SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
SENATE, No. 36
with committee amendments
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: NOVEMBER 18, 1996
The Senate Human Services Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 36.
As amended by the committee, this bill establishes the "Work First New Jersey" program in the Department of Human Services (DHS) as the State's consolidated public assistance program, replacing the current programs of aid to families with dependent children (AFDC), AFDC emergency assistance, general assistance (GA), GA emergency assistance, the GA employability program, and the Family Development Initiative.
The bill repeals:
∙ P.L.1959, c.86 (C.44:10-1 et seq.), the statute which established the AFDC program as the basic cash assistance program for custodial parents and their dependent children, and replaces AFDC with the Work First New Jersey program, which is time-limited and work-oriented in nature;
∙ the "Family Development Act," P.L.1991, c.523 (C.44:10-19 through 44:10-33), which established the Family Development Initiative that will also be replaced by the Work First New Jersey program, since the provisions of that statute are obviated by this bill; and
∙ certain ancillary statutes pertaining to the AFDC and GA programs.
The bill provides that, with respect to the Work First New Jersey program:
∙ A recipient is not entitled to receive an increase in cash assistance provided by the program solely as a result of parenting an additional child during the period that the recipient is eligible for benefits, except that this provision will not apply if the birth of the child occurs as a result of rape or incest.
∙ A recipient is required to engage in one or more of the following work activities, as defined by regulation of the Commissioner of Human Services (unless exempted or deferred under this bill): employment; work experience; on-the-job training; job search and job readiness assistance; vocational educational training; job skills training directly related to employment; community work experience; alternative work experience; supportive work; community service; high school or an equivalency program of study (mandatory for teenage recipients); and education that is necessary for employment in the case of a person who has not received a high school diploma or a certificate of high school equivalency, a course of study leading to a certificate of general equivalence, or post-secondary education, when combined with community work experience participation or another work activity approved by the commissioner, including employment.
∙ The program shall meet federal requirements for the participation of recipients in work activities established pursuant to Pub.L.104-193.
∙ A teenage parent shall be required to live with a parent or guardian, or in an adult supervised setting, and to complete a high school or equivalency program of study, as a condition of eligibility for the program.
∙ A recipient who fails to actively cooperate with the program or participate in required work activities is subject to a loss of cash assistance.
∙ The commissioner shall establish and enforce through regulation, the standards and procedures to screen and identify recipients with a history of domestic violence and refer these persons to counseling and supportive services and may waive program requirements, including but not limited to, time limits; residency requirements to live with a parent, guardian or adult relative; child support cooperation requirements; and the "family cap."
∙ A legal alien who is otherwise ineligible for benefits under the program who is a victim of domestic violence, shall be eligible for benefits under the program if the legal alien is no longer residing in the same household as the perpetrator of the domestic violence.
∙ An employer shall not hire a recipient to fill a position if an employee is on layoff from the same or similar position, there is an ongoing strike, lockout or labor dispute involving the employer, or the vacancy occurred by termination of the employee.
∙ A parent or relative of a child under the age of 12 weeks who is providing care for that child and is temporarily deferred from the work requirements, may receive an extension of that deferral for an appropriate period of time if such a deferral is medically necessary for the parent or child.
Many of the provisions of this bill, including the requirements for participation in work activities under the Work First New Jersey program, are intended to implement requirements which the State must adopt under the recently enacted federal welfare reform law, Pub.L.104-193, the "Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996." The new federal law eliminates the open-ended entitlement program of aid to families with dependent children and creates a temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) block grant for states to provide time-limited cash assistance. The Work First New Jersey program will serve as the TANF program for New Jersey pursuant to Pub.L.104-193.
The committee amended the bill to delete the provision which would have repealed the "General Public Assistance Law," P.L.1947, c.156 (C.44:8-107 et seq.) and certain related provisions of law, effective January 1, 1998. These amendments reflect the committee amendments to Senate Bill No. 35, which the committee also reported on this date, providing for the continued administration of general public assistance by municipal welfare agencies under the Work First New Jersey program.
The committee also amended the bill to exempt a child born as a result of rape or incest from the "family cap" provisions of section 7 with respect to eligibility for cash assistance benefits. The committee also extended the 12-week deferral from the work requirement for the parent who is caring for an infant, to an appropriate period of time if medically necessary for the parent or child. Committee amendments also extend program eligibility to a legal alien who is a victim of domestic violence and not otherwise eligible for the program, if the legal alien is no longer residing in the same household as the perpetrator of the domestic violence.
In addition, the committee amended the bill to provide:
-- the commissioner with the discretion to waive certain program requirements for victims of domestic violence;
-- that an employer shall not hire a recipient to fill a position if an employee is on layoff, there is a strike, or the vacancy was created by termination of the employee; and
-- that an adult recipient engaged in a paid work activity shall earn the minimum wage.
Other committee amendments are technical in nature and intended to clarify certain provisions of the bill.