10:87-2.30 Special procedures for expediting service

(a) The CSSA shall use the following procedures when expediting certification and issuance. 1. In order to expedite the certification process, the CSSA shall use the following verification procedures: i. In all cases the applicant's identity shall be verified through a collateral contact or readily available documentary evidence: (1) Examples of acceptable documentary evidence which the household may provide include, but are not limited to, a driver's license, work or school I.D. card, voter registration card, or birth certificate. ii. All reasonable efforts shall be made to verify, within the expedited processing standards, the household's residency, income statements (including a statement that the household had no income), liquid resources, eligibility for the utility allowance and all other verification factors required at N.J.A.C. 10:87-2.19 and 2.20 through collateral contacts or readily available documentary evidence: (1) Benefits shall not be delayed beyond the delivery standards prescribed at N.J.A.C. 10:87-2.29 solely because these eligibility factors have not been verified; iii. CSSAs shall attempt to obtain as much additional verification as possible during the interview, but shall not delay the certification of households entitled to expedited service for the full time frame prescribed at N.J.A.C. 10:87-2.29 when the CSSA has determined it is unlikely that other verification can be obtained within the expedited processing standards; and iv. Households entitled to expedited service shall be asked to furnish or apply for a Social Security number for each household member before the first full month of participation. Those household members unable to provide the required SSNs or who do not have one prior to the first full month of participation shall be allowed to continue to participate only if they satisfy the good cause requirement specified at N.J.A.C. 10:87-2.21. v. Migrant households determined eligible for expedited service after the 15th of the month and assigned a certification period of more than one month shall be notified in writing of the following: (1) Postponed certification from sources within the state must be provided before the second full month's benefits will be issued. (2) Postponed verification from out-of-state sources must be provided before the third full month's benefits will be issued. vi. Migrant households shall be entitled to a postponement of out-of-State verification only once each season. If the household has already been granted a postponement of out-of-State verification, such verification may be postponed for the initial month's benefits only. vii. If verification results in a change in the household's eligibility or benefit level, the CSSA shall act on the change without advance notice. 2. Once the household has supplied the name of a collateral contact or has asked the CSSA for assistance in locating one, the CSSA shall promptly contact the collateral contact or otherwise assist the household in obtaining the necessary verification. When speaking with a collateral contact, CSSAs shall disclose only pertinent information. The CSSA shall not state that the person is applying for or receiving NJ SNAP benefits, nor shall it volunteer household information or discuss any suspicion of wrong-doing. 3. Households which are certified on an expedited basis and have provided all necessary verification required at N.J.A.C. 10:87-2.19 and 2.20 prior to certification shall be assigned an appropriate certification period (see N.J.A.C. 10:87-6.20 and 6.21). If verification is postponed, the CSSA shall certify these households for the month of application (the month of application and the subsequent month for those households applying after the 15th of the month) or, at the option of the CSSA, shall assign the appropriate certification period warranted by the household's circumstances. However, in no event shall benefits be continued past the month of application if verification is not obtained. Federally mandated reduction, suspension, or cancellation of allotments in a given month shall have no effect on the certification periods assigned to households. i. If certified only for the month of application, the household must reapply and complete the verification requirements which were postponed. ii. If a certification period longer than one month is assigned, the CSSA shall notify the household in writing that no further benefits will be issued until the postponed verification is completed and that if the postponed verification is not completed within 30 days of the date of application, the household's application will be denied. The notice shall also advise the household that if verification results in changes in the household's eligibility or level of benefits, the CSSA shall act on those changes without an advance notice of adverse action. When households which applied for benefits after the 15th of the month provide the postponed verification, the CSSA shall issue the second month's benefits within five working days from receipt of the verification or the first of the second month, whichever is later. iii. There is no limit to the number of times a household can be certified under expedited procedures, so long as prior to each expedited certification the household either completes the verification requirements which were postponed at the last expedited certification or was certified under normal processing standards since the last expedited certification. iv. Households requesting, but not entitled to, expedited service shall have their applications processed according to normal standards. 