Community Living

If you live in a nursing home or other facility, but want to live in your own place in the community instead, the I Choose Home NJ program can help. It can help you move to your own place, while making sure that you still have the level of care you need.

How to Get Started

Ask a social worker in your facility to help you explore options for returning to the community. You can also call I Choose Home NJ at 1-855-466-3005 (1-855-HOME-005) to talk about living in the community.

Who Qualifies?

To qualify for I Choose Home NJ, you must:

• Live in a nursing home or developmental center and want to move into the community
• Have lived in the nursing home or developmental center for at least 90 days, and
• Qualify for Medicaid for at least one day before leaving the facility.

What Help Can You Get?

The specific services you get depend on your situation. They could include home health aides, adult day care, transportation, and meal delivery. You get help identifying what services you need.

Learn more about I Choose Home NJ.

Managed Long-Term Services and Supports (MLTSS)

Managed Long-Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) is a New Jersey program that can help you get your long-term care needs met through a Managed Care Organization (MCO).

MLTSS can help with services in a nursing home, but it can also help with long-term care services in your own place in the community. These services can help you live independently. Your MCO sets you up with a care manager who helps you figure out what services you need and how you can get them.

If MLTSS is helping you with services in a nursing home now, the MLTSS services will “follow you” if you move into the community. You won’t lose your MLTSS benefits when you move.

MLTSS helps many people with disabilities who live in the community.

Applying for MLTSS

MLTSS benefits are for people who have Medicaid health coverage:

• If you already have Medicaid, you can start the MLTSS application process by calling the member services department of your MCO or by contacting your local county Board of Social Services or Aging and Disability Resource Connection (ADRC) office.
• If you don’t have Medicaid coverage, you need to apply for Medicaid first, before you can apply for MLTSS. Learn more about applying for Medicaid.

Learn more about Medicaid in DB101’s How Health Benefits Work article.

Who Can Get MLTSS?

To get MLTSS, you must:

• Live in New Jersey
• Be a U.S. citizen or qualified alien
• Have a disability, be blind, or be 65 years old or older
• Have resources at or below $2,000 for individuals and $3,000 for couples
• Have gross income of $2,829 per month or less in 2024. If your income is higher, you may still qualify for MLTSS if you have a Qualified Income Trust (QIT). Learn more about QITs.
• Be qualified to enter a nursing home based on a physical and cognitive assessment given by the New Jersey Office of Community Choice Options (OCCO). OCCO looks at:
  • Physical needs, like help with bathing, dressing, eating, walking, or transferring from a wheelchair to a bed or shower, or chronic conditions that require nursing services
  • Cognitive abilities, like memory deficits, difficulty with decision-making, or difficulty with activities like knowing how to get dressed

Note: You must have an impairment that impacts your ability to be independent in the community and qualifies you to enter a nursing home. You do not have to live in a nursing home.