Therapeutic and Special Needs Foster Care in New Jersey

Not all foster placements are the same. Some children entering New Jersey's resource care system have significant behavioral health challenges, developmental disabilities, or complex medical needs that require caregivers with specific training and additional support. The state has distinct licensing categories and financial structures for these placements — and for families with the capacity and interest to provide this level of care, the NJ system has specific pathways worth understanding.

The Standard Resource Care vs. Specialized Care Distinction

New Jersey's Division of Child Protection and Permanency (CP&P) approves resource families into different categories based on the types of children they are capable of serving. The basic categories are:

Regular Resource Care: Temporary out-of-home care for children who need placement for protective or social service reasons. The standard licensing path. Most resource family applicants are approved for this category initially.

Therapeutic Foster Care: Some private RFAs offer therapeutic services alongside placement support for children with significant emotional, behavioral, or mental health challenges. Ask the RFA what specialized training and clinical support are available.

Special Home Service Provider (SHSP): New Jersey's designation for resource parents providing specialized care for medically fragile children. The additional training, support, and reimbursement for a placement should be confirmed with CP&P or the RFA.

Siblings In Best Settings (SIBS): Not a therapeutic category per se, but a specialized category for homes capable of taking sibling groups of four or more children. Given NJ's strong preference for keeping siblings together, SIBS families play an important role in the system.

Board Rates for Children With Higher Needs

New Jersey's board rate system uses a four-level classification (A through D) based on the child's acuity — their level of need and care requirements. The rate schedule from Embrella (current as of 2024):

The child's acuity level determines the applicable board payment. The classification is made by CP&P based on the child's individualized assessment, not by the resource family.

For SHSP placements, ask CP&P or the RFA what additional support and reimbursement apply to the child's assessed needs.

Therapeutic Foster Care in Practice

Therapeutic foster care in New Jersey may be delivered through private RFAs that have contracted with the state to provide specialized services alongside placement support. Oaks Integrated Care is listed as serving Atlantic, Burlington, and Camden counties; confirm its current services and coverage if you are considering that route.

Resource parents in therapeutic programs may be offered:

• Specialized training beyond PRIDE, depending on the RFA and placement
• Contact with clinical support staff, depending on the program
• Reimbursement based on the child's assessed care needs; confirm the applicable rate

The emotional demands of therapeutic foster care are real. Children with significant behavioral histories — trauma, reactive attachment disorder, developmental disabilities, serious emotional disturbances — can be difficult to parent even for experienced caregivers. The families who succeed in this work tend to have strong personal support systems, realistic expectations, and a genuine orientation toward therapeutic relationships rather than compliance-based parenting.

Medically Fragile Children: The SHSP Program

The Special Home Service Provider (SHSP) program is for children with complex medical needs. The exact care tasks, equipment, and training requirements are specific to the child and should be confirmed with CP&P or the RFA before placement.

Ask CP&P or the RFA what medical training, ongoing support, and reimbursement apply to the specific SHSP placement.

NJ FamilyCare (Medicaid) covers medical, dental, and mental-health services for children in resource care, including children with complex medical needs. Confirm coverage details for a specific child with CP&P or NJ FamilyCare.

Children With Developmental Disabilities

Children with intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, and similar developmental disabilities may have needs involving CP&P and other state services. Ask the RFSW whether another division, such as the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD), is involved.

For foster-to-adopt families considering children with developmental disabilities, ask CP&P about the Adoption Assistance Agreement process before finalization and what support options may be available afterward.

How to Indicate Interest in Specialized Placements

During the home study process and in your formal application, you indicate the types of children you are interested in caring for — age ranges, sibling group capacity, special needs categories. This does not lock you in, but it affects the types of placements CP&P will consider you for.

If you are interested in therapeutic or SHSP placements, this is worth discussing explicitly with your RFSW and with any private RFAs you are considering. Some RFAs may offer specialized services; ask what training and support are available for the specific placement.

New Jersey has a robust infrastructure for specialized foster placements. The families who thrive in therapeutic and special needs care come in with honest self-assessment about what level of challenge they can sustain — and with the support systems to back it up.

The New Jersey Foster Care Licensing Guide covers the standard and specialized licensing categories in detail, including the board rate structure, what the SHSP and therapeutic care programs require, and how to navigate the Adoption Assistance Agreement for children with long-term support needs.

See more New Jersey guides →