4. Households eligible to receive expedited processing which apply for program benefits during a month in which a reduction, suspension, or cancellation is in effect, shall have their cases processed in accordance with the above procedures, subject to the following provisions: i. Households which receive expedited service in a month in which a reduction is in effect and which are determined to be eligible, shall be issued allotments that are reduced in accordance with the reduction in effect. The reduced allotments shall be made available to the households within the time frame specified at N.J.A.C. 10:87-2.29. ii. Households which receive expedited service in a month in which a suspension is in effect and that are determined to be eligible, shall have benefits issued within the time frame specified at N.J.A.C. 10:87-2.29 unless the suspension is still in effect at the time issuance is to be made. iii. Households eligible to receive expedited processing which apply for benefits during a month in which cancellation is in effect shall receive expedited service. However, the deadline for completing the processing of such cases shall be five days or the end of the month of application, whichever date is later. All other regulations pertaining to expedited service shall be applicable to these cases. 5. The CSSA shall at a minimum, require the applicant to register for work unless exempt. i. The CSSA shall attempt to register other household members (including the head of household, if an authorized representative is making application) but shall postpone the registration of such household members if it cannot be accomplished within expedited processing standards. The CSSA may attempt registration of other household members by: (1) Requesting the applicant (or authorized representative) complete the work registration forms for other household members to the best of his/her ability; or (2) Accomplishing work registration for other household members in a timely manner through other means, such as contacting the household. ii. The CSSA may attempt to verify questionable work registration exemptions, but such verification shall be postponed if expedited processing standards cannot be met. History HISTORY: Amended by R.1981 d.64, effective February 26, 1981. See: 13 N.J.R. 226(b). (a)3: "February nondated . . . households" added. (a)4 added. As amended on an emergency basis, R.1981 d.398, eff. September 30, 1981 (Oper. October 1, 1981), exp. November 30, 1981. See: 13 N.J.R. 769(a). Readopted, R.1981 d.517, eff. December 31, 1981. See: 13 N.J.R. 769(a), 14 N.J.R. 103(a). (a)3: added "the CWA shall certify . . . 15th of the month or at" and "option of the"; (a)3ii: added "when households . . . whichever is later." Amended by R.1983, d.121, effective April 4, 1983. See: 15 N.J.R. 247(a), 15 N.J.R. 625(b). Originally adopted as an Emergency Rule, R.1983 d.38, eff. January 31, 1983. The amendment was pursuant to the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1982 (P.L. 97-253) and the Food Stamp and Commodity Distribution Amendments of 1981 (P.L. 97-98, Title 13). Amended by R.1985 d.346, effective July 1, 1985. See: 17 N.J.R. 883(a), 17 N.J.R. 1659(a). (a)iv. through vii. added. Amended by R.1989 d.121, effective February 21, 1989. See: 20 N.J.R. 2689(a), 21 N.J.R. 511(b). Substantially amended and recodified from 2.35. Amended by R.1990 d.270, effective May 21, 1990. See: 22 N.J.R. 139(a), 22 N.J.R. 1599(a). In (a)1.ii and (a)3, added "2.20" to N.J.A.C. 10:87 reference. Amended by R.1998 d.498, effective October 5, 1998. See: 30 N.J.R. 1928(a), 30 N.J.R. 3669(b). In (a)1ii, inserted a reference to eligibility for utility allowances in the introductory paragraph. Recodified from N.J.A.C. 10:87-2.34 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. Former N.J.A.C. 10:87-2.30, Normal processing standard, recodified to N.J.A.C. 10:87-2.26. Amended by R.2007 d.129, effective May 7, 2007. See: 38 N.J.R. 4374(a), 39 N.J.R. 1719(a). In (a)3, substituted "an appropriate" for "a normal" preceding the first occurrence of "certification period" and "appropriate" for "normal" preceding the second occurrence of "certification period", and inserted "and 6.21" following the second N.J.A.C. reference. 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). In the introductory paragraph of (a)1ii, substituted "the utility allowance" for "utility allowances,"; and in (a)2, substituted "NJ SNAP" for "food stamp".