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Page 110 of 233 § 10:90-3.11 Determining the income of WFNJ TANF/GA assistance units

iii. Semi-monthly amounts by two. (d) In determining an estimate of income, the following procedures shall be used by the county or municipal agency: 1. Verify and document in the case record, all unearned income (through bank letters, statements, etc.) and earned income (through wage stubs or documentation from the employer) received within the four week period specified in (b) above; i. For purposes of budgeting income from new employment, earned income shall be budgeted prospectively no later than 10 days from the date the recipient reports the receipt of his or her first paycheck. The 100 percent disregard shall then be applied for the first full month for which the income will be budgeted. ii. When budgeting new income, the agency is required to send timely or adequate notices to clients for the month in which the 100 percent disregard is applied. If the agency is unable to provide the recipient with timely notice and adequate notice of budgeting or has insufficient time to budget the income for the first month following the month the recipient reports the receipt of the paycheck, then the income and the 100 percent disregard shall be applied for the first of the next following month. 2. Determine, through review of the documentation, the case record and discussion with the client, if any of the income received is not expected to be representative of the future. For instance, the first pay check of new employment may not represent a full pay period; a missing week's income may represent a summer plant closing; or a larger check may represent nonrecurring overtime, all of which may not be anticipated to occur in the future. Non-representative income shall not be used in calculating the estimate. For example, the assistance unit receives regular weekly income but is missing one week's pay due to a plant closing for that week only. The three available amounts would be averaged to determine average weekly income and that average converted to monthly gross income as described in (c)1 above; 3. If income fluctuates to the extent that a four-week period is not expected to provide an appropriate income estimate until the next redetermination, the agency shall require the assistance unit to submit verified wage information for those months subsequent to the month of review, in order that the agency may recalculate the estimate. When income fluctuates dramatically, agencies shall rebudget the case as often as deemed necessary to ensure the most accurate income estimate and correct assistance payment; i. When four consecutive weeks of income fluctuate but are representative of the assistance unit's anticipated fluctuation in income for future months, the agency shall average the income from the four-week period and project that gross income estimate for future months; 4. The final step shall be to average the income that has been determined to be representative of the eligible assistance unit's circumstances and to convert that average to a gross monthly income estimate amount by using the conversion factors set forth in (c)1 above. The estimate amount shall then be used to determine initial