Families · Transition
Planning for life after AHM.
Transition is not one event at age 21. It is a process built through experiences, choices, relationships, skills, and planning over time. Every student's path is different, and it starts long before the last day of school.
A roadmap, not a deadline
1. Early transition thinking
Strengths, interests, preferences, communication, choice-making, self-advocacy, independence, and future possibilities.
2. Ages 14 to 17
Transition goals in the IEP, Pre-ETS, career exploration, work-based learning, community experiences, workplace readiness, self-advocacy, and postsecondary possibilities.
3. Age 18+
Adult-service planning, DDD eligibility (a person can be evaluated at 18), benefits education, decision-making supports, voting, healthcare transition, transportation, and employment planning.
4. Ages 18 to 21
Community-based instruction, career development, workplace practice, daily living, adult-agency connections, transportation readiness, employment, and postsecondary training.
5. Leaving AHM
Adult services, employment supports, transportation, continued education or training, recreation, community participation, self-advocacy, and long-term relationships and supports.
Not sure what comes next?
Planning for a life of choice, connection and possibility.
Open the line that sounds most like you. Each one gives you the first steps and the official place to take them. Most people use more than one. Everything on this page is information, not individualized advice; your IEP team and transition staff help you apply it to your child.
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Start with NJ DVRS, the state agency for employment-related services. While still at AHM, ask about Pre-ETS (ages 14 to 21). If DDD-eligible, look at career planning and supported employment. Details are further down this page.
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Local: HCCC ACCESS. Across New Jersey: TCNJ Career and Community Studies, Bergen Turning Point, MCCC DREAM and Georgian Court Transition and Career Studies. Nationally: Think College. Program structures and admission criteria vary considerably; investigate each one directly.
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Hudson County’s Center for Independent Living, hip, offers peer support, independent-living skills and advocacy. Special Olympics New Jersey continues into adulthood. If DDD-eligible, community inclusion and community-based supports are in DDD programs and services. See also Independent and Community Living and Resources Close to Home.
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Begin with DDD transition from school to adult life, which explains eligibility (families can apply after 18) and timing (most services begin at 21). Once eligible, a Support Coordinator helps build the individualized service plan, and the Provider Search finds approved providers.
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NJ TRANSIT Access Link is ADA paratransit with its own application and interview. NJTIP @ Rutgers teaches people to ride regular buses and trains independently. Transportation can also be a support through eligible service systems such as DDD.
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DDD’s housing page shows the range for eligible adults: living with family, supported living, provider-managed settings, rental assistance when eligible. No single path is the default.
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Ask about self-directed services, which give greater control over certain services and who provides them, and about person-centered planning, which starts every plan with the person’s strengths, preferences and goals.
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Read DDD guardianship and alternatives first: supported decision-making, limited guardianship, power of attorney, healthcare directives. For legal questions, Disability Rights NJ. AHM does not give legal advice.
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Benefits counseling explains how work and benefits interact. The programs themselves: SSI, NJ FamilyCare (Medicaid), NJ WorkAbility and NJ ABLE. Each agency decides its own eligibility.
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That is a normal place to start. Open the NJ Disability Information Hub and Planning for Adult Life, then talk with the AHM transition team. The glossary explains the words as you go.
Transition starting points
NJ Disability Information Hub
New Jersey’s official starting point for disability information: employment, transportation, assistive technology, housing, healthcare, caregiver supports and advocacy.
When you do not yet know which agency you need, this is the map.
Best for: Families, Students, Transition-Age Students
Topics: Navigation, employment, housing, healthcare
AHM note: a good first stop before any phone call.
Planning for Adult Life
A statewide program funded by NJ DDD for young people ages 16 to 21 and their families: employment, postsecondary education, benefits, eligibility, legal and financial planning, health, housing, self-direction, relationships and community life.
It walks families through transition one topic at a time, with guides and webinars.
Best for: Transition-Age Students, Families
Topics: Transition, employment, benefits, planning
Transition guides, including “It’s Time to Travel: A Roadmap to Transition”
AHM note: especially useful for families of students in L.I.F.T., especially in the last years before 21.
NJ Transition Toolkit
The New Jersey Department of Education’s toolkit for students, families and professionals on planning the move from school to adult life.
It explains what should happen in the IEP from age 14 on, including Pre-Employment Transition Services.
