Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) Payees in WFNJ are classified as designated
payees, temporary payees, protective payees and representative payees (see (b) through (e) below).
1. In addition to the provisions allowing for payees under the WFNJ
program, provisions are also included for situations which may warrant the use of restricted payments in the
form of vendor payments or two-party checks for goods and services provided to or for a recipient. Such
restricted assistance payments shall be provided at the request of the WFNJ recipient or at the discretion of
the county or municipal agency (see (f) below).
(b) A
designated payee is a person signing the application to whom the benefit is issued.
1. No person under official commitment in a mental institution, who has
been adjudicated mentally incompetent, or whom the county or municipal agency has determined is an alleged
incompetent may be a designated payee.
2. Whenever there is more
than one person signing the application, the WFNJ worker shall discuss with the applicants who the designated
payee should be. The assistance unit shall be encouraged to continue their normal pattern for management of
income.
(c) A temporary payee is a person designated
temporarily by the county or municipal agency to receive the assistance payment, usually in an emergency
situation.
1. A permanent arrangement must be established within two
calendar months following the month in which the emergency occurs.
(d) A protective payee is: a person authorized by the county or municipal
agency to receive and administer assistance payments on behalf of an eligible individual or family due to
mismanagement of funds by the eligible individual or family; or a person authorized to receive benefits in
accordance with the minor parent provisions at
10:90-2.17.
1. A protective
payee is not authorized to receive, hold or administer any other property, real or personal, of the recipient
nor to act as the representative of the recipient in any other manner whatsoever, unless authorized by a
court of law or has power of attorney.
2. The case record shall
be fully documented and shall contain a statement of the specific reasons that demonstrate the need for a
protective payee.
3. The county or municipal agency shall be
responsible for assuring referral to social services for appropriate action to protect the recipient(s) where
problems and needs for services are manifestly beyond the ability of the protective payee to
handle.
4. The county or municipal agency shall undertake and
continue special efforts to assist the recipient in developing the ability to manage funds in such a manner
as to protect the welfare of the assistance unit.
5. The county
or municipal agency shall review the case as frequently as indicated by the individual's circumstances, but
at least every six months, relevant to the need for protective payments and the way in which the protective
payee's responsibilities are carried out.
6. Provisions shall be
made for termination of protective payments, as follows:
i. When recipients
are considered able to manage funds in their best interest, the protective payee arrangement shall be
terminated and the case shall be returned to unrestrictive payment status.
ii. When it appears that the need for protective payments will continue or
is likely to continue beyond a two year period because all efforts have not resulted in a sufficiently
improved use of assistance, then the judicial appointment of a guardian or other legal representative shall
be sought and such payments will terminate when the appointment has been made.
7. A protective payee shall be selected, so far as possible, with the
participation and consent of the recipient or of someone responsible for acting on his or her
behalf.
8. If it is in the best interest of the recipient for a
staff member of a private agency, of the county or municipal agency, or of any other appropriate organization
to serve as a protective payee, such selection shall not include the following persons:
i. The director of the county or municipal agency;
ii. The WFNJ worker who determines eligibility for the particular
recipient;
iii. Staff handling fiscal procedures related to the
recipient;
iv. Vendors of goods, services or items dealing
directly with the recipient; and
v. Any person who has him or
herself been determined by professional diagnostic procedures to be incompetent or "marginally
incompetent".
9. A recipient who has been determined
to require protective payments shall be given written notice, and an oral explanation, of his or her right to
a fair hearing, if he or she is dissatisfied with the decision to appoint a protective payee, the choice of a
protective payee, the continuation of protective payments or the manner in which the payee is functioning. If
the fair hearing issue is the decision to appoint a protective payee, a temporary payee will be designated by
the county or municipal agency pending the fair hearing decision.
(e) A representative payee is a person appointed by the court to receive
and administer assistance payments on behalf of an eligible individual or family. A representative payee is
not authorized to receive, hold or administer any other property, real or personal, of the recipient, nor to
act as representative of the recipient in any other manner whatsoever, unless authorized by a court of law or
has a power of attorney.
1. When a representative payee wishes to be
released from his or her responsibilities, there must be an application to the court for such
release.
2. Upon such notice from a representative payee, the
county or municipal agency shall take prompt action to locate another person willing to be appointed. If the
present representative payee is unable to continue in that capacity until released by the court, the county
or municipal agency shall appoint a protective payee to receive assistance for the client until a new
representative payee is appointed by the court.
3. The major
personal criterion for selection of a representative payee is an interest in being of service to the
recipient. Appropriate sources of recruitment include: the immediate family and other relatives and friends;
a person previously appointed to act on behalf of the client by another state or Federal benefit paying
agency; and staff members of voluntary agencies.
4. The following
persons are precluded from being appointed as a representative payee due to possible conflict of interest
questions:
i. The director of the county or municipal agency;
ii. The WFNJ worker who determines eligibility for the particular
recipient;
iii. WFNJ staff handling fiscal procedures related to
the recipient;
iv. Banks, trust companies and similar corporate
bodies functioning in a ministerial rather than a decision making role; and
v. Vendors of goods, services, or items dealing with the
recipient.
5. No person shall be proposed for
appointment, nor accept appointment, as a representative payee who is in the employ of the county or
municipal agency except in situations where such person has a close personal relationship with the client
which makes him or her the most suitable person to serve as the client's representative. If an employee with
such a relationship is so appointed, he or she shall not thereafter be involved in any agency decision
relating to the client's payment or other official actions regarding the client.
(f) A WFNJ recipient may request that, or a county or municipal agency may
determine at its discretion that, payments be made to a person or facility as compensation for providing
goods and services to or for the WFNJ recipient. Such restricted payments may be in addition to the regular
monthly benefit in emergency assistance situations or may be a designated portion of the regular monthly
benefit.
1. Restricted payments shall be made in the form of vendor
payments or two-party payments, that is, checks which are drawn jointly to the order of the recipient and the
provider of the services in situations such as, but not limited to: emergency assistance; rent, mortgage or
utility payments; transportation expense; and child care.
