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The Dignity of Work; the Pride of Independence

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The Dignity of Work; the Pride of Independence HANDBOOK the dignity of work; the pride of independence • Works to help children by helping you get child support WELCOME payments to care for your dependent children. Welcome to Work First New Jersey (WFNJ), the state’s • Works toward self-sufficiency by allowing you to keep welfare program. It’s called Work First because it more of your paycheck when you get a job or to close emphasizes work as the first step toward building a new your case and receive a work supplement. life and a brighter future. • Works to keep you on the job by helping with child care, health care, transportation and other support services, if needed. This handbook provides information on: • The basic requirements of WFNJ. WFNJ limits assistance to a maximum of 60 months • Your responsibilities as a WFNJ participant. over your lifetime. • Support services you can receive while you are in the WFNJ program. Your Rights and Responsibilities • Support services for working families. When you apply for WFNJ benefits and while you are on assistance, you are entitled to receive certain information and services. In turn, you, too, must do your part to cooperate with specific requirements detailed in this OVERVIEW handbook in order to receive assistance and benefits. Welfare in New Jersey New Jersey’s program for families is known as Work First Your rights under WFNJ include, among others, the right to: New Jersey/Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (WFNJ/TANF). New Jersey also has a program for single • Submit an application. adults and couples without children, known as Work First • Receive immediate assistance after you apply, if you New Jersey/General Assistance (WFNJ/GA). Some of the qualify to receive it. services and programs described in this book apply only • Receive emergency assistance benefits, if you’re eligible. to families under the TANF program and are not available to single people and childless couples receiving General • Receive support services, such as, child care, Assistance. transportation assistance and treatment for drug, alcohol, and mental-health related problems. To receive assistance: • Get a temporary deferral from some work requirements, if you meet certain criteria. • You will need to cooperate with child support requirements if you have dependent children. • Receive equal treatment under the law, regardless of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, • You will have to work, actively look for work or disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital participate in an approved work activity. or family status, and other categories as defined by the NJ Law Against Discrimination. Work is the goal • Receive written notice if your benefits are denied, or The Work First New Jersey program: before your benefits are reduced, suspended or stopped. • Works to end welfare dependency by limiting assistance • Request a Fair Hearing if your benefits are denied, to 60 months and offering you the tools to find a job. reduced, suspended or stopped. 1 To be able to get WFNJ benefits, you are required to work If you do not meet these responsibilities, your WFNJ or take part in work preparation activities. In addition, you cash assistance may be denied, reduced, suspended must cooperate with other requirements of the program, or stopped and your case may be closed. including: • Providing information to determine your eligibility for WFNJ assistance. • Cooperating with child support requirements. TIME LIMITS Welfare has time limits • Participating in a work activity or working. After you begin receiving cash assistance, you are required • Notifying your welfare agency within 10 days of when to be at work or in a work activity as soon as possible, you move, get a job, make more money, or if there’s a unless there is a reason why you cannot participate. You will change in your family size. Employed recipients will need to attend your work activity or you will be sanctioned. be subject to a 6-month reporting cycle. A case This means your welfare grant will be reduced. If you don’t manager will explain your new requirements once you meet the program requirements after your welfare grant is report employment. reduced, you will lose all of your cash assistance. • Reporting to your welfare agency any unexpected change in the amount of your income. A 60-month limit of assistance during your lifetime • Notifying your welfare agency in advance if you will be out of the state for more than 30 days. When you get a job and go off welfare, the “clock stops ticking” on your 60-month limit. Any time you have left will • Repaying to the welfare agency any financial assistance remain available to use for a future emergency. There are, payment (including cash benefits and emergency however, certain situations in which you may qualify for assistance) that you received in excess of the amount for continued cash assistance after 60 months. which you were eligible. When you reach your 48th month of cash assistance, you will be required to participate in the Supportive Assistance to Individuals and Families (SAIF) program. Unless you are determined to be deferred from SAIF, you must participate as a condition of continued eligibility for WFNJ benefits. A WFNJ case manager will discuss more about this with you when you get close to your 48th month. If benefits are received for only dependent children and/or teen parents, the months of receipt are not counted toward the 60-month limit. The 60-month limit begins once a teen parent reaches age 18. 2 that will help locate the other parent, if he or she is not involved or doesn’t know about your dependent child. ELIGIBILITY This includes his or her full name and address and at least Citizenship three of the following items, if you know them or can You must be a U.S. citizen or qualified alien resident to reasonably obtain them: receive WFNJ benefits. A qualified alien who was in this • Date of birth country before August 22, 1996 may still receive benefits. A person who enters the country on or after August 22, • Social Security number 1996 who is not a citizen is not eligible for benefits for • Employer a period of five years – except for special categories of • Make and model of motor vehicle and license aliens. These include, for example: Amerasian immigrants, plate number Cuban or Haitian entrants, refugees, asylees or parolees. For more information on how to become a U.S. citizen, call the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services toll-free: 1-800-375-5283. There are certain situations where you may not be required to provide child support information, such as in Drug Convictions – WFNJ/General Assistance cases of family violence. Under the law, any person convicted on, or after, August 22, 1996 of a drug distribution crime will be Child Support Collections permanently ineligible to receive WFNJ/GA benefits. While you are receiving cash assistance, you will need to However, distribution offenders may be eligible for NJ assign your child support rights to the state. This means Family Care/Medicaid so they can receive substance that child support payments will be collected on behalf abuse treatment. of your children who are receiving welfare. The payments are then sent to the county welfare agency. Any person convicted on, or after, August 22, 1996 of a drug possession or use crime may be eligible for However, as a WFNJ recipient, you may receive up to WFNJ/GA benefits, if he or she enrolls in, participates $100 per month from the child support payments that in, and completes a licensed residential or outpatient are collected. The child support order also will address drug treatment program. There may be certain limited medical support for the children. exceptions to this requirement based on program availability. Additionally, the person must test drug-free while participating in the treatment program and test Once you are working and off welfare, you will receive drug-free for the first 60 days after completing the program your entire child support payment, in addition to your or benefits will be terminated. paycheck. For more information about child support, call toll-free 1-877-NJKIDS1 (1-877-655-4371) or visit the website at www.njchildsupport.org. Child Support Both parents need to take responsibility for their children. In order to be eligible for WFNJ benefits, a parent must provide the information needed to secure REMEMBER! child support, including identifying the other parent of When you are in the Work First program, you may your child. receive up to $100 per month of child support When you apply for WFNJ benefits, you will be asked payments that are collected. to provide a case manager with certain information When you are off welfare and working, the entire child support payment will go to you. 3 SPECIAL NEEDS Victims of Family/Domestic Violence WFNJ recognizes that family/domestic violence victims Families First Card may have special needs. If you are a victim of family/ domestic violence, rape or incest, some of the following WFNJ uses a “Families First” card for you to access WFNJ requirements may be temporarily waived: your cash assistance and NJ Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (NJ SNAP) benefits. (General • Time limits on benefits Assistance clients who are receiving cash assistance from • Work requirements a municipal welfare agency still receive a check, but their • The limitation on an increase in cash assistance SNAP benefits are available on their Families First cards). benefits as a result of the birth of a child, if the child The card can be used to withdraw cash benefits from is conceived as a result of domestic violence, rape Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) or to purchase food at or incest authorized grocery stores.
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