Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) An individual responsibility plan (IRP) shall
be developed jointly by the county or municipal agency representative, as appropriate, and the WFNJ
recipient, that is, all adult recipients, teen parents and 16 through 18 year old individuals not attending
school on a full-time basis, at time of eligibility determination, and shall be jointly reviewed and/or
revised at time of subsequent activity assignments and case redeterminations. The requirements set forth in
the IRP must be coordinated with requirements set forth in an emergency service plan, if the participant is
also in receipt of EA. Interim changes/updates to the IRP shall be made more frequently as appropriate and
necessary in accordance with individual progress and/or change in circumstances. The IRP shall be signed and
dated by the recipient and the respective agency representative. The original IRP shall be maintained
electronically or in the case record and a copy shall be provided to the recipient. The IRP shall contain:
1. General case information concerning the individual;
2. A specific work activity or plan of action based on the findings and
conclusions from the assessment, in accordance with
10:90-4.1(f);
i. Work activity information to be entered on the IRP shall include the
work-site location, the work-site's contact person and telephone number as well as the times and days of the
participant's scheduled attendance;
ii. Non-work activity
information to be entered on the IRP shall include the name of the activity or referral, its location, a
contact person, and telephone number (if known), as well as, any scheduled time frames.
3. Supportive services to be provided to enable participation in the
activity, such as child care, transportation allowances and other available supportive services;
and
4. A record that the family violence option and deferral
requirements were discussed with the recipient as well as the importance of cooperating with child
support.
5. The IRP may also include specific goals concerning a
dependent child member of the assistance unit such as, but not limited to:
i. Requirements for parental participation in a dependent child's
pre-school, elementary and secondary school program activities;
ii. Immunizations for a dependent child; or
iii. Regular school attendance by a dependent child.
(b) The IRP for teen parents shall include all of the
requirements listed in (a) above, if appropriate, as well as, but not limited to, the following:
1. Regular attendance in high school or an equivalent program of study;
or
2. Participation in an approved work activity for those teen
parents who have completed secondary education; and
3.
Identification of necessary supportive services which are not available free through another source,
including child care and transportation, as needed; and
4. A plan
of action to be taken, which may include further screening and assessment for substance abuse and mental
health barriers, as appropriate, to address identified barriers to employment.
(c) The IRP for victims of family violence shall include the following, as
appropriate:
1. For an individual who identified as a victim of family
violence or is at risk of family violence who requests a WFNJ Family Violence Option (FVO) Waiver of one or
more WFNJ TANF/GA program requirements, an entry shall be made in the appropriate designated FVO check-off
box on the IRP. A WFNJ FVO Risk Assessment including safety and service planning shall be completed and kept
confidential at a designated victims services provider agency in accordance with N.J.A.C. 10:90-20.
i. The IRP shall be considered completed with no further entries required
at this point.
2. An individual who self-identifies as
a victim of family violence but does not request a FVO waiver shall develop an IRP with the agency worker,
setting goals toward self-sufficiency (see N.J.A.C. 10:90-20 ).
(d) When the IRP requires the recipient to participate in a substance abuse
treatment program, the substance abuse treatment program shall be considered a WFNJ work activity (see
N.J.A.C. 10:90-18). Refusal or failure to cooperate and participate as required by the treatment program
shall result in WFNJ sanctions in accordance with the sanction provisions at
10:90-4.13.
1. A participant
may be required to participate in a substance abuse treatment and/or another work activity or substance abuse
treatment only, as determined by the case manager in conjunction with the care coordinator. Compliance
requires full cooperation and participation with substance abuse treatment as well as any other required work
activity.