Best for: Students, Families, Staff
Topics: Transition planning, Pre-ETS, IEP
What happens at 18? What happens at 21?
At 18
Legal adulthood · supported decision-making · guardianship education where relevant · adult-service eligibility (a person can be evaluated for DDD eligibility beginning at 18) · benefits · voting · healthcare decision-making
At 21
School-based services end · DDD-funded adult services generally begin at 21 for eligible individuals · employment · postsecondary education or training · community supports · transportation · continued learning · recreation · independent or supported living
New Jersey timing, in plain language. A person can be evaluated for Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) eligibility as early as age 18, and DDD-funded services generally begin at 21. The state's Transition Toolkit encourages students who will use DDD services to stay enrolled through age 21. Talk with your child's IEP team and transition staff about timing. This is information, not legal advice. How to apply for DDD eligibility (nj.gov)
Pre-ETS: a head start on work, ages 14 to 21
New Jersey's Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services (DVRS) and Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CBVI) offer Pre-Employment Transition Services to students with disabilities ages 14 to 21, based on individual need. The five areas:
Job exploration counseling
Learning about kinds of work, what a student enjoys, and what a workplace is like.
Work-based learning
Real experiences in real workplaces, job shadowing, worksite visits, and practice.
Workplace readiness
Social skills, independent-living skills, schedules, and communication on the job.
Counseling on postsecondary options
Training programs, college, and other paths after high school.
Instruction in self-advocacy
Knowing your rights, asking for what you need, and speaking for yourself.
Adult services
Understanding NJ DDD, in plain language.
In New Jersey, the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) funds many adult services for eligible individuals. Families can begin the DDD eligibility process after a student turns 18, and most DDD-funded adult services begin at 21 for eligible individuals. Eligibility, plans and services are individual, so this section describes the system, not your child’s path.
DDD: Transition from School to Adult Life
The official New Jersey Division of Developmental Disabilities guide to moving from school-based services to adult services. Families can begin the DDD eligibility process after a student turns 18, and most DDD-funded adult services begin at 21 for eligible individuals.
This is the page families of students 18 and older come back to again and again.
Best for: Transition-Age Students, Families
Topics: DDD eligibility, adult services, timing
AHM note: information, not individualized advice. Bring your questions to your IEP team and transition staff.
DDD: Programs and Services
What DDD-funded services can include, depending on eligibility and the individual’s plan: support coordination, supported employment, career planning, community-based supports, community inclusion, day habilitation, prevocational training, assistive technology, behavioral supports, respite, therapies and transportation.
It is the menu. The plan decides which items apply to one person.
Best for: Transition-Age Students, Families
Topics: Adult services, Supports Program, Community Care Program
AHM note: no one receives every service. The plan is built around the person.
What is a Support Coordinator?
A Support Coordinator works with the individual and their planning team to develop and maintain the service plan, and connects them with DDD-funded services and providers.
Once a person is DDD-eligible, this is the person who helps turn a plan into services.
Best for: Transition-Age Students, Families
Topics: Support coordination, service plan
DDD Provider Search
DDD’s official search for approved providers, filtered by service, location, language, distance and setting.
It is how families find and compare providers near Jersey City. AHM does not keep its own directory.
Best for: Transition-Age Students, Families
Topics: Providers, services, Hudson County
AHM note: provider availability and services change. Contact providers directly and work with your Support Coordinator.
DDD: Employment and Daily Life Services
In plain language: career planning explores what work fits a person; supported employment provides on-the-job support; prevocational training builds work skills; day habilitation offers structured daytime activities; community inclusion and community-based supports help a person take part in community life.
It shows that a day program is one option, not the default.
Best for: Transition-Age Students, Families
Topics: Employment, day services, community
DDD: Self-Directed Services
Self-direction gives an eligible person greater control over certain services, over who provides some supports and over how approved supports are arranged.
For a person who wants to choose their own staff and schedule.
Best for: Transition-Age Students, Families
Topics: Self-direction, choice and control
DDD: Person-Centered Planning
Planning that begins with the person: strengths, preferences, communication, culture, relationships, needs, goals and choices.
It is the same starting point AHM uses when we plan with a student, carried into adult life.
Best for: Transition-Age Students, Families, Staff
Topics: Person-centered planning, service plan
Where and how might I live?
DDD’s housing page. Options for eligible adults can include living with family, supported living, provider-managed residential settings, rental assistance when eligible, and other arrangements.
