N.J. Admin. Code § 10:90-6.1

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 21, November 4, 2024

Section 10:90-6.1 - Availability of emergency assistance

(a) Emergency assistance shall be made available through the WFNJ program as a supportive service to meet the emergent needs of WFNJ recipients, so that recipients shall not be prevented from complying with the work requirement due to disruptions caused by homelessness and related emergencies. Emergency assistance is also available to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients. In an effort to minimize the incidence of homelessness among the WFNJ and SSI recipient population, the county/municipal agency shall be alert to the following circumstances, which may reasonably be assumed to, if not addressed by the recipient and the agency, result in imminent or actual homelessness of the individual or family. Upon identification of any of the indicators listed below, the county/municipal agency shall review the case record to determine if the individual or family shall be referred to sources of help, either within or outside the agency, to plan to ensure the availability of uninterrupted housing.

1. When shelter costs equal or exceed total recorded income to the WFNJ or SSI assistance unit and the recipient is unable to document other sources of income, for example, loans from relatives, which enable the individual or family to meet monthly housing/living expenses;

2. When the county/municipal agency receives information to the effect that the individual or family's utility bills are in arrearages or utilities have been shut off;

3. When the individual's or family's income is reduced as a result of the reduction in WFNJ benefits or other available income, through no fault of the individual or family;

4. When the individual's or family's rent which had previously been affordable is increased to an amount which makes the current housing costs appear to exceed available income; or

5. When the county/municipal agency receives information that the individual or family is involved in a tenant/landlord dispute or threatened foreclosure.

i. When a tenant/landlord dispute or threatened foreclosure exists, the agency shall assist the family in an attempt to prevent the loss of existing permanent housing, including referral to appropriate legal/service agencies.

(b) The EA as listed in (a) above can also be an appropriate form of assistance for WFNJ recipients who are unable to work.

(c) The county or municipal agency shall provide emergency assistance when there has been substantial loss of housing, food, clothing or household furnishings or utilities by fire, flood or other similar disaster, or an actual or imminent eviction from prior housing, and the assistance unit is in a state of homelessness or imminent homelessness due to circumstances beyond their control or the absence of a realistic capacity to plan in advance for substitute housing (see (c)1 below); and the county or municipal agency determines that the provision of shelter/housing and/or food and/or emergency clothing, and/or minimum essential house furnishings or utilities is necessary for health and safety.

1. A lack of realistic capacity to engage in advance planning shall be said to exist in the following circumstances:

i. When the assistance unit can demonstrate that there was insufficient time to secure housing between receipt of notice of imminent loss of housing and actual eviction, foreclosure or loss of prior permanent housing; or

ii. When the assistance unit can demonstrate or signs a document, prepared by the county/municipal agency, certifying that available funds, including liquid resources at 10:90-3.20, were exhausted on items deemed appropriate, necessary or reasonable for decent living and such expenditures were made as the result of a significant occurrence or situation, or from meeting the expenses of daily living. The specific event(s) or circumstance(s) upon which the granting of EA is based must be documented in the case record. In addition to expenditures for food, clothing and housing, other appropriate items include, but are not limited to, expenditures for a family emergency, such as attending the funeral of a family member, excessive unreimbursed medical expenses or car payment or repairs; or

iii. When the assistance unit demonstrates functional incapacity, for example, evidence of alcohol or drug abuse, or a mental or cognitive impairment that would prevent them from planning for or securing substitute housing. When additional barriers are identified, the recipient shall be referred to appropriate services. Individuals granted EA on this basis must agree as part of their service plan (see 10:90-6.6 concerning the development of a service plan) to engage in appropriate treatment for their addiction or other impairments that may limit their ability to function. Such treatment for addiction or incapacitating condition shall also be included in the IRP in order to coordinate the requirements contained in the IRP.

(1) Adult applicants or recipients who have been evicted, are facing an eviction or have been terminated from a shelter program, for reasons related to substance abuse, shall be referred to the SAI for a substance abuse assessment by a qualified professional. If the qualified professional determines that treatment is necessary and that the recipient is able to follow through with the recommended treatment plan, then participation in a substance abuse treatment program is considered mandatory for continued EA. If the qualified professional determines that the recipient is unable to comply with service plan requirements, then the recipient shall be found to have good cause and will therefore, not be subject to a penalty. The agency and the qualified professional shall review the case at a minimum of every three months to determine the recipient's ability to comply with the EA service plan requirements.

(A) Adult applicants or recipients with two or more episodes of unexplained homelessness shall be assessed for substance abuse, if the agency suspects that substance abuse is a contributing factor. If treatment is deemed appropriate by a qualified professional who shall also determine whether the recipient is able to participate in a program, then treatment shall become a mandatory part of the EA service plan for continued EA eligibility unless the recipient has good cause. If treatment is unavailable, or a waiting list exists, the recipient shall not be penalized; he or she shall be considered to have good cause.

(2) Adult applicants or recipients who have been evicted, are facing an eviction or have been terminated from a shelter program shall be assessed by a mental health professional if the underlying reason is the result of suspected mental illness. If the qualified professional determines that treatment is necessary, participation in a mental health program then becomes a mandatory part of the EA service plan and cooperation is required for continued EA eligibility unless the recipient has good cause.

