NJ Children's System of Care

The Children’s System of Care (CSOC) is New Jersey’s public behavioral health system. CSOC serves youth under age 21 with emotional and mental health care needs, substance use challenges, and/or intellectual/developmental disabilities and their families.  CSOC provides community-based, culturally competent services and supports based on the youth and family's needs.

PerformCare, the Contracted Systems Administrator for the Children’s System of Care, is the single point of access to CSOC’s wide array of behavioral health, substance use, and intellectual and developmental disability services for youth and families throughout New Jersey.

To learn more and to access services, call the PerformCare 24-hour, toll-free access line at 1-877-652-7624, or visit the PerformCare website.

Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Services for Children and Youth Under Age 21

The Children's System of Care offers many services for children and youth with emotional and mental health care needs. These services include community-based services, in-home services, out-of-home residential services, and family support services. For more information or to access behavioral health for children and youth, call PerformCare or visit the PerformCare website.

Substance Use Treatment Services

The Children's System of Care offers a comprehensive array of substance use treatment services, including withdrawal management, outpatient, intensive outpatient, and residential services, including community-based residential treatment for youth with co-occurring mental health and substance use challenges. For more information or to access substance use services for children and youth, call PerformCare or visit the PerformCare Website.  

Developmental Disability Services

The Children's System of Care offers a wide range of services for children and youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities. These services include community-based services, in-home services, out-of-home residential services, and family support services.  Developmental Disability Family Support services are intended to help support uncompensated caregivers for individuals who are eligible for developmental disability services and living in their own homes. For more information, please visit the CSOC Developmental Disability Family Support Services webpage.

Eligibility Determination for Children with Developmental Disabilities

The New Jersey Department of Children and Families - Children's System of Care (CSOC) is responsible for intellectual and developmental disability eligibility determinations for children under age 18. Additional information about the application process and the eligibility application are available on the PerformCare website.

Eligibility for individuals over 18, including life-long planning after age 18, is provided by the Department of Human Services' Division of Developmental Disabilities. More information on this can be found at the Division of Developmental Disabilities website or by calling 1-800-832-9173. CSOC will honor determinations of eligibility made by DDD and provide developmental disability services to individuals between the ages of 18 and 21.

Additional Resources for Families and Communities

Autism New Jersey is the largest statewide network of parents and professionals dedicated to improving lives of individuals with autism spectrum disorders.

The New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities helps to ensure that individuals with developmental disabilities and their families participate in the design and have access to needed community services, individualized supports, and other forms of assistance that promote self-determination, independence, productivity, integration and inclusion in all facets of life through culturally competent programs.

Mom2Mom offers 24/7 peer support to mothers of children with special needs.

Traumatic Loss Coalition - Families and communities can find resources about dealing with grief and loss. 

Click HERE for resources outside of the Children’s System of Care that may be beneficial to families with very young children and/or children who require personal care.  

Emergency Services

Life-threatening emergencies

For a life-threatening emergency, always dial 911.

An emergency is considered to be any serious and sudden medical, emotional, or behavioral health situation that, if not given immediate professional attention, could lead to your child being severely harmed or possibly harming someone else.

If you have an emergency situation involving your child that is life-threatening, seek help immediately by dialing 911.

Urgent situations

If your situation is not immediately life-threatening, contact PerformCare at 1-877-652-7624 and follow the menu prompts provided for an urgent situation. We will ask you a series of questions to determine how we can help.

If we find that your child should be evaluated for hospitalization, we will refer you to a local screening center.

The NJ Department of Human Services offers a list of crisis/screening centers by county

Mobile response stabilization services (MRSS)

PerformCare may authorize mobile response stabilization services (MRSS) to come your home within one hour of notification to provide face-to-face crisis services. The goal is to stabilize behavior and keep your child at home.

Mobile response is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and can offer up to eight weeks of stabilization services.

Additional help 

Suicide & Crisis Lifeline 988

The Lifeline provides 24/7 free and confidential support for people during emergencies. The Lifeline also helps specific groups, such as youth, loss survivors, veterans, LGBTQ+, and more, cope with suicidal thoughts.

2nd Floor Youth Helpline: 1-888-222-2228 (call or text)
2NDFLOOR is a confidential helpline for New Jersey’s youth that helps find solutions to problems they face at home, at school, or at play.

The New Jersey Children's System of Care defines an emergency as any serious medical, emotional or behavioral health condition with a sudden onset that, if not dealt with right away, is severe enough that a prudent layperson who possesses an average knowledge of medicine and health could reasonably expect the absence of immediate attention to result in jeopardy to the life or health of the child, youth or young adult, or harm to another person by the child, youth or young adult.