10:87-7.7 Treatment of income and resources of non-household members

(a) During the period of time that a household member cannot participate because he or she is an ineligible alien, disqualified due to intentional program violation, refused to obtain and provide a social security number, refused to comply with a work registration requirement, or is ineligible for failing to sign the declaration attesting to his or her citizenship or alien status, the eligibility and benefit level of the remaining household member(s) shall be determined in accordance with this section. (b) The eligibility and benefit level of any remaining household members of a household containing individuals determined ineligible because of disqualification for intentional program violation, voluntary quit or reduction of work, duplicate participation in the Program, trafficking, being a fleeing felon or parole violator, or refusal to comply with a work registration requirement shall be determined as follows: 1. The resources of the ineligible household member(s) shall continue to be counted in their entirety to the remaining household members. 2. The income of the ineligible household member(s) shall continue to be counted in its entirety and the entire household's allowable 20 percent earned income, standard, medical, dependent care, child support payments, and excess shelter deductions shall continue to apply to the remaining household members. 3. The ineligible member(s) shall not be included when determining the household's size for the purpose of: i. Comparing the household's resources with the resource eligibility limits; ii. Comparing the household's monthly income with the income eligibility standards; or iii. Assigning a benefit level to the household. The CSSA shall ensure that no household's benefit allotment is increased solely as a result of the exclusion of one or more household members. (c) The eligibility and benefit level of any remaining household members of a household containing individuals determined ineligible for being an ineligible alien, for failing to sign the declaration attesting to his or her citizenship or alien status, for not meeting the able- bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDS) work activity requirement (N.J.A.C. 10:87- 10.20), or because of disqualification for refusal to obtain or provide a Social Security number shall be determined as follows: 1. The resources of such ineligible member(s) shall continue to count in their entirety to the remaining household members. 2. A pro rata share of the income of such ineligible member(s) shall be counted as income to the remaining member(s). This pro rata share is calculated by first subtracting the allowable exclusions (see N.J.A.C. 10:87-5.9) from the ineligible members' income and then dividing the income evenly among the household members, including the ineligible member(s). All but the ineligible members' share is counted as income to the remaining household members. 3. The 20 percent earned income deduction shall apply to the prorated income earned by such ineligible members which is attributed to their households. That portion of the household's allowable shelter, child support payments, and dependent care expenses which are either paid by or billed to the ineligible member(s) shall be divided evenly among the household members, including the ineligible member(s). All but the ineligible members' share is counted as a deductible child support payment, shelter and/or dependent care expense for the remaining household members. 4. The ineligible member(s) shall not be included when determining the household's size for purposes of: i. Comparing the household's resources with the resource eligibility limits; ii. Comparing the household's monthly income with the income eligibility standard; or iii. Assigning a benefit level to the household. (d) Whenever an individual is determined to be ineligible within the household's certification period, the CSSA shall determine the eligibility or ineligibility of the remaining household members based, insofar as possible, on information in the case record and shall take the following action: 1. If a household's benefits are reduced or terminated within the certification period because one of its members was excluded because of disqualification for intentional program violation, the CSSA shall notify the remaining members of their eligibility and benefit level at the same time the excluded member is notified of his or her disqualification. The household is not entitled to a notice of adverse action but may request a fair hearing to contest the reduction or termination of benefits, unless the issue of the amount of the claim was addressed at the time of the administrative disqualification hearing. 2. If a household's benefits are reduced or terminated within the certification period for reasons other than an Intentional Program Violation disqualification, the CSSA shall issue a notice of adverse action in accordance with N.J.A.C. 10:87-9.5(c)1i which informs the household of the ineligibility, the reason for the ineligibility, the eligibility and benefit level of the remaining members, and the action the household shall take to end the ineligibility. (e) For those non-household members who are ineligible for reasons other than those set forth at N.J.A.C. 10:87-2.3(c), such as ineligible students (see N.J.A.C. 10:87- 2.3(a)2), the income and resources of the non-household member shall not be considered available to the household with whom the individual resides. 1. Cash payments from the nonhousehold member to the household will be considered income under the normal income procedures at N.J.A.C. 10:87-5.5. 2. Vendor payments, as defined at N.J.A.C. 10:87-5.9(a)2, shall be excluded as income. 3. If the household shares deductible expenses with the nonhousehold member, only the amount actually paid or contributed by the household shall be deducted as household expenses. If payments or contributions cannot be differentiated, the expenses shall be prorated evenly among persons actually paying or contributing to the expense and only the household's pro rata share deducted. 