Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) For the purposes of the Personal Assistance
Services Program, an eligible applicant or consumer shall meet the following standards, except as noted at
N.J.A.C.
10:140-2.2:
1. An eligible applicant or
consumer shall be 18 years of age or older and shall have a permanent physical disability;
2. An eligible applicant or consumer shall be a resident of the State of
New Jersey and must reside within the geographic boundaries thereof in order to qualify for services.
Residency shall be determined by physical domicile in New Jersey.
3. An eligible applicant or consumer shall be in need of personal
assistance services pursuant to a written personal assistance services plan, prepared by the applicant or
consumer, and approved by the staff of the county designated agency;
4. An eligible applicant or consumer shall be one who is self-directed and
capable of managing and supervising his or her personal assistance services, as determined by an assessment
conducted by an assessor;
5. A relative or other informal
caregiver is not available to provide the services that the consumer needs;
6. An eligible applicant or consumer shall live, or plan to live upon
becoming eligible, in a private house or apartment, group home, educational facility (for example, dormitory
or campus apartment), rooming or boarding house, residential health care facility or an alternative housing
arrangement acceptable to the Division for the purposes of the Personal Assistance Services Program; and the
personal assistance services that the eligible applicant or consumer receives are supplemental to, and not
duplicative of, services provided to the person in the rooming or boarding house, group home, educational
facility, transitional housing or residential health care facility pursuant to licensure requirements.
Individuals who reside in, or are a patient in a facility or setting where personal care services are the
responsibility of those entities shall be ineligible for the Personal Assistance Services Program. An
exception to this paragraph may be granted by the Division Director in circumstances where personal care
services are not being provided by the facility and the individual meets all other requirements of this
chapter;
7. The attending physician for the eligible applicant or
consumer shall confirm in writing that he or she has a permanent physical disability and is capable of
self-direction, and that the personal assistance services will be appropriate to meet the eligible applicant
or consumer's needs; and
8. The eligible applicant or consumer
shall receive no more than 40 hours per week of personal assistance services from the program in combination
with any other program. Exceptions to this paragraph may be granted by the Division Director to individuals
who can demonstrate the need for additional hours and demonstrate that the absence or loss of the services
would constitute a clear risk to health and safety.
(b) Consumers must utilize any Federally funded programs for which they are
entitled before receiving services from the program.
(c) The
Division must operate the Personal Assistance Services Program within its financial appropriation and may
suspend the enrollment of consumers or truncate the hours provided to consumers as financial
restrictions/limitations require.
(d) In circumstances where
requests for services exceed program resources, the Division shall invoke an order of selection to prioritize
the order in which resources will be used to provide services to existing consumers. The order of selection
shall be based on the qualifying program activities set forth at
10:140-1.5(b).
(e) Services available under the program are limited to those services
related to personal care. The Division has no obligation to fund or facilitate a consumer's ability to comply
with program rules by providing other services or accommodations.
(f) It is the responsibility of the consumer to maintain Program
eligibility in good standing. A consumer shall be determined to be in good standing by doing the following:
1. Maintaining qualifying activity in accordance with this
chapter;
2. Complying with the payment of cost share in
accordance with 10:140-4.3;
3. Complying with the training requirements in accordance with
10:140-6.1; and
4. Notifying the county designated agency of any change(s) in Program
activity as described at N.J.A.C.
10:140-1.1 and 1.5(a) and (b), including, but not limited to, acquiring new
employment, loss of employment, withdrawal from, or completion of, a post-secondary educational or training
program, new enrollment in a post-secondary educational or training program, participation in new volunteer
activity, or withdrawal from, or termination of, participation in a volunteer activity. Consumers shall be
required to submit documentation to support such change.
i. Consumers must
notify their county designated agency Program coordinator of any significant change in Program activity
immediately, but no longer than 15 business days. Notification may be performed verbally, in writing, or
electronically (computer message).
ii. The county designated
agency shall inform the consumer in writing of the need to provide documentation of involvement in Program
activity within 30 days of receipt of request to ensure compliance with 10:140-1.1 and
1.5(a) and (b). The written notification shall inform the consumer that failure to respond
to the request in writing within the 30-day timeframe shall result in a suspension from the
Program.
iii. In the event that the requested documentation under
(c) above is received in a timely manner and meets the criteria established under 10:140-1.1
and 1.5(a) and (b), the consumer's eligibility status for PASP shall remain in good
standing.
iv. In the event the requested documentation is
received within the 30-day timeframe, but is deemed as unacceptable (does not meet Program activity
requirements), the consumer shall be notified in writing of this determination by the county designated
agency. In the event the consumer is unable to provide appropriate documentation to ensure compliance with
10:140-1.1 and 1.5(a) and (b), he or
she will be terminated from the Program within 30 days of receipt of the letter. A notice of termination
shall be issued to the consumer by the county designated agency pursuant to the actions described in this
section.
5. In situations in which a consumer no
longer meets eligibility requirements under
10:140-1.1 through no fault of his or her
own (such as employer closure/moving, significant health change, volunteer agency closure, etc.), a Program
activity plan shall be required and implemented within 90 days from the date of activity change in order to
remain eligible for the Program.
i. The Program activity plan must be
submitted to the county designated agency in writing along with documentation to support said
activity.
ii. The Program activity plan shall be reviewed and
approved by the designated State agency.
iii. Failure to provide
the Program activity plan and/or implement the approved activity within 90 days of date of activity change
shall result in a termination from the Program due to continued non-compliance with 10:140-1.1.