December News & Updates
**Holiday alert**

The 2020 holiday season is upon us and, unfortunately, New Jersey is experiencing increases in COVID-19 positivity across the State. Many individuals, families and friends are inquiring about visitation for those who reside in licensed community residential settings during this time.

As a result, the Department of Human Services’ Division of Developmental Disabilities is releasing Holiday 2020 Residential Visitation Guidance for licensed community residential settings. This guidance is intended to protect the health and safety of all individuals living and staff working in Division-funded licensed residential settings.

Individuals, their families and friends, and licensed community residential provider agencies and their staff, are urged to carefully review this information.
Medicaid Waiver Renewal Planning
The NJ Family Care Demonstration Waiver also known as the 1115 Waiver is what houses the Community Care Program (CCP) and the Supports Program (SP) serving Adults with Special Needs in New Jersey.

The first waiver spanned from July 2012 to June 2017. The current waiver is from July 2017-June 2022. Plan has now started for the upcoming period of July 2022- June 2027.

The waiver is a contract between the state and federal government that brings federal Medicaid funding to New Jersey for residential, day and other services for adults.
The goal of the Waiver is to give New Jersey the flexibility it needs to define who is eligible, the benefits they receive and value-driven service delivery.
If you have any questions or comments on the Waiver, e-mail:

Learn more about Rutgers health Special needs dentistry.
Special-Needs Dentistry
Patients with special needs are those who due to physical, medical, developmental or cognitive conditions require special consideration when receiving dental treatment. 

Special needs dentistry is a branch of dentistry for which doctors have undergone additional training, and so have their assistants and office staff. 
Benefits
Work and Benefits

What will happen to your income, benefits, and health coverage if you go to work?

Disability Benefits 101 gives you tools and information on health coverage, benefits, and employment. You can plan ahead and learn how work and benefits go together.

You can use the Benefits and Work Estimator to find out how a job may affect your total income and your health coverage.

NJ Managed Care 

As you know, Medicaid recipients are required to pick one of 5 HMO’s: 
Many of the HMO’s have disease management programs that can help you manage a chronic conditions like asthma or diabetes. Some cover services like Acupuncture and others provide a free cell phone and wireless phone service. Contact your Support Coordinator to learn more about how to access the many benefits of your HMO. 
Internet Safety

The Internet has dramatically changed the way we interact with the world and has provided many with a way to stay connected during quarantine. However the internet can also put people at risk for cyberbullying, exposure to inappropriate material, online predators and the possibility of revealing too much personal information. 
Learn more below about how to best support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities with the NJ Self Advocacy Project.