(A) If treatment is unavailable, or a waiting list exists, for entry into a mental health program or in cases where the qualified professional determines that the recipient is unable to follow through with an assessment or treatment plan due to acute mental incapacitation, or other cognitive impairments, then he or she shall be deemed to have good cause. The agency and the qualified professional shall review the case at a minimum of every three months to determine the recipient's ability to comply with the EA service plan requirements.

2. As part of the determination of eligibility for emergency assistance, the agency shall evaluate all potential contributions of support to the household, including income received by ineligible household members, particularly when determining the amount of temporary rental assistance (see 10:90-6.3(a)5 ) to be provided, and the specific kinds of preventive services which may be required by the individual, couple without dependent children or family with dependent children.

3. Emergency assistance shall not be provided to a WFNJ applicant when an actual or imminent state of homelessness exists as a direct result of the voluntary cessation of employment by the adult household member without good cause (as provided at 10:90-4.11) . EA shall not be provided for a period of six months to the entire household in which the recipient adult member voluntarily quits employment without good cause while receiving emergency assistance (see 10:90-4.11(b) concerning a voluntary quit). Nor shall EA be provided for a period of six months when an adult EA applicant or recipient has caused his or her own homelessness, without good cause, for reasons that may include, but are not limited to, (c)3i through ix below. The EA penalty shall not be imposed when it has been determined by a qualified professional that due to mental, cognitive or substance abuse impairments, the recipient lacked the functional capacity to avoid behaviors that contributed to his or her becoming homeless. Such recipients shall be required to follow through with the recommendations of the qualified professional to maintain EA eligibility.

i. For the purpose of making himself or herself eligible for EA, for example, refusing to accept subsidized housing;

ii. Eviction from public and/or subsidized housing for nonpayment of rent;

iii. Eviction from private, public and/or subsidized housing because of criminal activity, except when the criminal activity was committed by an adult who is no longer part of the assistance unit;

iv. Eviction from private, public and/or subsidized housing for destruction of the property, provided that the destruction of property was caused by the adult applicant;

v. The adult applicant or recipient had the available funds and the capacity to prevent homelessness;

vi. The adult applicant's or recipient's behavior directly caused the eviction;

vii. The adult applicant or recipient abandoned permanent affordable housing;

viii. Refusal to accept Section 8 housing, if offered; or

ix. Failure to comply with the mandatory activities identified in the EA service plan.

4. An adult household member who incurs a sanction as a result of his or her failure to comply with the WFNJ program work requirements may apply for and receive emergency assistance for himself or herself and the eligible unit while in sanction status.

5. An adult household member who incurs a sanction due to failure to comply with the WFNJ work requirements (not a voluntary quit) while receiving emergency assistance shall continue to receive such assistance (see 10:90-6.4 concerning time limits on receipt of emergency assistance), as may be required, for himself or herself and the eligible unit, for up to one month after all WFNJ cash assistance to the eligible unit has been terminated and the case closed as a result of failure to correct a sanction.

6. In consultation with CP&P, EA shall be provided to a CP&P family, even if the family caused its own homelessness, provided that the family meets all other EA eligibility requirements.

i. When EA is granted to a CP&P family that caused its own homelessness, the CWA and CP&P shall establish communication to ensure coordination of the CP&P plan, the EA service plan and the IRP.

(1) Every effort shall be made to avoid situations in which the development and execution of one plan infringes upon the development and execution of another, thereby placing the recipient in danger of being either sanctioned due to noncooperation or terminated from receipt of EA.

(2) Failure to comply with the CP&P service plan or the EA service plan may, in consultation with CP&P, result in the termination of EA.

7. Emergency assistance is likewise available in situations where there is an indication that an individual, or a parent and his or her children, have left their customary residence and the unit is in a state of homelessness due to imminent or demonstrated domestic violence which imperils the health and safety of the eligible unit.

i. Temporary living arrangements during the period between the occurrence of the incidence of domestic violence and the application for EA do not negate the existence of a state of homelessness.

8. In instances where the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, in consultation with the county agency, certifies that placement of the children is imminent due only to the fact that the family is being subjected to a serious health or life threatening situation because of the lack of adequate housing, EA shall be provided in accordance with the applicable provisions of this subchapter.

(d) The county agency may authorize EA to a family on behalf of a child in order to facilitate the return of a child from resource family care when the appropriate Local Officer Manager (LOM) of the Division of Child Protection and Permanency (CP&P) has approved a specific plan for the return of a child from resource family care and all of the following conditions exist:

1. The county agency is in receipt of detailed written verification from CP&P that the return is barred solely by insufficient or inadequate shelter, food, clothing or house furnishings and there is no other way by which a deficiency can be remedied;

2. The appropriate LOM of CP&P has certified that the return of the child will be effected on a specific date subject to remedy of the deficiency;

3.-4. (No change.)

3. The return from placement will be to any parent or relative specified in 10:90-2.7(a)3; and

4. Upon return of the child, WFNJ eligibility will exist.

(e) EA is also available in cases where only the child is eligible to receive WFNJ cash assistance (that is, the parent-person is non-needy).

N.J. Admin. Code § 10:90-6.1

Administrative change, 46 N.J.R. 855(b).

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