N.J. Admin. Code § 10:90-15.1
The following words and terms, used within this chapter, shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Active participation" means participation in a Department of Health and Senior Services' licensed or approved residential or in-patient or out-patient substance abuse treatment program and that the WFNJ applicant/recipient shall cooperate with the program's recommended treatment plan.
"Adjusted allowance" means the balance remaining as a result of subtracting the assistance unit's total income from the appropriate public assistance allowance amount for that assistance unit.
"Adjusted gross income" means, when self-employed, the net income as determined by subtracting the cost of producing the income from total gross earnings.
"Adverse action" means any action by the county or municipal agency resulting in denial of an application for assistance, suspension, reduction or termination of assistance. The term is also applicable to decisions pertaining to protective and restricted payments and denial of request for special payments.
"Allowance" means the amount of money recognized for a specific purpose.
"Alternative Work Experience Program (AWEP)" means work and training only with a public, private nonprofit or private charitable employer that provides a recipient with the experience necessary to adjust to, and learn how to function in, an employment setting and the opportunity to combine that experience with education and job training.
"Appeal" means the process of exercising the right to challenge a decision or action of the administering entity and to have such decision or action reviewed by an impartial agency.
"Applicant" means a person who makes a written request for benefits provided by the WFNJ Program. An applicant can be an individual, couple without dependent children, natural or adoptive parent(s), parent-person(s), parent-minor, or legal guardian acting on behalf of the assistance unit.
"Application" means a written request for public assistance made by an applicant or legal guardian acting on behalf of the assistance unit.
"Application process" means the required actions necessary to make an official determination of the disposition of the application for benefits.
"Approved residential substance abuse treatment program (RSATP)" means a residential substance abuse treatment program; drug treatment facility; alcoholism treatment facility; or halfway house that has made application to the Department of Health and Senior Services' for licensure or licensure renewal and is identified by DHSS as an approved facility.
"Arrears" means the amount of support determined through a court order or administrative order from this State or another state for support and maintenance of a child(ren) or of a child(ren) and the custodial parent, which has not been paid.
"Assistance payment" means the money amount authorized and issued to the assistance unit.
"Assistance unit" means a single adult without dependent children; a couple without dependent children; dependent children only; or a person or couple who are legally or blood related to or the legal guardian of one or more dependent children who live together as a household unit.
"Authorized representative" means an individual (or organization) whom a client designates, orally or in writing, to act on his or her behalf; or in cases of incompetence the person designated by the court to act for the client.
"BARA" means the Bureau of Administrative Review and Appeals in the Division of Family Development.
"Benefits" means any financial or service assistance available to the assistance unit through WFNJ.
"Calculated earned income" means amount of earned income remaining after applicable disregards and deductions have been subtracted from total gross earnings. This is the countable amount to be used in determining the assistance unit's total income.
"Case management" means the provision of certain services to WFNJ recipients.
"Case record" means the official file, including electronically stored data, that constitutes a complete record which supports the decisions and actions of the WFNJ entity on a case and may include, but is not limited to, forms, chronological narrative, correspondence, record of work requirement compliance and other documents pertinent to the application and eligibility of the client.
"Certificate of Parentage (COP)" means the official form for paternity acknowledgment in New Jersey.
"Child care center" means any home or facility licensed by the Office of Licensing, Department of Children and Families, which is maintained for the care, development or supervision of six or more children under 13 years of age who attend for less than 24 hours a day.
"Child only case" means an assistance unit comprising a child(ren) only who is (are) receiving WFNJ/TANF benefits and is(are) residing with a non-needy parent-person who has been designated as the payee for the child(ren)'s cash assistance grant.
"Child support" means the amount required to be paid under a judgment, decree, or order, whether temporary, final or subject to modification, issued by a court or an administrative agency of competent jurisdiction, for the support and maintenance of a child, including a child who has attained the age of majority under the law of the issuing state, or child and the parent with whom the child is living, which provides monetary support, health insurance, arrearages or reimbursement, and which may include other related costs and fees, interest and penalties, income withholding, attorney's fees and other relief.
"Client" means an all inclusive term for an applicant or recipient of assistance.
"Collateral investigation" means contact with a source other than members of the applicant's or recipient's immediate household which is made with the knowledge and consent of the applicant(s) for the purpose of obtaining or verifying information.
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Human Services.
"Community Work Experience Program (CWEP)" means work and training only with a public, private nonprofit or private charitable employer, provided to a recipient when, and to the extent, that such experience is necessary to enable the recipient to adjust to, and learn how to function in, an employment setting.
