Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) For those WFNJ adult applicants who meet EEI
eligibility criteria at 10:90-17.2(a) or (b), participation in the EEI
shall be mandatory and non-cooperation shall result in denial of the WFNJ cash assistance application for
both the applicant and the applicant's entire family.
1. EEI participant's
shall be required to comply with all aspects of the cooperation and participation provisions of the EEI, as
set forth in this subchapter, unless good cause exists, which aspects include, but are not limited to:
i. Keeping all scheduled appointments timely;
ii. Giving reasonable notice and explanation of the inability to keep an
appointment;
iii. Cooperating in the development of an WFNJ
individual responsibility plan (IRP);
iv. Signing the Early
Employment Initiative Participation Agreement, and abiding by the provisions of that Agreement, which
includes the agreement to withdraw the family's WFNJ application effective the date unsubsidized employment
is secured when the gross earnings from that employment, along with any other countable income, of the
family, exceed the maximum allowable income level for WFNJ financial eligibility; and
v. Contacting the child care resource and referral (CCR&R) agency to
arrange for post-EEI participation child care services, as appropriate.
(b) Participation in EEI shall be for a minimum period of 15 days to a
maximum period of 30 days (which shall run parallel to the time frame for determining WFNJ program
eligibility).
1. The applicant shall be referred to the administering
entity charged with the responsibility for providing the up-front job search/placement service for EEI. The
EEI entity shall develop an EEI plan with the participant, which shall identify the dates and times of the
activities, as appropriate, as well as the desired employment goal. In addition, the plan shall state whether
an activity support payment is to be provided to cover necessary employment-related expenses to allow
participation in the job search/placement activity outlined in the plan. The EEI plan shall be signed by the
EEI participant and a copy of the plan shall be provided to the EEI participant.
2. The family's application for WFNJ, Medicaid and/or NJ SNAP shall
continue to be processed by the county agency, as appropriate, without delay.
i. Activity support payments and one time lump sum payments associated with
participation in the EEI program, as set forth in (c) below, are disregarded as income in accordance with the
State Plan for Title XIX when determining eligibility for AFDC-Related Medicaid.
3. All EEI participants shall be required to participate in an up-front job
search/placement activity for the sole purpose of obtaining unsubsidized employment during which time the
WFNJ county agency shall continue to process their application for WFNJ cash assistance. The EEI
participation requirement is a minimum period of 15 days to a maximum period of 30 days or anytime after the
15 day minimum period when a final decision is reached on the client's WFNJ application (but not to exceed
the 30-day maximum period). During the EEI participation period, the EEI family shall be eligible for an
activity support payment, in accordance with the EEI Payment Schedule at (d) below, to cover
employment-related expenses necessary to allow participation in the EEI, when such services are not available
without charge from any other source. This activity support payment shall be based on identified job
search/placement needs and shall not exceed the maximum activity support payment for the family size as
indicated in the EEI Payment Schedule at (d) below.
i. If the WFNJ/TANF
application was denied because of non-cooperation with EEI (see (a)1 above), and the family reapplies for
WFNJ/TANF within 30 calendar days of that original WFNJ application date, any activity support payment
provided to the family shall be considered as unearned income when determining WFNJ/TANF eligibility and
calculating the WFNJ/TANF grant.
(c) When
an EEI participant secures employment, the EEI entity shall determine whether or not the participant's gross
earnings shall render the participant's family ineligible for WFNJ cash assistance by comparing the
participant's gross earnings to earned income amount which the WFNJ agency entered on the "WFNJ Agency
Referral to the EEI Entity" form.
1. If the EEI participant's gross
earnings are equal to or less than the earned income amount indicated for that family on the referral form,
the family may remain eligible for WFNJ cash assistance and the EEI entity shall refer the family to the WFNJ
agency for a final determination of eligibility for cash assistance.
