General FAQS
Skylands Family Support was created with the vision of providing better, more focused support coordination services in the state of New Jersey. The desire to provide family-oriented, superior service is the number one goal.
Skylands Family Support was among the first support coordination agencies approved to provide support coordination services.
We have a team of nearly 40 staff whose sole responsibility is to provide support coordination.
We strive to build long-term relationships with our families and are proud to have less than a 10% staff turnover. The last thing we want to do is introduce your family to a continuous stream of new support coordinators.
Our support coordinators do not have a mandated caseload. We strongly believe that the quality of service far outweighs the quantity. Each coordinator communicates directly with their superior when they are prepared to add on cases to ensure they aren’t taking on too much.
Graduation FAQS
You’ve spent years helping your students thrive. The best way to prepare your students and their families for a smooth transition to adulthood is by starting the conversation as early as possible.
- Encourage families to apply for Medicaid and DDD early.
- Prep your student for the NJCAT.
- Schedule IEP meetings with your student’s support coordinator and other transition teams to create a comfortable team experience.
If you teach a group of students that are approaching graduation, then you have the perfect opportunity to address any challenges they are facing. As a teacher, you can support students in developing self-determination, leadership and self-advocacy, communication and social skills across a variety of settings.
If possible, take a portion of the day to go over these skills and answer any questions your students have. Take time to incorporate different lessons for each skill so you can assess each student. Then, you can move forward and help students improve these skills or speak to families and support coordinators about any concerns you have.
As a teacher, is there anything I can help my students create that will prepare them for graduation?
Helping students create resumes and cover letters is always a good activity – it will prepare them for potential employment and get them thinking about what their goals are.
The NJ DDD offers assistive technology, behavioral supports, day programming, employment options, therapies, and transportation services. Support coordinators will work with individuals and their families to create an individualized service plan (ISP) that outlines the services and supports needed to help them reach their goals. You can help students prepare for this by talking to them about their goals and noting observations you’ve made about students during their time in school.
Speak positively about this upcoming milestone and pinpoint what specifically is making them feel nervous. You can then present some success stories from other students to show that this transition is going to be an exciting experience. If you know students who have recently graduated and are leading happy lives, feel free to invite them back to the classroom to talk about themselves. Or, you can present some stories from this booklet.
The NJ DDD has many self-advocacy resources that can help adults lead happy, successful lives after graduation. You can use these resources when speaking with students and their families about this important milestone Check them out below.