"Cooperation with child support" means making a good faith effort to establish parentage and establish, modify and/or enforce a support order(s) and/or health care coverage.
"County agency" means the county agency that was administering the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program at the time the Federal "Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996," P.L. 104-193, was enacted and which shall also administer the WFNJ Program in that county.
"County residence" means that county where an applicant or recipient is residing.
"Couple" means two individuals who live together, function as one economic unit, and present themselves as a couple to the WFNJ agency.
"CP&P" means the Division of Child Protection and Permanency in the Department of Children and Families.
"CSP" means the Child Support and Paternity Program.
"Custodial parent" means the primary resident parent prior to the establishment of the order determining custody.
"Date of eligibility" means for an eligible applicant, the date of the application or as soon thereafter as there is evidence of financial need; or when verification of eligibility has been satisfactorily completed.
"Denied application" means a determination that, for a specific reason, the applicant is determined ineligible for assistance.
"Department" means the New Jersey Department of Human Services.
"Designated payee" means a person signing the application to whom the assistance benefits will be issued.
"Disability" means, with respect to an individual, a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual such as hearing, seeing, speaking, walking, breathing, performing manual tasks, caring for oneself, learning or working; a record of such an impairment; or being regarded as having such an impairment (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Rehabilitation Act of 1973).
"Dismissed application" means recognition that eligibility need not be considered further because the applicant moved to another state during the application process or cannot be located, or the application was registered in error.
"Disregards" means the amount of earned income which is not considered in the WFNJ program when determining the amount of the assistance benefit.
"DDD" means the Division of Developmental Disabilities.
"Division of Employment Services (DES)" means the office within the State Department of Labor and Industry responsible for administration of Unemployment Insurance and Temporary Disability Benefits programs and for operation of the State Employment Service.
"Division of Family Development (DFD)" means the office within the State Department of Human Services responsible for supervision of the administration of county and municipal agencies.
"DVRS" means the Division of Vocational and Rehabilitation Services.
"DYFS" means the Division of Youth and Family Services in the Department of Human Services.
"Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT)" means the utilization of a Families First debit card by which a recipient may draw benefits through an approved financial institution or vendor.
"Eligible medical institution" means a facility or specified section thereof certified as an approved institution for the purpose of treating acute illness (private or general hospitals) or providing care for the chronically ill (long term care facilities).
"Emergency assistance" means a program of assistance and related services to WFNJ recipients for brief periods of time, necessitated by unusual circumstances which were neither foreseen nor controllable by the recipient.
"Enrollment" means the WFNJ applicant/recipient has been admitted to a Department of Health and Senior Services' licensed or approved residential substance abuse treatment program, is physically residing at the treatment facility, or has been admitted to a DHSS in-patient or out-patient facility.
"Exempt resource" means a resource which is not to be taken into consideration when computing extent of need and is not subject to liquidation requirements.
"Families First" means the program which utilizes Electronic Benefit Transfer as an alternate method of distributing benefits, such as but not limited to cash assistance and NJ SNAP benefits, to eligible individuals and families.
"Family violence" means subjecting an individual(s) to extreme cruelty or physical battering, as defined at 408(a)(7)(C) of the Social Security Act. These behavioral acts of abuse by a perpetrator are those behaviors that result in, or threaten to result in, physical or mental injury/abuse; threatened or attempted sexual assault; sexual assault activity involving a dependent child; the forcing of an individual as the caretaker relative of a dependent child to take part in non-consensual sexual acts or activities; and neglecting or preventing the individual(s) from getting medical care. Such harmful physical and controlling behavior(s) by the perpetrator, that may have occurred in the past or are presently taking place, can cause, but is not limited to, economic intimidation and isolation of the intimate partner(s) or other family member(s), and may impact that individual's compliance with WFNJ program requirements or in seeking needed services for fear of their own or their child(ren)'s safety.
"Filiation proceedings" means court action to establish paternity and responsibility for support of a child born out-of-wedlock.
"Financial income eligibility" means it is determined that the applicant's total monthly income is less than the applicable maximum income level established for needy individuals and families in the WFNJ program.
"Full-time employment" means employment unsubsidized by any level of government in which a person is engaged for at least 35 hours a week.
"Full-time post-secondary student" means a student enrolled for a minimum of 12 credit hours in a post-secondary school.
"FVO Risk Assessment" means the specific contracted services of the Department of Human Services' (DHS) designated domestic violence agency or the Department of Community Affairs (DCA), Division On Women's (DOW) sexual assault service program to assess WFNJ TANF/GA individuals, who are granted a Family Violence Option (FVO) Waiver, for the purpose of confirming the individual's need for a waiver or continued need for a waiver. The assessment includes a safety and service plan or a strategy consistent with the identified needs and safety concerns of WFNJ TANF/GA individuals; and the identification of intervention services.
