Bill Text: NJ ACR212 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges DHS to eliminate new State reviews of county-approved applications for benefits under Work First New Jersey General Public Assistance program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-11-25 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Human Services Committee [ACR212 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-ACR212-Introduced.html
ASSEMBLY CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 212
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
215th LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED NOVEMBER 25, 2013
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JOSEPH CRYAN
District 20 (Union)
SYNOPSIS
Urges DHS to eliminate new State reviews of county-approved applications for benefits under Work First New Jersey General Public Assistance program.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Concurrent Resolution urging the Department of Human Services to eliminate State reviews of applications for benefits under the Work First New Jersey General Public Assistance program.
Whereas, The Division of Family Development (DFD) in the Department of Human Services has imposed new State-mandated reviews of applications for benefits under the Work First New Jersey General Public Assistance program (WFNJ-GA), which provides grants for assistance, including food stamps, to single adults and couples without dependent children who do not qualify for benefits under other programs; and
Whereas, Under the new State-mandated reviews, an application for WFNJ-GA benefits that has already been reviewed and approved by a county board of social services is now subject to an additional layer of review by DFD, which may have assigned only two or three reviewers to a county; and
Whereas, The two or three reviewers have such a heavy workload that they are unable to keep up with the number of applications they are assigned to review, and this State-mandated review, which began in June 2013, may result in a backlog of hundreds or even thousands of applications, leaving applicants without assistance or food stamps for several days; and
Whereas, The number of applications may surge as individuals see their unemployment benefits end, and applicants for WFNJ-GA include many who are undereducated or underemployed and tend to be a transient population that may need other services for substance abuse disorders, chronic health conditions, or shelter in the cold winter months; and
Whereas, According to a report published by the Poverty Research Institute, an arm of Legal Services of New Jersey, more than 2.7 million State residents, or about 31.5 percent of the total State population, were living in poverty in 2011, and yet the State has one of the highest median household incomes in the nation; and
Whereas, A wealthy state such as ours should not impose an additional administrative layer of review by requiring State-mandated reviews of county-approved applications for WFNJ-GA, which delays the receipt of sorely needed benefits to less fortunate residents of our State; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey (the Senate concurring):
1. The Legislature respectfully urges the Department of Human Services to eliminate the new requirement for State-mandated reviews of county-approved applications for benefits under the Work First New Jersey General Public Assistance program.
2. Duly authenticated copies of this concurrent resolution, signed by the Speaker of the General Assembly and the President of the Senate and attested by the Clerk of the General Assembly and the Secretary of the Senate, shall be transmitted to the Commissioner of Human Services and the Director of the Division of Family Development in the Department of Human Services.
STATEMENT
This concurrent resolution respectfully urges the Department of Human Services (DHS) to eliminate the new requirement for State-mandated reviews of county-approved applications for benefits under the Work First New Jersey General Public Assistance program, also known as WFNJ-GA, which provides grants for assistance, including food stamps, to single adults and couples without dependent children who do not qualify for benefits under other programs. In June 2013, the Division of Family Development in DHS began requiring the State-mandated reviews of these applications, which delays the receipt of sorely needed benefits to less fortunate residents of our State.
