Care Management for Adults with Disabilities

Who we help

We work with adults living with autism, intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, brain injury, physical disabilities and serious mental illness, as well as people with more than one of these. Some live with family. Some live in group homes, supervised apartments or on their own with support. Many are now in their forties, fifties or older, and are aging alongside parents who have been their main caregivers for a lifetime.

Families often call us when:

• A parent's own health is declining and the family needs a plan for what comes next.
• Their adult child's needs are changing with age, including new medical problems or memory loss.
• A residential placement is not working, or a new one is needed.
• Services, benefits or eligibility paperwork have become overwhelming.
• Siblings are being asked to take on a role they do not fully understand.
• There has been a behavioral or psychiatric crisis.

Our approach comes from mental health

Lisa and Kim each bring more than 30 years of clinical social work, much of it in psychiatric hospitals, outpatient mental health clinics, residential treatment and community agencies. Many adults with developmental disabilities also experience anxiety, depression, trauma or other psychiatric conditions that are overlooked or put down to "behaviors." We know how to look underneath, find the right clinicians, and advocate for treatment that fits the person. Our mental health care management work and our disability work overlap a great deal for exactly this reason.

We also stay in the person's life. After a hospital stay or a hard stretch, we keep connecting them with community resources, and we build a relationship based on respect and on valuing them as a human being. Over time we become someone familiar they can trust and count on, and an advocate when they need one.

What we do

1. Get to know the person. Their communication style, routines, strengths, likes and dislikes, and what a good day looks like for them.
2. Review services and supports. Day programs, residential services, in-home help, therapies and transportation, and whether they actually meet current needs.
3. Coordinate health care. Many adults with disabilities have complex medical needs and providers who do not talk to each other. We bring the pieces together and attend appointments when helpful.
4. Help with housing. Exploring group homes, supervised apartments, supported living and other residential options, and helping with transitions.
5. Manage paperwork and benefits. Applications, renewals and communication with state agencies and programs through our benefits and paperwork service.
6. Oversee care. Visiting regularly to make sure your loved one is safe, well cared for and treated with respect in their home or program.

Planning for when parents can't be there

For many parents, the deepest worry is simple: "What happens to my child when I die or can no longer do this?" Waiting for an emergency to answer that question is hard on everyone, especially the person with the disability, who may lose their home, routine and main relationship all at once.

We help families build a future plan while parents can still shape it. That may include identifying a future residential setting, organizing medical and service records, making sure benefits stay in place, working alongside the family's attorney on guardianship or other legal arrangements, and preparing siblings for the role they may step into. Most importantly, it can include a care manager who already knows your loved one and can carry the plan forward with continuity.

How it works with us

We start with a free conversation, then meet your loved one where they live. We take our time, because many of the people we serve need a slow, gentle introduction to someone new. After a full assessment, we write a care plan. Some families want us to stay involved over the long term through ongoing care management. Others need help through a specific transition.

In New Jersey, many adults with developmental disabilities receive services through the state's Division of Developmental Disabilities. In Rockland County, services generally come through New York's Office for People With Developmental Disabilities. We work alongside the support coordinators and case managers from these systems. We do not replace them. We add another set of eyes, more time and an advocate who works only for your family.

What families tell us they value

Parents tell us they value finally having a professional who sees their adult child as a whole person, not a file. They appreciate our patience with communication differences and our willingness to keep pushing when a service is slow to arrive. Siblings say they value being brought into the planning early, so they are not left guessing later.

Serving North Jersey and Rockland County

We serve adults with disabilities and their families throughout Essex, Bergen, Passaic, Morris, Union, Hudson and northern Middlesex counties, and in Rockland County, New York.