"FVO Risk Assessment Process" means the standardized process established within each WFNJ CWA to refer WFNJ TANF/GA individuals, granted a FVO Waiver to the DHS' designated domestic violence agency or the DCA, DOW's sexual assault service program for a FVO Risk Assessment.
"Good faith effort for WFNJ/GA" means that the GA individual shall provide oral, written or additional information and documentary evidence known to, possessed by or reasonably obtainable by that individual, which leads to the identification of his or her child(ren) and the identification of the custodial parent(s), and is relevant to establishing paternity when applicable, and to obtaining a support order(s) and/or health care coverage.
"Good faith effort for WFNJ/TANF" means that the TANF individual shall provide oral, written or additional information and documentary evidence known to, possessed by or reasonably obtainable by that individual, that may lead to the identification and/or location of the non-custodial parent(s), and is relevant to establishing paternity when applicable, and to obtaining a support order(s) and/or health care coverage.
"Gross earned income" means the total earnings of members of the assistance unit before applicable disregards and deductions are subtracted, or the net profit from self-employment before income tax or personal taxes are deducted.
"Head of household" means the individual who is recognized by other members of the household as having primary responsibility for financial control and direction of the household.
"Homelessness, state of" means when the physical health and safety of an assistance unit, through no fault of its members, is imperiled by substantial loss of shelter.
"IM" means income maintenance.
"Incapacity" means physical or mental defect, illness or impairment, supported by competent medical testimony, of such a debilitating nature as to reduce substantially or eliminate an individual's ability to support or care for himself or herself and/or the otherwise eligible child in his or her care, which is expected to last for at least 30 days.
"Income" means, but is not limited to, commissions, salaries, self-employed earnings, child support and alimony payments, interest and dividend earnings, wages, rent receipts, unemployment compensation, any legal or equitable interest or entitlement owed that was acquired by a cause of action, suit, claim or counterclaim, insurance benefits, temporary disability claims, estate income, trusts, Federal income tax refunds, State income tax refunds, homestead rebates, lottery prizes, casino and racetrack winnings, inheritances, annuities, retirement benefits, veteran's benefits, union benefits, or other source that may be defined as income by the Commissioner.
"Income eligibility standard" means the income eligibility threshold based on assistance unit size for benefits provided within the limit of funds appropriated by the Legislature.
"Income exclusions" means income that is not to be taken into consideration when determining WFNJ financial eligibility.
"Income-in-kind" means income received in the form of goods or services rather than cash.
"Inquiry" means any request for information about assistance programs which is not a request for an application.
"Institution" means a public or private facility providing 24 hour residential placement, care or incarceration.
"Intervention services" means those activities and services offered by the DHS' designated domestic violence agencies, the DOW's sexual assault service programs or through other community providers, such as, but not limited to, counseling.
"Legal custody" means the general right to exercise continuing control over the person of a child derived from court order or otherwise.
"Legal guardian" means a person who exercises continuing control over the person or property, or both, of a child, including any specific right of control over an aspect of the child's upbringing, pursuant to a court order.
"Legally-related" means a relationship created through marriage, adoption or legal guardianship procedures.
"Licensed residential substance abuse treatment program" means a Department of Health and Senior Services' licensed residential substance abuse treatment program; drug treatment facility; alcoholism treatment facility; or halfway house.
"Location" means verified information about the alleged father's and/or non-custodial parent's physical whereabouts, employer(s), and/or other sources of income or assets, as appropriate, which are sufficient and necessary to take the next appropriate action on a case.
"LWD" means the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
"MDO" means Medicaid District Office in the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services.
"Medicaid" means the New Jersey Medical Assistance and Health Services Program in the Department of Human Services.
"Medicaid Only" means provision of medical assistance only to a family or certain individuals who are eligible for WFNJ benefits and choose to waive the money payment benefit portion.
"Medicaid Special" means Medicaid coverage available to any dependent child under 21 or an independent child under age 21 based on financial eligibility only regardless of other program requirements (for example, WFNJ, employment, training, CSP or school attendance).
"Medical Assistance (MA)" means payments on behalf of recipients to providers for medical care and services.
"Money payment" means an assistance check paid to, or funds deposited through EBT for a recipient or his or her authorized payee.
"Monthly amount" means the amount of money required, provided or received for one month.
"Monthly grant" means the amount of money payment to be made each month to an assistance unit.
"Municipal agency" means an agency within a municipality that has been designated, via municipal resolution, to administer the WFNJ/GA Program.
