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Page 20 of 116 § 10:90-16.5 Good cause exceptions to cooperation

1. To establish the existence of a good cause claim, the applicant/ recipient shall be required to: i. Specify the circumstances that he or she believes provide a sufficient good cause exception from the child support requirements; ii. If appropriate, corroborate the good cause circumstance in accordance with these rules; iii. At the request of the CSSA/CSU provide sufficient information (such as name and address, if known, of the non-custodial parent to permit an investigation to corroborate the good cause circumstance. (1) The CSSA/CSU shall conduct the investigation of the WFNJ/TANF individual's good cause circumstances affording a guarantee of confidentiality and the safeguarding of substantiating information, by the CSSA/CSU, that pertains to the individual applicant/recipient and his or her child(ren). (j) The WFNJ/TANF and/or Medicaid applicant/recipient who claims good cause in accordance with (e) through (h) above shall provide corroborative evidence, if appropriate, in accordance with these rules to substantiate the good cause claim, within 20 days from the day the claim was made. In exceptional situations, the CSSA/CSU may allow a reasonable additional period of time if it determines the applicant/ recipient requires additional time because of the difficulty of obtaining the evidence. 1. The CSSA/CSU shall make a good cause determination in situations involving (e) through (h) above within 45 days of the date of the claim by the WFNJ/TANF and/or Medicaid applicant/recipient, based on the corroborative evidence supplied by the WFNJ/TANF and/or Medicaid applicant/recipient, but only after it has examined the evidence and finds that it actually verifies the good cause claim. During the CSSA/CSU's 45 day review of the good cause determination, the applicant/recipient, if otherwise eligible for WFNJ, shall receive WFNJ benefits pending the outcome of this determination. The CSSA/CSU will make an entry in the case record regarding the decision and will document the basis of its decision. The claim may be corroborated by the following types of evidence: i. Court documents or other records which indicate that legal proceedings for adoption are pending before a court of competent jurisdiction; ii. Court, medical, criminal, child protective services, social services, psychological or law enforcement records pertaining to the child, parent, or parent-person; iii. Medical records which indicate emotional health history and present emotional health status of the child for whom support would be sought; or written statements from a mental health professional indicating a diagnosis or prognosis concerning the emotional health of the parent, parent-person or the child for whom support would be sought; iv. A written statement from a public or licensed private social agency that the applicant/recipient is being assisted by the agency to resolve the issue of whether to keep the child or relinquish him or her for adoption; and