PerformCare (1-877-652-7624) is the front door to New Jersey's Children's System of Care: behavioral supports, crisis response, respite, and developmental disability eligibility. ABA therapy itself is funded through your health insurance, NJ FamilyCare or commercial, not by PerformCare. Many families need both systems; here is how they fit.
What PerformCare actually does
PerformCare is the administrative gateway for the NJ Children's System of Care (CSOC) under the Department of Children and Families. Through PerformCare, families access intensive in-community behavioral supports, mobile crisis response, care management, respite, and CSOC's developmental disability (DD) eligibility determination, which unlocks services like family support and, later, adult DDD services.
Where ABA fits
ABA is a health-insurance benefit. If your child has NJ FamilyCare, ABA runs through your Medicaid MCO at $0; if you have commercial insurance, it runs under the NJ autism mandate. Calling PerformCare is not a prerequisite for starting ABA, and starting ABA does not use up anything at PerformCare. Families often run both tracks at once: insurance-funded ABA for skill-building, CSOC supports for crisis, respite, or wraparound needs.
When you should call PerformCare
- Behavioral crises or safety concerns at home (mobile response is 24/7).
- To register for CSOC developmental disability eligibility, worth doing early because documentation takes time and adult services depend on it later.
- Respite and family support services.
Keep every evaluation and report; the same documents that support your ABA authorization support CSOC eligibility.
Not sure what your plan covers? Send us your insurance card and we will verify ABA benefits for free, usually within a day or two: start here.
Sources
PerformCare is the door, not the insurer
This trips up most families. PerformCare does not pay for your child's ABA and it does not employ the therapists. It is the single point of entry to New Jersey's Children's System of Care, which means it opens the case, determines eligibility, and refers on to providers. The funding sits with NJ FamilyCare behind it.
Knowing that changes how you use the call. PerformCare needs the diagnosis, the child's Medicaid or NJ FamilyCare identifier, and a description of the daily difficulties driving the request. What it does not need is a decision from you about which provider to use, and you are free to name Liftoff ABA or to choose after the case is open.
The number is available 24 hours a day, and the case can be opened before you have chosen a provider at all. Starting that call early is usually the fastest thing a family can do, because everything downstream waits on it.
We walk families through this call regularly. If you would rather not do it cold, tell us where you are and we will prepare you for it.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need PerformCare to get ABA therapy?
Should I still register with PerformCare?
What number do I call for PerformCare?
Can my child have CSOC services and ABA at the same time?
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We'll verify your insurance for free and map out your child's next steps. Most families start within weeks.
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Insurance details change and vary by plan. This page is general information, not insurance or medical advice. Plan names are trademarks of their owners; Liftoff ABA is an independent provider. We verify your exact benefits for free.