effect at the start of the next month. Your records move with you: contact details, the PCPT, the ISP and monitoring tools pass to the new agency through iRecord, DDD’s online system. The old agency loses access and can’t contact you about the change without DDD’s approval.

If you’re not sure a change is needed, the Boggs Center’s Evaluating Support Coordination Services checklist can help you look at how things are going first. If an agency closes or stops serving people, DDD contacts each person directly with the selection form to choose a new one.

How Support Coordinators work with providers like Ameriwell

Ameriwell Care is a DDD-approved provider, not a Support Coordination agency. Under DDD’s conflict-free rules, the agency that coordinates your plan is separate from the agencies that deliver your services. The Support Coordinator writes the services into the ISP, sends referrals to the providers you choose, and confirms start dates and units of service. Providers deliver the services and can join the ISP meeting if you invite them.

So if you’d like Ameriwell to provide services, tell your Support Coordinator. They handle the referral and the plan, and we handle the care.

Frequently asked questions

What does a DDD Support Coordinator do?

They plan and manage DDD-funded services for an adult in the Supports Program or Community Care Program. That means writing the Individualized Service Plan, helping choose providers and arrange referrals, and monitoring that services are safe and working.

How often does a Support Coordinator have to contact you in NJ?

At least once a month, with a face-to-face visit every quarter and a visit in your home once a year. DDD’s manuals set these as minimum requirements for both waiver programs.

Do families pay for Support Coordination?

It isn’t paid from the person’s DDD budget. DDD’s manuals list Support Coordination as an administrative cost that does not come out of the individual budget.

How do I find Support Coordination agencies in NJ?

Use DDD’s Provider Search and filter by the service “Support Coordination” and the county where the person lives. You can also filter by language and export the list.

How do I change my Support Coordination agency?

Fill in DDD’s Support Coordination Agency Change Form and email it to DDD.SCAChoice@dhs.nj.gov, or mail it to DDD. You must complete a calendar month with your current agency first, and the change takes effect at the start of the next month.

Can I choose my own Support Coordinator?

You choose the agency. You can tell the agency which Support Coordinator you’d prefer, but agencies aren’t required to assign a particular person.

Can a family member be the Support Coordinator?

No. A Support Coordinator can’t be the person’s legal guardian, can’t live with them, and can’t be related by blood or marriage to them or to any of their paid caregivers.

Is Support Coordination the same as case management?

Mostly. DDD calls it care management. Support Coordinators from approved agencies provide it for almost everyone, and DDD’s own Case Managers step in only in more intensive situations or during moves from institutional to community settings.

Choosing providers with your Support Coordinator?

Ameriwell Care provides home-based, community-based, family-based and behavior support to adults with developmental disabilities across New Jersey. If you’re choosing providers for an ISP, we’re glad to answer questions first. Call (732) 655 2911 ext. 101 or send us a message. For the bigger picture, see our NJ DDD services guide.

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