Florham Park, NJ–Jewish Family Service of MetroWest New Jersey is honored to now be designated a State of New Jersey Division of Developmental Disabilities approved Support Coordination Agency. With generous support for its first year from the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey, Jewish Family Service began offering Support Coordination services on October 2nd, 2014 in Essex and Morris Counties. JFS MetroWest has now also been approved to offer Support Coordination services in Somerset, Sussex, and Union counties.
Support Coordination is a complimentary case management service for individuals found eligible through the New Jersey Division of Developmental Disabilities. Compassionate Support Coordinators meet with individuals and their designated support teams to understand their needs, learn about their ambitions, and create tailored plans that will lead to meaningful lives.
One mother of a participant in the program described her experience with Support Coordination through Jewish Family Service of MetroWest. “When my daughter graduated, I did not know what to expect from the ‘adult world.’ We were extremely lucky that we had a Support Coordinator. She is truly dedicated to helping families. She constantly communicated information on funding and services, so I always knew I was making the best decision for my daughter.”
Support Coordinators meet with individuals and conduct Person Centered Planning to create a document that lists their goals and aspirations. The Person Centered Planning Tool is the cornerstone of Support Coordination. Specific resources and support needs are itemized in an Individualized Service Plan that the individual creates with the Support Coordinator. Next, the Support Coordinator assists in identifying providers and resources in the local community that could include day programs, medical services, family supports, transportation, employment services, and social and educational opportunities. They also help to select service providers that are best suited to achieving the objectives outlined in the Individualized Service Plan. Support Coordinators assist in accessing and securing necessary funding through the Division of Developmental Disabilities. Individuals and their family members have regular contact with the Support Coordinator through monthly contacts, quarterly visits and annual home meetings. This frequent contact ensures progression on goals and helps to redirect any components of the Individualized Service Plan as needed. Support Coordination promotes individual choice and community inclusiveness. To manage the Support Coordination program, Jewish Family Service of MetroWest has hired Maggie McCourt, who has been in this field for the past five years.
For more information on Support Coordination, please email [email protected] or call 973-637-1762.
Jewish Family Service of MetroWest is a comprehensive social service agency providing mental health counseling and support services on a non-discriminatory basis. With a presence in the community since 1861, JFS today delivers an expanding number of programs to increasing numbers of people. For children and families, JFS provides individual, couple, child and family counseling, play therapy, support groups, adoption services, school and synagogue based social work services, family life education and other assistance needed to support healthy families. Rachel Coalition, a division of JFS, provides domestic violence services for all members of the family affected by domestic violence. JFS also offers a wide range of services for older adults and their families including case management services, counseling, caregiver education, volunteer friendly visitors and specialized programs for Holocaust survivors. For more information, please call (973) 765-9050 or visit www.jfsmetrowest.org.
By Kimberly Colchamiro