2. EEI participants who are successful in obtaining full-time unsubsidized
employment and whose anticipated gross earnings, when combined with all other countable income available to
the WFNJ assistance unit, exceed the earned income amount indicated for that family on the referral form,
which exceeds the initial maximum allowable income eligibility level for WFNJ/TANF (Schedule I at
10:90-3.3(b)
) , shall be required to withdraw their family's WFNJ application for cash
assistance. Before requiring the participant to initiate a withdrawal of the applicant family's WFNJ/TANF
application, the EEI entity shall inquire whether any changes in the applicant family's assistance unit size
or other countable income has occurred as of the date of the WFNJ application. If the participant states that
changes have occurred, the EEI entity shall contact the WFNJ agency to ascertain the impact of such changes
on the applicant family's WFNJ eligibility for cash assistance. If it is determined, by the WFNJ agency, that
the changes reported by the EEI entity indicate that the applicant family may remain eligible for the WFNJ
cash assistance, the EEI agency shall refer the participant back to the WFNJ agency for a final determination
of eligibility for WFNJ cash assistance. If, however, the participant expresses that no changes have occurred
since the date of the WFNJ application and the applicant family withdraws the WFNJ application, the
participant's family shall be eligible to receive the following under the EEI, as appropriate:
i. A one-time lump sum payment to cover expenses necessary to avoid loss of
housing or for other employment-related expenses necessary to enable the employed individual to continue to
engage in his or her employment such as, but not limited to, transportation, uniforms, car maintenance,
tools, supplies, licenses and testing fees. This one-time lump sum payment shall be provided to the family by
the EEI entity based on specific need and shall not exceed the one-time lump sum payment ceiling for the
participant's family size as designated in the EEI Payment Schedule at (d) below; and
ii. Up to two years of child care in accordance with the WFNJ child care
services provisions at 10:90-5.2.
(d) The EEI Payment Schedule below identifies the activity support and
one-time lump sum payment ceilings for EEI. These ceiling amounts are based on the WFNJ assistance unit size;
therefore, the ceiling amounts shall remain constant even if more than one adult of the WFNJ applicant family
is participating in EEI. The activity support payment and the one-time lump sum payment issued by the EEI
entity shall not count toward the 60 month lifetime limit for receipt of WFNJ cash assistance.
1. The activity support payment ceiling represents the maximum amount an
EEI family would be eligible to receive up front during the EEI participation period to cover any expenses
necessary to allow participation in the job search/placement activity.
2. The one-time lump sum payment ceiling represents the lump sum amount an
EEI family would be eligible to receive, when full-time employment is secured during the EEI participation
period, to cover expenses necessary to avoid housing loss or for other employment related expenses to enable
the employed individual(s) to continue to engage in his or her employment. The EEI entity shall explain to
the participant that the one-time lump sum payment is being issued in lieu of public cash assistance.
i. If a family reactivates the WFNJ/TANF application within a 60 day period
from the date of the original WFNJ/TANF application in accordance with the provisions for reactivation at (f)
below, the lump sum payment issued to the family shall be prorated for a two month period and applied as
unearned income when determining the family's WFNJ/TANF financial eligibility and calculating the WFNJ grant
amount.
|
EEI PAYMENT SCHEDULE
|
|
Number in WFNJ
|
Activity Support
|
One-time Lump Sum
|
|
Assistance Unit
|
Payment Ceiling
|
Payment Ceiling
|
| 1 |
$ 350 |
$ 135 |
| 2 |
450 |
515 |
| 3 |
750 |
521 |
| 4 |
950 |
513 |
| 5 |
1,150 |
505 |
| 6 |
1,350 |
497 |
| 7 |
1,450 |
580 |
| 8 |
1,550 |
633 |
(e) An EEI participant shall be referred back to the WFNJ/TANF agency for
WFNJ/TANF cash assistance when:
1. The EEI participant fully cooperates and
participates in EEI as required and full-time unsubsidized employment is not found; or
2. Full-time employment is secured, however, the family continues to be
considered financially eligible for WFNJ cash assistance because the participant's gross earnings combined
with the family's other countable income is equal to or less than the WFNJ maximum allowable income
eligibility level for the assistance unit, in accordance with
10:90-3.3 (Schedule I), and the family's countable income is
less than the applicable WFNJ benefit level at
10:90-3.3 (Schedule II).