4. When the earned income of one or more household members and the earned income of a nonhousehold member are combined into one wage, the income of the household members shall be determined as follows: i. If the household's share can be identified, the CSSA shall count that portion due to the household as earned income. ii. If the household's share cannot be identified, the CSSA shall prorate the earned income among all those whom it was intended to cover and count that prorated portion to the household. (f) Nonhousehold members shall not be included when determining household size for the following purposes: 1. Assigning a benefit level; 2. Comparing the household's monthly income with the income eligibility standards; or 3. Comparing household resources with the resource eligibility limits. (g) An absent military person shall not be included when determining household size and NJ SNAP benefit level. 1. Procedures for handling an absent military person's income are: i. Only monies actually made available to the participating NJ SNAP household by the absent military person are counted; ii. Monies are generally made available via a direct deposit of all or a portion of the absent military person pay into a joint checking account; or iii. When an allotment arrangement is made, it is the absent military person who receives the allotment with the bulk of his or her pay being sent directly to his or her family. Only that portion of his or her pay that the participating household has access to shall be counted when determining the household's earned income, regardless of the arrangement made by the absent member for their military pay. 2. Procedures for handling an additional payment received by a member of the United States Armed Services deployed to a designated combat zone are as follows: i. This additional payment shall be excluded from the household's income for the duration of the service member's deployment, if the additional pay is the result of deployment to or serving in a combat zone, and it was not received immediately prior to serving in the combat zone; ii. Establish what amount of the absent military person's pay was actually available to the household prior to deployment. (1) If the amount of pay made available is equal to or less than the amount that the household was receiving prior to deployment to a designated combat zone, all of the amount actually made available to the household shall be counted as earned income. (2) If the amount actually made available to the household exceeds the amount the household was receiving prior to deployment to a designated combat zone, that excess amount shall be excluded when determining the household's earned income for NJ SNAP purposes; and iii. Determine the amount of military pay that the absent military person deployed in a designated combat zone is currently making available to his or her family. (1) If the amount is equal to or less than the amount the household was receiving prior to deployment, all of the amount actually made available to the household shall be counted as earned income. (2) If the amount made available exceeds the amount the household was receiving prior to deployment, that excess amount shall be excluded when determining the household's earned income. History HISTORY: Amended by R.1981 d.97, effective April 9, 1981. See: 13 N.J.R. 96(c), 13 N.J.R. 228(a). (a): "or failure . . . N.J.A.C. 10:87-3.20(d)" deleted. (a)5i deleted. (a)5ii renumbered as (a)5i. Amended by R.1983 d.223, effective May 31, 1983. See: 15 N.J.R. 629(a), 15 N.J.R. 1033(a). Originally adopted as an Emergency Rule, R.1983 d.116, effective March 31, 1983, operative April 1, 1983. The amendment is pursuant to the Food Stamp Act Amendments of 1982 (P.L. 97-253) and the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (P.L. 97-35). Full descriptions of treatment of income and resources of "excluded" as opposed to "disqualified" household members. 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. Amended by R.1990 d.565, effective November 19, 1990. See: 22 N.J.R. 2219(a), 22 N.J.R. 3486(a). Specified how to treat the income and resources of individuals who fail to attest to their citizenship or alien status when determining the eligibility and benefit level of remaining household members, in accordance with the Federal regulations at 7 CFR 273.11; established the dependent care deduction as a separate deduction from the shelter deduction. Amended by R.1991 d.247, effective May 6, 1991. See: 23 N.J.R. 179(a), 23 N.J.R. 1412(b). In (a) and (b): added phrase, "... refused/refusal to comply with work registration requirement ..." Amended by R.1998 d.498, effective October 5, 1998. See: 30 N.J.R. 1928(a), 30 N.J.R. 3669(b). In (b), rewrote the introductory paragraph, and inserted a reference to child support payments in 2; and in (c), inserted "for not meeting the able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDS) work activity requirement (N.J.A.C. 10:87-10.25)," following "status," in the introductory paragraph, and inserted a reference to child support payments in the second sentence of 3. As amended, R.1983 d.223, effective May 31, 1983. See: 15 N.J.R. 629(a), 15 N.J.R. 1033(a). Originally adopted as an Emergency Rule, R.1983 d.116, effective March 31, 1983, operative April 1, 1983. The amendment is pursuant to the Food Stamp Act Amendments of 1982 (P.L. 97-253) and the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (P.L. 97-35). Language added about combined incomes of household and nonhousehold members. Amended by R.1989 d.121, effective February 21, 1989. See: 20 N.J.R. 2689(a), 21 N.J.R. 511(b). Added (b). Recodified from N.J.A.C. 10:87-7.14 and 10:87-7.15 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. 10:87-7.7, Capital gains, recodified to N.J.A.C. 10:87- 7.4. Amended by R.2007 d.129, effective May 7, 2007. See: 38 N.J.R. 4374(a), 39 N.J.R. 1719(a). In (b)3iii, substituted "benefit" for "coupon"; and in (c)2, substituted first occurrence of "is" for "in". 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 (b), deleted "convicted of possession, use, or distribution of a controlled substance," following "violator,"; and added (g).