Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) If the CWA
does not determine a household's eligibility and provide an opportunity to
participate within 30 days of the date the application was filed, the CWA shall
take action as indicated below.
(b)
If the household has failed to appear for two scheduled interviews and has made
no subsequent contact with the CWA to express interest in pursuing the
application, the CWA shall send the household a notice of denial on the 30th
day following the date of application. The household must file a new
application if it wishes to participate in the program. See (c)5 below for
households which express interest in pursuing the application after failing to
appear for two scheduled interviews.
(c) The CWA shall determine the cause of the
delay. A delay shall be considered the fault of the household if the household
has failed to complete the application process even though the CWA has taken
all the action required to assist the household. The CWA must have taken the
following actions before a delay can be considered the fault of the household:
1. For households which have failed to
complete the application form, the CWA must have offered, or attempted to
offer, assistance in its completion.
2. If one or more members of the household
have failed to register for work (as required at
10:87-10.1) , the CWA must have
informed the household of the need to register for work and given the household
at least 10 days from the date of notification to register those
members.
3. In cases where
verification is incomplete, the CWA must have provided the household with a
Notice of Required Verification (Form NJ SNAP-33), offered to assist the
household in obtaining required verification, and allowed the household
sufficient time to provide the missing verification.
4. Sufficient time to provide missing
verification shall be at least 10 days from the date of the CWA's initial
request for the particular verification which was missing.
5. For households which have failed to appear
for an interview, the CWA must have attempted to reschedule the initial
interview within 30 days of the date the application was filed.
i. If the household has failed to appear for
the first interview and a subsequent interview is postponed at the household's
request or cannot otherwise be rescheduled until after the 20th day but before
the 30th day following the date the application was filed, the household must
appear for the interview, bring verification and register members for work by
the 30th day. Otherwise, the delay shall be the fault of the
household.
ii. If the household has
failed to appear for the first interview and a subsequent interview is
postponed until after the 30th day following the date the application was
filed, the delay shall be the fault of the household.
iii. If the household has missed both
scheduled interviews and requests another interview, any delay shall be the
fault of the household.
(d) Delays that are the fault of the CWA
include, but are not limited to those cases in which the CWA failed to take one
or more of the actions described in (c) above.
(e) If, by the 30th day, the CWA cannot take
any further action on the application due to the fault of the household, the
household shall lose its entitlement to benefits for the month of application.
The CWA must have offered, or have attempted to offer, assistance in the
completion of the application.
1. On the 30th
day, the CWA shall send a Notice of Denial to the household giving an
additional 30 days to take the required action. Once the household takes the
necessary action and submits the required information, the benefits will be
prorated from the date the information is provided. If the household takes the
required action within 60 days following the date that the application was
filed, the CWA shall reopen the case without requiring a new application. No
further action by the CWA is required after the Notice of Denial is sent if the
household fails to take the required action within 60 days following the date
the application was filed. That is, the case shall be closed and the household
shall have the opportunity to reapply. The Notice of Denial shall include the
following:
i. The action that the household
must take to reactivate the application;
ii. That the case will be reopened without a
new application if action is taken within 30 days of the date that the Notice
of Denial was mailed;
iii. That the
household must resubmit a new application if, at the end of the 30-day period,
the household has not taken the needed action and wishes to participate in the
program.
(f)
Whenever a delay in the initial 30-day period is the fault of the CWA, the CWA
shall take immediate corrective action. The CWA shall not deny the application
if it caused the delay but shall instead notify the household by the 30th day
after the application was filed that the application is being held pending. The
CWA shall also notify the household of any action it must take to complete the
application process.
1. If the household is
found to be eligible during the second 30-day period, the household shall be
entitled to benefits retroactive to the month of application. If, however, the
household is found to be ineligible, the CWA shall deny the
application.
(g) The
following procedures apply as appropriate when a delay occurs in the second
30-day period.
1. If the CWA is at fault for
not completing the application process by the end of the second 30-day period,
and the case record is otherwise complete, the CWA shall continue to process
the original application until an eligibility determination is reached.
i. If the household is determined eligible,
and the CWA was at fault for the delay in initial 30-day period, the household
shall receive benefits retroactive to the month of application.
ii. If the initial delay was the household's
fault, the household shall receive benefits in the month following the month of
application, retroactive to the date the information was received from the
household. The CWA shall use the original application to determine the
household's eligibility in months following the 60-day period.
2. If the CWA is at fault for not
completing the application process by the end of the second 30-day period, but
the case record is not sufficiently complete to reach an eligibility
determination, the CWA shall continue to process the original application. If
the household is subsequently determined eligible, the procedure in (g)1i above
shall be used to determine entitlement for retroactive benefits.
3. If the household is at fault for not
completing the application process by the end of the second 30-day period, the
CWA shall deny the application and require the household to file a new
application if it wishes to participate. The household shall not be entitled to
any lost benefits even if the delay in the initial 30 days was the fault of the
CWA.
4. The CWA shall not determine
the household to be ineligible when a person outside of the household fails to
cooperate with a request for verification. The CWA shall not consider
individuals identified at
10:87-2.3(a) and
(c) as individuals outside of the
household.
