Bill Text: NJ S3155 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires adult recipients of Work First NJ benefits to engage in community service.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-09-24 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee [S3155 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-S3155-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator JEFF VAN DREW
District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)
Senator CHRISTOPHER J. CONNORS
District 9 (Atlantic, Burlington and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Requires adult recipients of Work First NJ benefits to engage in community service.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning Work First NJ benefits and beneficiary obligations, and supplementing Title 44 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. An adult recipient of Work First New Jersey program benefits shall be required, as a condition of continued program eligibility, to engage in community service during the period of time that benefits are being received, in accordance with the rules and regulations established by the commissioner pursuant to this section.
b. The department shall develop, and shall regularly update, a list that provides contact information for a representative assortment of community service organizations in the Northern, Central, and Southern regions of the State. The list shall be non-exclusive in nature, and shall serve as an example of the types of community service organizations at which a benefits recipient may volunteer. The department shall distribute a hard copy of the list to each adult benefits recipient, and shall post a printable version of the list at a publicly accessible location on the department's Internet website, in association with the online information provided in relation to the Work First New Jersey program.
c. The department shall adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this section. At a minimum, the rules and regulations shall identify:
(1) the minimum number of hours that each adult benefits recipient must dedicate to community service, on a weekly or other regular basis while receiving benefits, in order to assure their continued program eligibility;
(2) the methods that will be used by the department to verify an adult recipient's ongoing engagement in community service and their satisfaction of minimum service-hour requirements; and
(3) the procedures that will be used by the department to address instances of noncompliance.
2. This act shall take effect on the 60th day after the date of enactment, except that the Commissioner of Human Services may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as may be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill would require adult recipients of Work First NJ benefits to participate in community service as a condition of continued program eligibility, in accordance with rules and regulations adopted by the Department of Human Services (DHS).
Under the bill's provisions, DHS would be required to develop, and regularly update, a list that provides contact information for a representative assortment of community service organizations in the Northern, Central, and Southern regions of the State at which a benefits recipient may volunteer their services. This list would be non-exclusive in nature, and would be provided to each Work First New Jersey benefits recipient, and posted on the department's Internet website, for informational purposes only.
The bill would also require DHS to adopt rules and regulations to implement the bill's community service requirements. These rules and regulations would identify, at a minimum: (1) the minimum number of hours that each adult benefits recipient must dedicate to community service, on a weekly or other regular basis while receiving benefits, in order to assure their continued program eligibility; (2) the methods that will be used by the department to verify an adult recipient's ongoing engagement in community service and their satisfaction of minimum service-hour requirements; and (3) the procedures that will be used by the department to address instances of noncompliance.