Leaving school does not automatically mean a group home, living alone, or staying home. This page shows the range.
Best for: Transition-Age Students, Families
Topics: Housing, residential supports
Supports Program and Community Care Program
DDD services are delivered through two Medicaid waiver programs. The Supports Program serves eligible adults who live with family or on their own. The Community Care Program has different requirements and a waiting-list process.
More than one pathway
A day program is one option, not the default path. Employment, continued education, community participation and individualized supports are all real pathways, and many people combine them. Person-centered planning is how the mix gets decided.
Turning 18
Turning 18 does not automatically mean guardianship.
At 18 a person generally becomes a legal adult, whatever their disability. Families sometimes hear that guardianship is required. It is one option among several.
DDD: Guardianship and Alternatives
At 18 a person generally becomes a legal adult. Guardianship is not the only option. Alternatives can include supported decision-making, limited guardianship where legally appropriate, power of attorney where legally appropriate, healthcare directives and other supports.
Families are often told guardianship is automatic. It is not, and this page explains the choices.
Best for: Families, Transition-Age Students
Topics: Decision-making, guardianship, supported decision-making
Learn about decision-making options
AHM note: information, not legal advice. Talk with your child’s team well before 18.
Supported decision-making, in plain language
The person keeps the authority to make their own decisions. Trusted supporters help them understand information, consider options, communicate their choices and carry out decisions. It can work alongside other supports, and it adapts to how the person communicates, including AAC.
Talk with your child’s team well before 18. AHM does not give legal advice.
Employment
I want to work.
Work is a realistic goal for many AHM students, with the right supports. These are the agencies that provide employment-related services, and the programs that begin while a student is still in school.
NJ DVRS: Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services
New Jersey’s vocational rehabilitation agency, providing employment preparation, vocational services and career supports to eligible people with disabilities.
It is the state door to job coaching, training and employment supports for adults.
Best for: Transition-Age Students, Students
Topics: Employment, vocational rehabilitation
Pre-ETS: Pre-Employment Transition Services
Services for students with disabilities ages 14 to 21, based on need, in five areas: job exploration counseling, work-based learning experiences, workplace readiness training, counseling on postsecondary education, and instruction in self-advocacy.
Pre-ETS begins while a student is still at AHM, so the work does not wait until graduation.
Best for: Students, Transition-Age Students, Families
Topics: Pre-ETS, work experience, self-advocacy
Can I work and still receive benefits?
Free benefits counseling through DVRS explains how going to work may interact with SSI, SSDI and work incentives.
Fear of losing benefits stops many people from working. Counseling replaces fear with facts.
Best for: Transition-Age Students, Families
Topics: Benefits, SSI, work incentives
Learn about benefits counseling
AHM note: AHM does not answer individual benefits questions.
Client Assistance Program (CAP)
Help for people who have questions or concerns about services from DVRS or CBVI, including their rights within those programs.
If a vocational rehabilitation case stalls, CAP is who to call.
Best for: Transition-Age Students, Families
Topics: Rights, vocational rehabilitation
NJ CBVI: Vocational Rehabilitation and Transition
For students who are blind or have low vision: career planning, employment preparation, training, assistive technology and college support, with transition involvement beginning around age 14.
Students with vision loss have their own state agency for transition and employment.
Best for: Students, Transition-Age Students, Families
Topics: Blind and low vision, transition, employment
Already DDD-eligible?
Career planning, supported employment and prevocational training are also available through DDD for eligible adults. See the Employment and Daily Life Services card above and talk with your Support Coordinator.
Getting around
Getting around the community.
Transportation is often the first practical question after school ends. Plan for it early, and practice it while still at AHM.
NJ TRANSIT Access Link
NJ TRANSIT’s ADA paratransit service for people who cannot use regular buses because of a disability. It has its own application and interview process, and eligibility is individualized.
Transportation is often the first practical question after school. Access Link is the regional answer for many adults.
Best for: Transition-Age Students, Families
Topics: Transportation, paratransit
AHM note: having an IEP, DDD eligibility or attending AHM does not automatically qualify a person. Apply early.
NJTIP @ Rutgers: travel training
Travel instruction that teaches people with disabilities to use buses, trains and light rail safely and independently: route planning, reading schedules, paying fares, recognizing stops, asking for assistance and transit safety.
It connects directly to what students practice in community-based instruction and L.I.F.T.
