N.J. Admin. Code § 10:90-2.7

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 21, November 4, 2024

Section 10:90-2.7 - Composition of the WFNJ/TANF and WFNJ/GA eligible assistance unit

(a) Composition of the eligible WFNJ/TANF assistance unit is as follows:

1. An eligible assistance unit under WFNJ/TANF shall be comprised of those individuals who are living together and functioning as one economic unit and whose relationship is based upon a blood and/or legal relationship. (A legal relationship is one that is created through marriage, adoption, civil union or legal guardianship procedures.) The eligible WFNJ/TANF assistance unit includes the parent(s), parent person(s) or legal guardian (see (a)3 below) and his or her related dependent children up to the age of 18, or up to the age of 19 if they are full-time students in a secondary school, or in the equivalent level of vocational or technical training, and are reasonably expected to complete the program before reaching age 19. Children up to the age of 21 are also eligible for WFNJ/TANF if they are enrolled in a special education program.

i. When any school or course of training involves attendance during an academic year, a child shall be considered eligible during the summer months when he or she has been accepted for admission in the fall. He or she shall be considered eligible during regular vacation periods unless the educational program has been completed or unless there is verification that the child does not attend or is not acceptable to re-enter the program.

ii. When a parent and another adult relative live in the same household and both are providing care and control of the child(ren), it shall be presumed that the parent is exercising primary responsibility for the care and control of the child(ren) and, therefore, the other adult relative shall not be included in the TANF assistance unit.

(1) In cases where it is determined by the WFNJ agency worker that the parent is not providing the care and control of the child, but instead the adult relative is considered the caretaker relative, then the parent, the caretaker relative and the child shall be included in the eligible TANF unit.

iii. An SSI recipient parent with a needy child may be eligible to receive TANF assistance on behalf of that child. A needy parent of an SSI recipient child may be eligible to receive TANF assistance for himself or herself.

iv. When an RSDI recipient child joins a TANF assistance unit headed by an adult other than his or her natural or adoptive parent and the child's income and/or child support would make the TANF assistance unit financially ineligible, that child shall be excluded from the TANF assistance unit.

v. An ineligible alien parent with an eligible child may be eligible to receive TANF assistance on behalf of that child. An eligible parent with an ineligible child may be eligible to receive TANF assistance for himself or herself.

2. A recipient child cannot be included in the WFNJ/TANF cash payment after the month in which he or she attains the age when he or she is no longer eligible as a child. Furthermore, an individual who attains such age on the first day of the month is not considered to be of eligible age during that month and is not eligible for inclusion in the grant for that month. Additionally, the assistance unit ceases to be eligible for WFNJ/TANF when the youngest assistance unit member is no longer of eligible age. However, the individual adult(s) may apply for assistance under the WFNJ/GA component.

3. The term "parent" shall refer to natural and/or adoptive parent(s), parent-person(s) or legal guardian(s). By law, certain relatives shall be recognized as taking the place of a parent.

i. The term "parent-person" refers to any person related by blood, marriage, civil union, adoption or legal guardianship.

(1) An applicant who is a parent-person may apply for WFNJ/TANF benefits for a child(ren) and him or herself as a needy parent-person.

(2) Non-needy caretakers and/or parent persons shall also be eligible to apply for WFNJ/TANF benefits for the children in their care.

ii. Spouses of any persons named in the above groups may be considered "parent-persons" even though the marriage has been terminated by death or divorce.

iii. Under New Jersey law, relatives of persons who adopt children become legally related to such adopted children to the same extent that they are related to natural children of the adopting parent.

iv. A legal guardian, according to 9:3-38, refers to a person who has "the right to exercise continuing control over the person or property or both of a child which includes any specific right of control over an aspect of the child's upbringing, pursuant to a court order."

4. Any child for whom a payment or subsidy is received from CP&P, including, but not limited to, a resource family care payment, guardianship subsidy, or adoption subsidy, shall not be included in the eligible assistance unit. Such child's parent(s) may be eligible to receive cash assistance for himself or herself and all other eligible children in the household.

5. Although a WFNJ cash assistance benefit shall not be granted for any child receiving a Kinship Legal Guardianship subsidy through CP&P or DFD, a kinship caregiver who has obtained subsidy payments as a kinship legal guardian, either through CP&P or DFD, may be eligible to receive TANF assistance for himself or herself and all other eligible children in the household.

(b) Composition of the eligible WFNJ/GA assistance unit is as follows:

1. The WFNJ/GA assistance unit shall be comprised of one or more persons. In most cases, it will consist of a single individual, 18 years of age or over, or a couple without dependent children. In room and board or residential treatment situations, each person is an eligible assistance unit of one, with the exception of situations involving couples without dependent children who are considered as an eligible unit of two. In all other situations, the eligible assistance unit shall consist of:

i. The applicant/recipient;

ii. The spouse of the applicant/recipient who lives in the home unless the spouse is receiving SSI or public assistance through another program; or

iii. The person with whom the applicant/recipient lives as a couple (that is, two individuals who live together, function as one economic unit, and present themselves as a couple to the WFNJ agency), unless such person is receiving SSI or public assistance through the WFNJ/TANF program component.

N.J. Admin. Code § 10:90-2.7

Administrative change, 46 N.J.R. 855(b).

Amended by 51 N.J.R. 1461(c), effective 9/16/2019