Department of Human Services






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The Family Support Act was signed into law March 29, 1993. It made the Division of Developmental Disabilities responsible for creating a system of family support that is flexible, strengthens and supports families at home, and empowers families to meet their loved one's needs.

The Family Support Act supports the underlying premise that families are the best judges of what they need. Family Support* means serving the person with a disability AND the entire family. It means not leaving anyone out of the picture.

The Family Support Program includes:

cash subsidies
communication and interpreter services
counseling and crisis intervention
day care
equipment and supplies
home and vehicle modifications
homemaker assistance
medical and dental care
personal assistance services
respite care
self-advocacy training
therapeutic or nursing services
vouchers for services

Family Support allows the families to:

choose, control and monitor their own services
exchange vouchers for services they choose
receive cash subsidies to purchase services
decide what services they need.

The Family Support law also created Regional Family Support Planning Councils. The Councils make recommendations to a Family Support Coordinator, under the direction of the New Jersey Developmental Disabilities Council.

* assistance is provided as resources permit.