New Jersey is an Employment First state. This means competitive integrated employment is the first and preferred outcome for everyone, including people with disabilities.

Pathway to Employment is a tool that your support coordinator will use to have a discussion with you and your planning team every year about your work goals. There are many different things you can do to strengthen skills you already have and learn new ones. 

When you are enrolled in a DDD waiver program, you need to have at least one employment outcome in your service plan. An outcome can cover a wide range of areas:

• Already employed and working to further develop a career
• Maintaining employment
• Unemployed and looking for employment
• Unemployed and gaining or improving upon skills, characteristics, behaviors, etc. that can help prepare the person for work

Just like any other outcome in the service plan, the employment outcome can take years to achieve and involve lifelong skill development.

There are many DDD services that can support you in caring for yourself, learning new skills, and engaging with peers. 

Supported employment services are available to eligible individuals through the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services (DVRS). Individuals enrolled in either of DDD's waiver programs (Community Care Program, Supports Program) must be referred to DVRS before accessing DDD supported employment services. Once a person exhausts available employment services through DVRS – or is determined ineligible – they can access DDD employment services if needed.

• Day Habilitation
• Community Based Supports/Individual Supports
• Community Inclusion
• Employment Services
  • Prevocational Training
  • Career Planning
  • Supported Employment - Individual or Group
• Goods & Services
• Physical, Occupational, and/or Speech Therapy

For a full list of available services and service descriptions, see Section 17 in the DDD policy manuals.