10:87-10.4 Work registrant requirements

(a) If a person is not exempt from employment and training requirements, the NJ SNAP EPT worker shall be responsible for screening (assessing) that person and, if appropriate, referring him or her to an NJ SNAP EPT component within 10 days of the initial assessment. Upon entry into each component, the registrant participant or volunteer shall be informed, either orally or in writing, of the requirements of the component, what will constitute noncompliance and the sanctions for noncompliance. The CSSA shall take appropriate disqualification action within 10 working days after learning of noncompliance. 1. An NJ SNAP EPT worker is an employee of the LWD or of the CSSA, or any of the designated agencies contracted with the CSSA or LWD, to provide NJ SNAP EPT services. 2. Assessment is defined as an in-depth evaluation of employability skills coupled with counseling on how and where to search for employment. If combined with work experience, employment search or training, an assessment of this nature could constitute part of an employment and training component. (b) Work registrants shall: 1. Report, at the direction of the NJ SNAP EPT worker, to an assessment interview and/or to an NJ SNAP EPT component; 2. Participate in an employment and training program activity, if assigned; 3. Respond to a request from the NJ SNAP EPT worker for supplemental information regarding employment status or availability for work; 4. Report to an employer to whom referred by the NJ SNAP EPT worker if the potential employment meets the suitability requirements described at N.J.A.C. 10:87- 10.10; and 5. Accept a bona fide offer of suitable employment at a wage not less than the higher of either the applicable State or Federal minimum wage. (c) Employment and training programs are as follows: 1. Persons required to register for work and not exempted from placement in an NJ SNAP EPT component shall be subject to the employment and training requirements for that individual. Such individuals are referred to as NJ SNAP EPT mandatory participants. 2. Employment and training programs may include, but are not limited to, approved: i. Job search activity (see N.J.A.C. 10:87-10.12 and 10.13); ii. Training activity (see N.J.A.C. 10:87-10.14); iii. Employment activity; iv. On-the-job training when approved under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA); v. Work experience; or vi. Other activity that will lead to gainful employment. 3. Failure to comply without good cause with the employment and training requirements shall result in disqualification of the individual in accordance with the provisions at N.J.A.C. 10:87-10.15. 4. The number of months a participant spends in an NJ SNAP EPT component shall be determined by the NJ SNAP EPT worker. The NJ SNAP EPT worker shall also determine the number of successive components in which a participant may be placed. i. The number of required hours in any work or training component, or combination of components, shall be an average of 30 hours of activity per week per participant per month, not to exceed 120 hours per month. ii. The household's monthly total work experience component hours shall not exceed the household's monthly total of cash assistance, plus emergency assistance, plus the NJ SNAP benefit, divided by the higher of the State or Federal minimum wage. iii. The total hours of participation in NJ SNAP EPT for any household member individually in any month, together with any hours worked for compensation in cash or in kind, shall not exceed 120 hours per month. 5. Participants in an employment and training program, including volunteers, shall receive a participant allowance provided through the CSSA for costs of transportation, or other costs that are reasonably necessary and directly related to participation in the employment and training programs at a rate of up to $ 6.00 per day, not to exceed $ 120.00 per month per participant. Reimbursement above $ 120.00 per month per participant may be issued on a case-by-case basis with the approval of DFD. Dependent care expenses shall not be reimbursed through this allowance, but shall be reimbursed in accordance with (c)6 below. 6. CSSAs shall reimburse NJ SNAP EPT participants for the cost of dependent care it determines to be necessary for the participation of a household member in an NJ SNAP EPT activity up to the actual cost of dependent care, or the applicable payment rate for child care, whichever is lowest. The payment rates for child care are established in accordance with the Child Care and Development Block Grant provisions and are set forth by the New Jersey Department of Human Services (DHS) at N.J.A.C. 10:15. The CSSA shall provide a dependent care reimbursement to an NJ SNAP EPT participant for all dependents requiring care unless prohibited at N.J.A.C. 10:15 or at (c)6i through ix below. The dependent care reimbursement is in addition to the transportation allowance described in (c)5 above. A recipient shall be deferred from NJ SNAP EPT participation if the household's dependent care expenses would exceed the DHS Maximum