Department of Human Services

Welfare clients who reach the five-year limit on benefits yet still need assistance to become self-sufficient may qualify for an additional 24 months of cash benefits and intensive case management, including frequent face-to-face contact with a social worker, to help them move from welfare to full-time employment.

The changes are part of a pilot program proposed by the DHS Division of Family Development that will be published in Monday's New Jersey Register. If the proposal were approved, the pilot program would begin in October.

"Today, many of the clients we serve face complex issues, such as medical or mental health problems, addiction, low literacy levels or learning disabilities," said DHS Commissioner Gwendolyn L. Harris. "Some participated in work activities but were unable to get a job. Others are working but they don't earn enough to move off welfare, or they lost jobs through no fault of their own. The common thread with all of them is they have lived up to their end of the bargain, and we feel they deserve extra time and attention."

Work First NJ, initiated in April 1997, set a five-year limit on cash benefits but allowed extensions for some clients and exemptions for others. The new pilot program would allow clients to seek up to four extensions of six months each, instead of the two six-month extensions allowed currently.

Commissioner Harris said the intensive case management services that will be delivered during the extension period will give clients an opportunity to overcome various barriers and acquire steady, full-time employment that will allow them to leave welfare.

In other cases, the extensions will offer time to document that clients should be granted an exemption from the time limit.

Exemptions are granted to clients who are: at least 60 years old; permanently disabled; the sole caretaker of a severely disabled or ill child or dependent; or chronically unemployable due to low literacy or skill levels, addiction, mental health problems or a disability. Domestic violence victims may also be exempted from the time limit.

Clients who use up their 60 months of benefits must submit an application to be considered for the pilot program.

The clients who cooperated with Work First requirements would be eligible for the pilot program if:
• they had been unable to work steadily due to extenuating circumstances, such as health problems or the need to care for a disabled or ill relative, a lack of transportation or child care, or domestic violence;
• they are working but not earning enough to move off welfare; or
• they had worked full-time and left welfare but returned after losing their jobs through no fault of their own.

Once accepted for the pilot program, clients must continue to work or participate in work activities, undergo periodic eligibility reviews, cooperate with child support enforcement, and comply with other Work First requirements.

In return, those clients would receive cash benefits and traditional work supports, such as child care and transportation. They also would have access to any necessary substance abuse or mental health treatment.

Social service agencies assisting the long-term clients will provide intensive case management by making frequent face-to-face contact, including visits to the client's home and workplace, and coordinating regular meetings between all agencies who are serving the client.

The pilot program recognizes that the welfare caseload has changed considerably since Work First began six years ago. The caseload has dropped 60 percent since then, but large numbers of recipients left welfare in the early years of the program during economic boom times. Many of those clients also had marketable skills and prior work histories that made it easier for them to transition from welfare to work.

Commissioner Harris said additional changes in the Work First program were recently proposed to identify and address clients' needs sooner.

For example, comprehensive social and occupational assessments conducted on each client after 34 months in the Work First NJ program would be pushed up to the 12-month mark under regulations proposed earlier this year.

"Our research shows that about one-third of the people that come onto welfare leave within a year," Commissioner Harris said. "Those clients come to us with many of the tools they need to succeed on their own. But the people who stay longer need more assistance. Obviously, the small group of people who make it to five years need the greatest level of intervention. These are people who generally cooperated with the rules of the Work First program, or else they would have been sanctioned long ago. But they have been unable to achieve self-sufficiency for a variety of reasons and we are not giving up on them."

The pilot program would initially be available to approximately 1,300 recipients of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and 600 clients of General Assistance, the state-funded program for single adults and childless couples.

The proposed regulations for the pilot program are available in the New Jersey Register or at the DHS Internet site, www.state.nj.us/humanservices.