N.J. Admin. Code § 10:90-2.8

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 9, May 6, 2024

Section 10:90-2.8 - Individuals ineligible for WFNJ TANF/GA

(a) The following persons shall not be eligible for assistance and shall not be considered to be members of the WFNJ/TANF or WFNJ/GA assistance units:

1. Non-needy caretakers, except that the eligibility of a dependent child shall not be affected by the income or resources of a non-needy caretaker;

2. Supplemental Security Income recipients, except for the purposes of receiving emergency assistance benefits and burial assistance, which are funded through SSI and administered by the WFNJ agency;

3. Illegal aliens;

4. Other aliens who are not eligible aliens as defined in 10:90-2.10;

5. A person absent from the home who is incarcerated in a Federal, State, county or local corrective facility or under the custody of correctional authorities;

6. A person who is fleeing to avoid prosecution, custody or confinement after conviction, under the laws of the jurisdiction from which the person has fled, for a crime or an attempt to commit a crime which is a felony or a high misdemeanor under the laws of the jurisdiction from which the person has fled; or is violating a condition of probation or parole imposed under Federal or State law;

i. Under the laws of the State of New Jersey, a crime is defined at 2C:1-4(a) as "an indictable offense . . . for which a sentence of imprisonment in excess of 6 months is authorized."

7. A person who has legal custody of a child(ren) but who is unable to prove a legal and/or blood relationship with such child(ren) (as defined at 10:90-2.7(a)1 );

i. According to 9:3-38, legal custody is defined as the "general right to exercise continuing control over the person of a child derived from court order or otherwise."

8. A convicted drug felon, unless the eligibility criteria delineated at N.J.A.C. 10:90-18, the rules established for convicted drug felons, are met;

9. A person found, on or after August 22, 1996, to have willfully and knowingly fraudulently misrepresented his or her residence in order to simultaneously obtain means-tested, public assistance benefits in two or more states or jurisdictions. Such person shall be ineligible for benefits for a period of 10 years from the date of conviction in a Federal or State court;

10. A person who, after July 1, 1997 and provided that the person has received written notice informing them of the WFNJ disqualification penalties, intentionally makes a false or misleading statement or misrepresents, conceals or withholds facts for the purpose of receiving benefits. Such person shall be ineligible for benefits for a period of six months for the first violation, 12 months for the second violation, and permanently for the third violation;

11. A GA applicant or recipient who is eligible for or who is a recipient of WFNJ/TANF, or who has been found ineligible for WFNJ/TANF due to voluntary refusal to comply with program requirements;

12. A GA applicant or recipient who is admitted or committed to an institution (see 10:90-9.1(d)3 );

13. A resource family parent who is unable to prove a legal or blood relationship with a child in resource family care, (as defined at N.J.A.C. 10:90-2.7(a)1), when there are no other eligible children in the household;

14. A person who is seeking legal guardianship of an unrelated child.

i. Although ineligible for TANF benefits, when needed, the WFNJ agency shall provide contact information to these cases for assistance in obtaining guardianship; and

15. A WFNJ/GA applicant or recipient over the age of 60 who is claimed as a dependent on his or her adult child's or other relative's U.S. Individual Income Tax Return (1040 forms) regardless of whether or not he or she is residing in the same household.

i. If the individual's circumstances have changed since being claimed as a dependent, then he or she shall be reevaluated for WFNJ/GA eligibility.

(b) When the county agency determines a family to be financially ineligible for WFNJ/TANF, such family shall not be eligible to receive WFNJ/GA benefits, unless there is a change in family status, such as the only minor child in the home becoming 18 years of age.

(c) WFNJ benefits shall not be payable for any month in which any individual applicant/recipient in the assistance unit is participating in a strike. The individual who is on strike is ineligible for benefits; however, other members of the assistance unit remain eligible for benefits.

1. The term "strike" includes any strike or other concerted stoppage of work by employees (including a stoppage by reason of expiration of a collective bargaining agreement) and any concerted interruption of operations by employees.

2. The term "participating in a strike" means an actual refusal, in concert with others, to provide services to one's employers.

3. Examples of non-strikers who are eligible to participate in the program include, but are not limited to:

i. Employees whose workplace is closed by an employer in order to resist the demands of employees (for example, lockout);

ii. Employees unable to work as a result of striking employees (for example, truck drivers who are not working because striking pressmen prevent newspapers from being printed); or

iii. Employees who are not part of the bargaining unit on strike who do not want to cross the picket line due to fear of personal injury.

N.J. Admin. Code § 10:90-2.8

Amended by 51 N.J.R. 1461(c), effective 9/16/2019

Amended by 52 N.J.R. 141(b), effective 2/3/2020