New Jersey Administrative Code
Title 10 - HUMAN SERVICES
Chapter 91 - ORGANIZATION AND GENERAL POLICY PROVISIONS OF THE COMMISSION FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED
Subchapter 1 - PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF COMMISSION SERVICES
Section 10:91-1.2 - Definitions
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Accommodation" means a process by which a person with a visual impairment uses alternative techniques.
"Active status" means that a person has been found eligible to receive Commission services.
"Adaptive skills" means those skills which will enable a visually impaired person to perform tasks that normally involve the use of the visual sense.
"Ancillary caseworker" means a Commission staff person who is providing services to a client but is not the client's primary caseworker.
"Applicant" means a person who has completed the agency's application for service form, but has not yet been found either eligible or ineligible for placement into active status.
"Best correction" means the optimal visual acuity which a person can attain after their visual functioning is evaluated and corrected by an eye practitioner.
"Blind" see legally blind.
"Client" refers to a person who has been found eligible to receive Commission services.
"Comparable services" means any service or financial assistance for the same services from any other source(s); also known as similar benefits.
"Competitive employment" means work in the competitive labor market that is performed on a full or part time basis in an integrated setting and for which an individual is compensated at or above the minimum wage, but not less than the customary wage and level of benefits paid by an employer for the same or similar work performed by individuals who are not disabled.
"Contested case" means an adversary proceeding, including any licensing proceeding, in which the legal rights, duties, obligations, privileges, benefits or other legal relations of specific parties are required by constitutional right or by statute to be determined by an agency by decisions, determinations, or orders, addressed to them or disposing of their interests, after opportunity for an agency hearing (see 52:14B-2). The required hearing must be designed to result in an adjudication concerning the rights, duties, obligations, privileges, benefits or other legal relations of specific parties over which there exist disputed questions of fact, law or disposition relating to past, current or proposed activities or interests. Contested cases are neither informational nor intended to provide a forum for the expression of public sentiment on proposed agency action or broad policy issues affecting entire industries or large, undefined classes of people.
"Daily living skills" means those skills which a person learns that enables them to perform personal care activities, for example, dressing, washing and shopping.
"Developmentally disabled" means a severe, chronic disability of a person which is attributable to a mental or physical impairment or combination of mental or physical impairment that is manifest before age 22, is likely to continue indefinitely, results in substantial functional limitations in three or more of the following areas of major life activity, that is, self-care, receptive and expressive language, mobility, self-direction, and capacity for independent living or economic self-sufficiency, and reflects the need for a combination and sequence of special interdisciplinary or generic care, treatment or other services which are of life-long or extended duration and are individually planned and coordinated. Developmentally disabled includes, but is not limited to, severe disabilities attributable to mental retardation, autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, spina bifida and other neurological impairments where the above criteria are met.
"Duly authorized representative" means an individual who is empowered to speak on behalf of another.
"Early intervention" means the period of time between birth and a child's third birthday.
"Eligible" means that a visually impaired person has met the criteria set forth for the services they wish to receive.
"Eye practitioner" means a licensed ophthalmologist or licensed optometrist.
"Family income" means gross wages before deductions, pensions, income from property and trusts, disability payments, interest and dividends, public assistance payments, and any other income, not including loans, available to a client or legally responsible person. Dividends or interest from savings or insurance policies are counted as income.
"Field of vision defect" means that the person cannot detect visual stimuli throughout the entire area being observed which normally can be seen without moving the head or eyes. See definition of "legally blind" in this section.
"Homemaker" means a person who performs the major portion of tasks associated with maintaining a home.
"Independent living" means that a person is able to maximize their level of independent and productive functioning in the most appropriate, inclusive and least restrictive setting.
"Intake" means the process by which the Commission gathers information and shares information regarding agency services pursuant to an application.
"Last dollar resource" means that the Commission will execute payment for a service only after all other potential payors have been eliminated.
"Legally blind" means central visual acuity that does not exceed 20/200 in the better eye with best correction or fields of vision that are so limited that the widest diameter of visual field subtends an angle no greater than 20 degrees.
"Legally responsible person" means spouse, parent or children depending on the ages involved (see: 44:4-100 et seq.). Where a client over age 18 is supported by a parent or other responsible persons the full financial resources of the parents or legally responsible relatives is counted in establishing family income.
"Low vision" means reduced visual acuity and/or abnormal visual fields which are the result of a disorder in the visual system.
"Medical professionals" for the purposes of consultation regarding exceptions to the fee schedule, as well as services and medical matters, means physicians who specialize in ophthalmology (certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology); psychiatrists and neuropsychiatrists licensed by the State Board of Medical Examiners; psychologists licensed by the State Board of Psychological Examiners; ophthalmic dispensers and technicians licensed by the State Board of Examiners of Ophthalmic Dispensers and Ophthalmic Technicians; and clinical social workers licensed by the State Board of Social Work Examiners.
"Non-contested case" means any hearing offered by an agency for reasons not requiring a contested case proceeding under the statutory definition of contested case.
"Non-immigrant aliens" are individuals admitted for a particular purpose or time period and are expected to return to their home country upon completion of a specific purpose or time period.
"Orientation and mobility services" are techniques designed to teach methods for safe, independent indoor or outdoor travel.
"Preschool" means the period of time between age three and a child's fifth birthday.
"Primary caseworker" means the Commission staff person who coordinates service delivery on behalf of an individual client.
"Referral" means a person, or someone on their behalf, has contacted the Commission seeking services.
"Resident" means a person who is currently living in New Jersey, or for the purpose of vocational rehabilitation, living in the United States and who is either a United States citizen by birth or naturalization or can provide documentation that they have either applied for and/or been granted permanent residence by the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
"Self-employment" means that a person owns and operates their own business.
"Severe field of vision defect" means a field of vision that is limited to an angle of 40 degrees or less.
"Specialized vision instruction" means the teaching of students with a visual impairment by emphasizing concrete experiences, learning by doing and unifying experiences to overcome the limitations imposed by the visual impairment.
"Substantial impediment to employment" means that a physical or mental disability (in light of attendant medical, psychological, vocational, educational, and other related factors) hinders an individual from preparing for, entering into, engaging in, or retaining employment, consistent with the individual's capacities and abilities.
"Visual acuity" means the measurement of the ability of the eye to perceive the shape of objects in the direct line of vision and to distinguish detail.
"Visual impairment" means visual acuity that may range from 20/70 to 20/200 in the better eye with correction, or in which the peripheral field has contracted so that the diameter of the visual field subtends an angle no greater than 40 degrees but no less than 20 degrees.