(f) Under certain circumstances, it may be necessary for a family, which
has secured employment and has withdrawn its WFNJ/TANF application, to return to the WFNJ/TANF program for
cash assistance. If the situation occurs within 60 days from the date of the original WFNJ application, the
application shall be reactivated and the date of that original WFNJ application shall apply. Any of the
following circumstances shall render the family eligible to reactivate its WFNJ/TANF application:
1. Child care services cannot be secured; or
2. The unsubsidized employment obtained while participating in EEI is no
longer available, for reasons of good cause, in accordance with the good cause provisions under the WFNJ
program at 10:90-4.10;
i. If the
unavailability of the unsubsidized employment is due to a voluntary quit situation, the family shall not be
eligible to reactivate its WFNJ/TANF application and shall be required to make reapplication to determine its
eligibility for WFNJ/TANF cash assistance. At the time of reapplication, the individual who voluntarily quit
the employment shall be subject to a 90-day voluntary quit penalty in accordance with
10:90-1.5. The other family members, however, shall be eligible
to apply for cash assistance.
(g) If the
WFNJ/TANF application is reactivated within 60 days of the original date of the WFNJ/TANF application, any
lump sum payment amount received under EEI shall be prorated from the date of the original WFNJ/TANF
application to the date the client contacted the WFNJ county agency for reactivation and subtracted from the
WFNJ/TANF monthly grant amount(s) for which the assistance unit is eligible for that period of time. If the
lump sum payment received under EEI is in excess of the family's monthly grant amount(s) for that period, the
excess amount shall be counted as unearned income when calculating the WFNJ/TANF monthly grant amount for the
assistance unit for any subsequent month.
(h) If the individual
loses unsubsidized employment after 60 days from the date of the original WFNJ/TANF application,
reapplication for WFNJ/TANF cash assistance shall be required.
(i) If a family experiences an emergency housing situation, in accordance
with the emergency assistance provision at
10:90-6.1(b), while participating in EEI, the
family shall immediately notify the EEI entity which in turn shall advise the client to return to the WFNJ
agency for assistance. If the EEI participant is employed and an emergency situation occurs within 60 days
from the original WFNJ/TANF application date, the family shall be eligible to reactivate its original
WFNJ/TANF application. In all other instances in which the EEI family experiences an emergency situation,
reapplication for WFNJ/TANF shall be required.
(j) Once a
WFNJ/TANF adult participates in EEI, he or she may be considered an eligible candidate to repeat EEI
participation if the county welfare agency determines that EEI participation would be beneficial in helping
the client move toward self-sufficiency. An individual is considered suitable for participation in EEI at the
county agency's discretion when determining subsequent eligibility.
(k) If the participant fails to cooperate with the terms of the EEI, in
accordance with (a)1 above, without good cause (see good cause provisions at
10:90-4.10) , the EEI entity shall report the incident of
noncooperation to the WFNJ agency by completing Form WFNJ/EEI-2, EEI Agency Report/Referral. Upon receipt of
the EEI entity's report of noncooperation, the WFNJ agency shall review the report to determine if the EEI
agency correctly determined noncooperation and, if appropriate, send an adequate notice in accordance
10:90-9.1, to the WFNJ/TANF family advising that the WFNJ/TANF
application for cash assistance for the participant and the participant's entire family is being denied
because of noncooperation with the EEI and reapplication for WFNJ/TANF shall be required. The notice shall
also include the family's right to a fair hearing.
1. If a fair hearing is
requested and scheduled, the county WFNJ agency shall notify the EEI entity of the scheduled hearing. The EEI
entity shall arrange for the required attendance of the appropriate EEI representative at the scheduled
hearing.