Best for: Transition-Age Students, Students, Families
Topics: Travel training, transit, independence
Benefits and financial learning
Benefits, in plain language.
Each program below has its own eligibility rules, decided by that agency. This is a map, not advice. Benefits counseling (above, under employment) is the place to ask how work and benefits fit together.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
A federal program that provides monthly payments to eligible people with disabilities who have limited income and resources. The Social Security Administration decides eligibility.
At 18, eligibility is based on the young adult rather than the household, so many families revisit it then.
Best for: Transition-Age Students, Families
Topics: Benefits, SSI
NJ FamilyCare: Aged, Blind and Disabled programs
New Jersey’s Medicaid programs for eligible people who are aged, blind or disabled, including how to apply.
Medicaid is the foundation many adult disability services are built on.
Best for: Families, Transition-Age Students
Topics: Medicaid, health coverage
NJ WorkAbility
A Medicaid program for eligible working people with disabilities. Eligibility rules are on the official page and change over time.
It can let a person keep health coverage while earning a paycheck.
Best for: Transition-Age Students, Families
Topics: Medicaid, employment
NJ ABLE
Tax-advantaged savings accounts for qualified disability-related expenses, for eligible people.
A way to save for the future without affecting certain benefits. AHM does not provide tax or financial advice.
Best for: Families, Transition-Age Students
Topics: Savings, financial planning
College, training and continued learning
I want to keep learning.
Inclusive college and transition programs in New Jersey and beyond, local first. Program structures and admission criteria vary considerably. Families should investigate each program directly; AHM does not rank or endorse programs and cannot say whether a program has openings.
HCCC ACCESS Program
Hudson County Community College’s Center for Adult Transition program, which describes life and coping skills, work readiness, digital literacy, career planning, person-centered planning, academic and workforce pathways, peer mentoring and career exploration.
It is the closest college-based transition program to AHM. Costs and schedules are on the college’s page.
Best for: Transition-Age Students, Families
Topics: College, transition, Hudson County
TCNJ Career and Community Studies
A four-year inclusive certificate program at The College of New Jersey for students with intellectual disabilities, ages 18 to 25.
A residential-style college experience with support built in.
Best for: Transition-Age Students, Families
Topics: Inclusive college, four-year
Bergen Community College Turning Point
A two-year program at Bergen Community College for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
A community-college option within commuting distance of Hudson County.
Best for: Transition-Age Students, Families
Topics: Community college, two-year
Mercer County Community College DREAM Program
A college program at Mercer County Community College for students with intellectual disabilities. Details are on the college’s page.
Another New Jersey community-college model to compare.
Best for: Transition-Age Students, Families
Topics: Community college, inclusive program
Georgian Court University: Transition and Career Studies
A four-year inclusive program at Georgian Court University for students with intellectual disabilities.
A second four-year option in New Jersey.
Best for: Transition-Age Students, Families
Topics: Inclusive college, four-year
Think College: college search
A national database of college programs for students with intellectual disability, searchable by state and program type.
For families willing to look beyond New Jersey. Program structures and admission criteria vary considerably.
Best for: Transition-Age Students, Families
Topics: College search, national
Life beyond services
Community, friendship, recreation and belonging.
Adult life is not only a job plus services. Sports, arts, music, libraries, classes, volunteering, friendships and social activities are where much of life happens.
Special Olympics New Jersey
Sports and health programs for athletes with intellectual disabilities across the state, from local training to state games.
AHM students already compete. Special Olympics continues for adults, which is where many friendships live.
Best for: Students, Transition-Age Students, Families
Topics: Sports, recreation, community
Where to look
Public libraries, county recreation departments, adaptive sports leagues, community arts programs and faith communities all welcome adults with disabilities, and hip can help connect you. The Independent and Community Living page goes deeper.
Self-advocacy
Nothing about me without me.
Self-advocacy can be making a choice, saying yes, saying no, refusing, asking for help, asking for a break, communicating discomfort, naming a preference, giving an opinion, directing your own support, learning about your rights, taking part in your IEP meeting, or communicating through AAC.
Self-advocacy does not require spoken words.
Where to go next
Outside resources are provided for informational purposes and do not constitute an endorsement by A. Harry Moore Laboratory School or Kean University. Programs, services, eligibility requirements, funding and availability may change. Families should contact each organization directly and work with their school team or appropriate service coordinator when applicable.
Last reviewed: September 2026