N.J. Admin. Code § 10:69-3.17

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 11, June 3, 2024

Section 10:69-3.17 - Work criteria; determination of principal earner

(a) In order to determine qualification for AFDC-F eligibility, a determination shall first be made as to which parent is the principal earner in that family.

1. The "principal earner" or primary wage earner is whichever parent earned the greater amount of income in the 24-month period immediately preceding the month of application for AFDC-F. This designation thereafter shall apply for each consecutive month for which the family receives AFDC-F.

2. When either parent can qualify as the principal earner because both parents earned an identical amount of income in such 24-month period, the principal earner shall be whichever parent earned the greater amount of income in the most recent consecutive six-month period of such 24-month period.

3. If both parents earned an identical amount of income in such six-month period, the CWA shall designate which parent shall be the principal earner.

(b) AFDC-F segment eligibility for families with both natural or adoptive parents in the home is based on deprivation of parental support to the children in that family due to unemployment of the parent who is designated the principal earner. Form PA-22, Employment Criteria for AFDC-F families, is to be used by the CWA in determining eligibility for AFDC-F. Form PA-22 may be reproduced by each CWA. After the initial application, the CWA shall reexamine Form PA-22 whenever the circumstances surrounding employment in a two-parent household change. To qualify for AFDC-F, the following criteria shall be met.

1. The principal earner has been unemployed for at least 30 days prior to the receipt of public assistance;

i. Unemployed is defined as:

(1) Not working at all;

(2) Working less than 100 hours a month;

(3) Participating in work which exceeds the 100 hour per month standard but is intermittent and the excess hours are of a temporary nature, as evidenced by the fact that the principal earner was under the 100 hours standard for the two prior months and is expected to be under the standard during the next month; or

(4) Regardless of hours worked, the family income is below the applicable cash assistance standard contained in this chapter.

2. The principal earner has not, without good cause, within such 30-day period prior to the receipt of AFDC-related Medicaid, refused a bona fide offer of employment or training for employment;

3. The principal earner has not refused to apply for or accept unemployment compensation for which he or she qualifies;

i. An individual shall be deemed "qualified" for unemployment compensation under the State's unemployment compensation law if he or she would have been eligible to receive such benefits upon filing application, or he or she performed work not covered by such law which, if it had been covered, would (together with any covered work he or she performed) have made him or her eligible to receive such benefits upon filing application;

ii. The applicant shall also be informed that refusal to apply for or accept unemployment compensation for which he or she qualifies will render the principal earner and the second ineligible for Medicaid; and

4. The principal earner has six or more quarters of work (as described in (b)4i below), no more than four of which may be quarters of work over his or her lifetime as defined in (b)4i(2) below, within any 13 calendar-quarter period ending within one year prior to the application for such aid; or, within such one-year period, received unemployment compensation under an unemployment compensation law of a State or of the United States; or was qualified (see (b)3i above) for such compensation under the State's unemployment compensation law.

i. A "quarter of work" with respect to any individual means a period (of three consecutive calendar months ending on March 31, June 30, September 30, or December 31) in which:

(1) The individual received earned income of not less than $ 50.00;

(2) The individual attended full-time, an elementary school, a secondary school, or a vocational or technical training course that is designed to prepare the individual for gainful employment, or in which such individual participated in an education or training program established under the Job Training Partnership Act, Public Law 97-300; or

(3) The individual participated in the Community Work Experience Program or WIN (Work Incentive Program) prior to October, 1990, or the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program (JOBS/REACH or FDP in New Jersey).

(c) AFDC-F segment eligibility for families with both natural or adoptive parents in the home when the principal earner does not satisfy the Federal work criteria delineated in (b) above is based on the deprivation of parental support to the children in that family. The following additional sanctions shall apply in AFDC-F segment cases if financial eligibility is the result of voluntary cessation of employment without good cause.

1. If AFDC-F segment financial eligibility is the result of voluntary cessation of employment without good cause including cessation of employment due to inappropriate work habits by either of the applicant parents, regardless of reason, within 90 days prior to the date of application for AFDC-related Medicaid, neither of the parents shall be included in the eligible family. This penalty shall extend for a period of 90 days beginning with the date of the termination of employment. Eligibility shall be considered only for the children in such instances.

i. At the end of the 90-day penalty period, the parents may be granted assistance under AFDC-F as long as other non-financial eligibility requirements are satisfied and financial need exists.

2. If an employed primary wage earner (principal wage earner) voluntarily ceases employment for whatever reason without good cause both parents' needs shall be deleted from the eligible family under AFDC-F.

N.J. Admin. Code § 10:69-3.17

Amended by 49 N.J.R. 3729(a), effective 12/4/2017