"Municipality" means any city, borough, township, town, village or municipality governed by a board or commissioners or an improvement commission.
"Needy person" means a person who requires and qualifies for a money payment in the WFNJ program.
"New application" means a signed request for assistance by an individual who has never previously applied under that program in any county or municipality in the State.
"NJSES" means the New Jersey State Employment Service, New Jersey Department of Labor.
"NJ SNAP" means the New Jersey Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
"Non-custodial parent" means the non-primary resident parent prior to the establishment of an order determining custody.
"Noneligible person" means a person who is neither sanctioned nor required by law or regulation to be included in the WFNJ assistance unit.
"Non-needy caretaker" means a relative caring for a dependent child, or a legal guardian of a minor child who, in the absence of a natural or adoptive parent, assumes parental responsibility for such minor child.
"Obligee" means the individual or entity entitled to receive child support and health insurance or provide health insurance under a court order for support and shall include agencies of this and another jurisdiction to which an obligee has assigned the obligee's right to support.
"Obligor" means the individual who according to applicable law(s) has the obligation to pay child support and/or provide health insurance coverage.
"On-the-job-training (OJT)" means an activity in which a participant is hired by a public or private sector employer for which the employer is reimbursed a portion of the individual's wages while he or she is learning on the job.
"Out-of-wedlock child" means a child born to a mother who is not married to the father of such child.
"Ownership of real or personal property" means, for WFNJ program purposes, any and all rights, title or interest, legal or equitable, to such property.
"Parent" means natural and/or adoptive parent(s), parent-person(s), or legal guardian(s).
"Parent-minor" means a parent of a child or children who is himself or herself under the age of 18.
"Parent-person" refers to an adult individual related through blood, marriage or adoption to a child who, in the absence of a natural or adoptive parent, assumes parental responsibility for that child.
"Payee" means the person designated to receive assistance payments on behalf of the eligible members of an assistance unit.
"Pending application" means a general term for application, reapplication, reopened application, or transferred application prior to official disposition.
"Per capita" means an amount equal to one individual's share of the total (allowance, cost, income, and so forth).
"Personal interview" means face-to-face discussion between individuals.
"Potential resource" means a resource which, through liquidation, will provide cash for the use of the assistance unit or for reimbursement to the agency.
"Poverty level" means the official poverty level based on family size, established and adjusted under Section 673(2) of Subtitle B of the "Community Services Block Grant Act," Pub. L. 97-35 ( 42 U.S.C. § 9902(2) ).
"Program" means the Work First New Jersey (WFNJ) program.
"Protective payee" means a person authorized by the WFNJ entity under certain conditions to receive and administer assistance payments on behalf of an eligible family.
"Protective payment" means assistance payment made to an individual other than the parent or parent-person, as designated by the WFNJ entity under certain conditions.
"Provider" means any person, public or private institution, agency or business concern, approved by the Division, who lawfully provides medical care, services, goods and/or supplies, and holding, where applicable, a current valid license to provide such services or to dispense such goods and/or supplies.
"Public assistance" means assistance rendered to needy single adults, couples without dependent children and families with dependent children and includes all benefits provided under the WFNJ program.
"Reapplication" means a signed request for assistance by an individual who has previously applied for, but never received, assistance under that program in any county or municipality in the State.
"Recipient" means a recipient of benefits under the WFNJ program.
"Recovery" means the repayment of assistance improperly obtained.
"Redetermination of eligibility" means a review and investigation of all facts and circumstances relating to the recipient's application to determine continuing eligibility for receipt of WFNJ assistance benefits.
"Referral" means a request for assistance and/or services from a public or private agency or individual on behalf of another individual.
"Refugee Resettlement Program (RRP)" means a Federally funded program designed to help meet the needs of refugees as defined by the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
"Registration" means the action of the WFNJ administrative entity in making an official record of and assigning a control number to an application.
"Reopened application" means a signed request for assistance by an individual who has previously received assistance under that program in any county or municipality in the State.
"Representative payee" means a person appointed by the court under certain conditions to receive and administer payments on behalf of an eligible family or individual.
"Resident of New Jersey" means a person who is living in the State for other than a temporary purpose and who has no intention of moving from the State.
"Resources" means all real and personal property.
"Resource limit" means the maximum amount of resources/assets, that will not be taken into consideration when determining eligibility for the WFNJ program.
"Responsible adult" means a person who agrees to be designated to receive assistance payments on behalf of a parent minor and his or her child(ren) and who is 21 years of age or older, of reputable character who can provide a safe, nurturing home life and/or will advocate on behalf of the parent-minor as well as provide stability, guidance and support to a parent-minor and his or her child(ren).