Reimbursement Rates. Deferment shall continue until either a suitable NJ SNAP EPT component is available, or the household's dependent care circumstances change, so that monthly dependent care expenses no longer exceed the DHS maximum reimbursement amount. Households receiving WFNJ/TANF benefits are not entitled to the dependent care reimbursement. When a child becomes 13 years of age, the dependent care reimbursement shall continue to be provided until the household's next recertification. i. The CSSA shall not provide a reimbursement for a dependent age 13 or older unless the dependent is physically and/or mentally incapable of caring for him- or herself or is under court supervision. The CSSA shall provide a reimbursement for all dependents who are physically and/or mentally incapable of caring for themselves or who are under court supervision, regardless of age, if dependent care is necessary for the participation of a household member in an NJ SNAP EPT activity. ii. The CSSA shall obtain verification of the physical and/or mental incapacity for dependents age 13 or older if the physical and/or mental incapacity is questionable. The CSSA shall verify a court-imposed requirement for the supervision of a dependent age 13 or older if the need for dependent care is questionable. iii. If more than one household member is required to participate in an NJ SNAP EPT activity, the CSSA shall reimburse the actual cost of dependent care or the applicable payment rate for child care, whichever is lowest, for each dependent in the household, regardless of the number of household members participating in an NJ SNAP EPT activity. iv. An individual who is the caretaker relative of a dependent in a family receiving cash assistance under Title IV-A of the Social Security Act in a local area where an employment, training, or educational program under Title IV-A is in operation, is not eligible for such reimbursement. v. An NJ SNAP EPT participant is not entitled to the dependent care reimbursement if a member of the NJ SNAP EPT participant's NJ SNAP household provides the dependent care services. vi. The CSSA shall verify the participant's need for dependent care and the cost of the dependent care prior to the issuance of the reimbursement. The verification shall include the name and address of the dependent care provider, the cost and hours of service (for example, five hours per day, five days per week for two weeks). vii. A participant shall not be reimbursed for dependent care services beyond that which is required for participation in the NJ SNAP EPT activity. viii. If dependent care is provided or arranged by the CSSA or a State contracted agency, the dependent care shall meet all applicable standards of State and local law, including requirements designed to ensure basic health and safety protections (for example, fire safety). ix. An NJ SNAP EPT participant may refuse available appropriate dependent care as provided or arranged for by the CSSA or a State contracted agency, if the participant can arrange other dependent care or can show that such refusal will not prevent or interfere with participation in the NJ SNAP EPT activity as required. 7. Individuals may elect to voluntarily participate in available work and training programs. i. The NJ SNAP EPT worker shall permit, to the extent practicable, persons exempt from work registration or employment and training requirements or those not exempt who have complied or are complying with the requirements, to participate in any employment and training program offered. ii. Voluntary participants in an NJ SNAP EPT component shall not be disqualified for failure to comply with work and training requirements. iii. The hours of participation or work of a volunteer may not exceed the hours required of NJ SNAP EPT mandatory participants as specified in (c)4 above. History HISTORY: Amended by R.1989 d.121, effective February 21, 1989. See: 20 N.J.R. 2689(a), 21 N.J.R. 511(b). This section was recodified from 3.19 (a)-(c). Amended by R.1991 d.247, effective May 6, 1991. See: 23 N.J.R. 179(a), 23 N.J.R. 1412(b). In (c)5: added text regarding dependent care expenses. Deleted (c)5i, regarding the claiming as expenses of child care costs. Added new (c)6 recodifying existing (c)6 as 7 with no change in text. Amended by R.1998 d.498, effective October 5, 1998. See: 30 N.J.R. 1928(a), 30 N.J.R. 3669(b). Substituted references to DOL for references to FSETP and references to ETP for references to the employment and training program throughout; in (b), rewrote 1; and in (c), rewrote 1, the introductory paragraph of 4 and 6. Recodified from N.J.A.C. 10:87-10.9 and amended by R.2004 d.181, effective May 17, 2004. See: 36 N.J.R. 28(a), 36 N.J.R. 2425(a). Rewrote the section. Amended by R.2007 d.129, effective May 7, 2007. See: 38 N.J.R. 4374(a), 39 N.J.R. 1719(a). In the introductory paragraph of (a), inserted "of" preceding "the requirements"; and substituted "LWD" for "DOL" throughout. Amended by R.2012 d.031, effective February 6, 2012 (operative March 7, 2012). See: 43 N.J.R. 2114(a), 44 N.J.R. 241(a). Rewrote the section.