In 2022, the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD) announced that it was awarded a five-year grant for a national Community of Practice (CoP) grant focused on improving aging services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD), as well as their aging families. The CoP will be made up of 15 States and/or Territories through grants made available by the Administration for Community Living at the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

New Jersey is one of seven grants to States and/or Territories that have been awarded to date.

As health care technology and services have improved, individuals with ID/DD are living longer and healthier lifespans that are close or equal to those individuals without ID/DD, however, evidence has shown that aging programs at both the State and Federal levels have not been prepared to provide suitable services to the ID/DD population.

The Bridging ID/DD and Aging grants bring together State Councils on Developmental Disabilities, State Developmental Disability Agencies, State Aging Agencies, and other State and/or Territory partners through State Alliance Teams (SATs) to give States and/or Territories the opportunity to develop best practices, systems change, policy change, and other types of changes and training that can be replicated across the country that will enhance and improve aging services to individuals with I/DD and their families.

Community of Practice: Year One

The New Jersey Bridging Aging and Disability Network has partnered with a robust group of State Alliance Team (SAT) members to build relationships and coalesce SAT members around a shared vision of increased understanding of services, break down silos, and improve access/service delivery for individuals with IDD who are aging and their families.  Through initial meetings, the team has established the groundwork for collaborative efforts through education and partnership sharing with all SAT members.  The team has set goals, action steps and activities through quarterly meetings. Each of the SAT members have been tasked with providing additional educational information about their service area in order for other SAT members to learn about the scope of services and supports.  A service directory was compiled and disseminated to provide SAT members and the broader community for easier access and understanding of available services and supports.  Sharing these resources will build and strengthen relationships within SAT members and help promote the work of the project to all stakeholders.

Resources

The New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities, in conjunction with the NJ Division of Developmental Disabilities, and the NJ Division of Aging Services held a meeting to share with stakeholders how New Jersey is improving access to aging services for individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD) and their aging families/caregivers. Listen to the New Jersey State Alliance Team members describe their services and resources. This work has been made possible by grant funding awarded through the Administration for Community Living.​

Directory

Download the Aging and Disability SAT DirectoryOpen this document with ReadSpeaker docReader

New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities (NJCDD): Statewide

Mercedes Witowsky: mercedes.witowsky@njcdd.org
Statewide and Regional Family Support Planning Councils, People First, Partners in Policymaking, advocate for issues that affect people with I/DD in their communities.

New Jersey Division of Developmental Disabilities: Statewide

Patricia Brennan: patricia.brennan@dhs.nj.gov
Supports and services for individuals with I/DD >age 21, education on self directed services, waiting list, special projects, Community of Practice for Supporting Families

New Jersey Division on Aging Services: Statewide through County Offices

Andrea Mancini: andrea.mancini@dhs.nj.gov
Administer programs solely state funded for individuals with Medicaid/Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) services/Clinical assessment for Managed Long Term Supports and Services (MLTSS)