Does anyone know a Medicaid specialist in or near Franklin Lakes, NJ?

You may want to check with the local bar association to see if there is a list of attorneys who will help the indigent "pro bono" ("no charge"). If indeed your mother has assets that would disqualify her from Medicaid, then hiring a Medicaid planning expert attorney would be worth the money, if there is a substantial amount of money at risk. I have a section in my book that deals with how to find such an attorney in your area.
If your mom is only a little bit over the resource limit, then some of the ideas I discuss in my book may be of value, too, such as pre-paying a funeral/burial plan, purchasing certain exempt assets, improving the home, etc. The book is here: www.MedicaidSecrets.com

Go to the County Aging Dept. They can give you all the info you want.

If it is a large NH, they probably have a social worker who can help you. If that isn't the case, the clinic or hospital your mother goes to should have social workers on staff that help people get Medicaid all the time.

I don't mean to be the negative one, but when my mother went into a nursing home, the social worker told us where to get an application, period. No help whatsoever. I had to do it on my own. I feel like somewhat of an expert at this point. It was very stressful, since my niece had taken money from my mother and that is considered a gift, i.e., you can be penalized so many months for giving money away. I had to track down all my mother's finances, statements from the bank for the previous 5 years, I think it was. I had to answer to what the money was for for various checks and withdrawals, which I didn't know most of the time. The Area Agency on Aging was of no help, either. The only help I got was getting an elder lawyer. Even the lawyers for the poor didn't do that kind of work. Everyone thinks there is so much help out there but there isn't. I would say get a lawyer if you can afford it.