"Restricted payments" means checks drawn to the order of a specified person and subject to some condition or restriction which prevents immediate and unconditional negotiation and use by the payee upon delivery; checks drawn to the order of a third person or a vendor and intended for use on behalf of the client.
"Retirement, Survivors and Disability Insurance (RSDI)" means the Federal program administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA) which provides protection to workers and their families against loss or stoppage of earnings resulting from retirement at age 62 or older, death or disability.
"Return to state of origin" means that a family, who has resided in New Jersey for a relatively short period desires to return to the state from which it came.
"RSDI" means Retirement, Survivors and Disability Insurance.
"Sanction" means loss of receipt of assistance benefits for a designated period of time because of noncompliance with program requirement(s).
"Services" means any WFNJ benefits that are not provided in the form of cash assistance.
"Social Security payment" means RSDI benefit.
"Spouse" means a husband or wife of a specified individual.
"Spousal-support obligation" means a support obligation for a spouse or former spouse of the obligor.
"SSA" means Social Security Administration.
"SSI" means Federal Supplemental Security Income Program.
"State IV-D Agency" means the Department of Human Services (DHS).
"State institution" means any institutional facility for the mentally ill or developmentally disabled, penal institution or veteran's hospital under the jurisdiction of the State of New Jersey.
"State office" means the Division of Family Development.
"Substance Abuse Initiative" means active participation in substance abuse treatment services that requires a substance abuse assessment administered by a professional clinical care coordinator (CCC) and treatment services as determined clinically appropriate by the CCC, for all WFNJ eligible applicants and recipients who have substance abuse problems.
"Suspended grant" means a payment which is withheld from the recipient pending clarification of continuing eligibility and/or extent of need or because of temporary increase of available resources.
"TANF" means the Federal welfare reform program called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.
"Temporary payee" means a person designated temporarily by the WFNJ entity to receive assistance payments on behalf of an eligible individual or family, usually in an emergency situation.
"Time-limited assistance" means an aggregate total of 60 cumulative months of receipt of WFNJ benefits whether or not those months are accrued consecutively or intermittently during periods of program participation.
"Timely notice" means a notice that is mailed to a WFNJ applicant/recipient by a county or municipal agency at least 10 calendar days before the effective date of an agency's decision or action concerning WFNJ benefits.
"Title IV-D" means Part D, "Child Support and Establishment of Paternity," of subchapter IV of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. § 651 et seq.) under which states receive partial Federal reimbursement of their administrative expenses for establishing paternity and collecting child support.
"Total countable income" means the sum of all recognized income of the assistance unit, including unearned and calculated earned income.
"Transfer application" means a signed request for assistance from a recipient who is presently receiving assistance under the same program in another county or municipality in the State.
"Unrestricted payments" means checks drawn to the order of and delivered to the recipient or authorized payee and received by such person without direction of any kind as a condition of receiving the payment.
"Vendor payment" means a payment drawn to the order of a person or facility for providing goods or services to or for the client, representing payment for such goods or services.
"Vocational training" means providing recipients with classroom training experience and instruction related to specific occupational areas in demand in their labor market area. Training may be combined with CWEP.
"Voluntary acknowledgment of paternity" means consent to the parentage of a child(ren) by signing a Certificate of Parentage. This includes a request by the alleged father and/or the non-custodial parent for genetic testing.
"WFNJ/TANF" means the Work First New Jersey/Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program.
"WFNJ/GA" means the Work First New Jersey/General Assistance Program.
"Withdrawn application" means an oral or written request by an applicant that the WFNJ entity terminate its activity on his or her application.
"Work activity" means, but is not limited to, the following: employment, on-the-job-training, job search and job readiness assistance; vocational educational training; job skills training related directly to employment; community work experience; alternative work experience; supportive work; community service programs, including the provision of child care as a community service project; in the case of a teenage parent or a recipient under the age of 19 who is expected to graduate or complete their course of study by their 19th birthday, satisfactory attendance at a secondary school or in a course of study leading to a certificate of general equivalence; and education that is necessary for employment in the case of a person who has not received a high school diploma or a certificate of high school equivalency, a course of study leading to a certificate of general equivalency, or post-secondary education, when combined with community work experience participation or other approved work activities, including employment.
"Work First New Jersey participants" means all individuals in the assistance unit.
"Work First New Jersey program" means the single public assistance program established pursuant to P.L. 1997, c. 13, c.14, c.37 and c.38, which provides assistance to single adults, couples without dependent children and families with dependent children.
N.J. Admin. Code § 10:90-15.1