N.J. Admin. Code § 5:49-4.1

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 23, December 2, 2024

Section 5:49-4.1 - Opportunity and decision to apply-DCA/CAA

(a) Any individual(s) who believes he or she or his or her household is eligible for HEA must be given the opportunity to apply without delay. Heating and cooling assistance applications shall be accepted from November 1 through March 31 of each year. Applicants will be informed about eligibility requirements and their rights and obligations in applying for and receiving assistance. The decision to apply rests with the applicant. The applicant has the right to withdraw the application before eligibility or ineligibility has been determined. Upon completion of the application process, the application shall be transmitted to the Office of Information Technology (OIT) in accordance with (e) below.

1. For purposes of this program, the applicant shall be the adult household member who is billed for payment of heating/cooling costs or responsible for payment of the rent.

i. In the event that the applicant, due to illness or injury is unable to complete the application, the CAA or other non-profit agency shall accept the application from an authorized representative who is sufficiently familiar with the household's circumstances.

(b) Food Stamp households that have received or will receive automatic benefits but submit a separate application will have that application denied by the CAA or other non-profit agency.

(c) Households desiring HEA assistance must complete a Home Energy Assistance Application. The application must be completed and signed at sites designated by the CAA or other non-profit agency of the county in which the household resides. The application shall be signed by the household member responsible for payment of heating or cooling costs or by his or her authorized representative and by the CAA or other non-profit agency worker and supervisor.

1. Households consisting of persons who are 60 years of age or over, or persons who are disabled, may mail the application to the CAA or other non-profit agency. All households may apply by mail.

2. The CAA or other non-profit agency shall provide home visits to accept applications from those households which are not eligible to apply by mail but cannot apply in person at the CAA or other non-profit agency (e.g., the applicant is ill, bedridden, or for whom access to the CAA or other non-profit agency is difficult).

3. The CAA or other non-profit agency shall document the date of application recording on the application the date it was received by the CAA or other non-profit agency. The period for determination of program eligibility or ineligibility and notification of the household of the determination is calculated from the date the application is filed.

4. Program eligibility or ineligibility must be determined and the household notified of the decision within 30 days for all households.

5. The household must cooperate with the CAA or other non-profit agency in the eligibility determination process. If the household refuses to cooperate in this process, the application shall be denied.

(d) At the time of application, the CAA or other non-profit agency shall advise the household of all program eligibility requirements and the method by which assistance will be provided. Additionally, the CAA or other non-profit agency shall assist the household in completing the application and explain what elements of eligibility must be verified. The CAA or other non-profit agency must advise the household what verification is required and explain that the case will be denied if verification is not provided.

1. The following must be verified, documented and retained in the case record by the CAA or other non-profit agency prior to transmitting the application to OIT.

i. Name of the applicant and all household members;

ii. Social Security number of the applicant;

(1) Any applicant for HEA-only who has not been assigned a Social Security number must be referred to the local Social Security Administration district office to apply for same, and must submit verification of such application to the CAA or other non-profit agency;

iii. Address;

iv. Heating fuel type and supplier. The client shall present a bill or contract from the fuel supplier (the CAA or other non-profit agency may, with the consent of the household, contact the supplier for verification);

v. A rent receipt, cancelled check made out to the landlord, or lease if heat/utilities are included in the rent (the CAA or other non-profit agency may, with the consent of the household, contact the landlord for verification);

vi. If the household is directly responsible for heating/cooling costs but the bill is not in the household's name, a statement from the landlord attesting to that fact;

vii. Earned and unearned income shall be verified by wage stubs or any applicable documentation relating to any consecutive four-week period within the five weeks before the date the client signs the application or reports a change in earnings;

viii. Other income including pensions, outside contributions, interest, dividends, UIB, disability, and support payments;

ix. Proof of tax dependency status for household consisting entirely of students (i.e., a copy of the most recent tax return of the student's parents); and

x. For emergency energy payments, the emergent situation. This shall be accompanied by collateral contact and client affidavit, if required.

2. The following must be verified and documented if the information provided by the applicant is questionable or inconsistent:

i. Composition of the household;

ii. Gross monthly income and total monthly household expenditures;

iii. Home ownership; and

iv. Social Security numbers for household members which were not verified in accordance with (d)1i(2) above.

(e) The CAA or other non-profit agency shall transmit application data to OIT via computer terminal and retain a copy in the case record.

1. The application shall be screened and certified by the CAA or other non-profit agency prior to data entry to ensure that it is complete and coded correctly.

2. Each CAA or other non-profit agency will receive a listing of its cases which were rejected upon data entry. All cases on this report must be corrected and retransmitted to OIT.

(f) In certain instances, the CAA or other non-profit agency may not be able to submit the application for data entry because the household has not completed the application or it has not provided or refuses to provide verification that the CAA or other non-profit agency cannot otherwise obtain. In such instances, the CAA or other non-profit agency shall advise the household of the consequences of its noncooperation and hold the application, including mail applications, until the last working day before the expiration of the 30-day limit for action on the application to give the household an opportunity to cooperate. The application shall then be appropriately coded and transmitted to OIT. The CAA or other non-profit agency must record the specifics of the situation requiring this action.

1. Once the CAA or other non-profit agency has clearly established either that the household will not cooperate further or that the household believes it has provided sufficient verification, the application should be appropriately coded and transmitted to OIT. The household must receive a notice of denial and may contest this denial at a fair hearing.

(g) Generally, applications will be processed through the OIT computer system to a decision. However, the CAA or other non-profit agency will be responsible for screening each HEA application to determine the following:

1. The household's gross monthly income meets the monthly income eligibility standards in 5:49-2.3(a);

2. The household is responsible for payment of its heating/cooling costs in accordance with 5:49-2.2(b);

3. The household meets the definition of "resident" provided in 5:49-2.2(a)1;

4. The household refuses to cooperate in the determination of eligibility.

(h) If the CAA or other non-profit agency determines, based on the provisions of (g) above, that the household is ineligible, the household must be advised that its application will be denied.

(i) If a household's application is denied by the CAA or other non-profit agency, the CAA or other non-profit agency must code the application appropriately and submit it to OIT at the time of the denial.

(j) DCA or other non-profit agency will issue an adverse action notice to the household upon processing of the CAA or other non-profit agency denied application.

N.J. Admin. Code § 5:49-4.1

Amended by R.1982 d.497, effective 12/30/1982.
See: 14 N.J.R. 1311(a), 15 N.J.R. 92(c).
Originally filed as an emergency adoption (R.1982 d.412) on November 1, 1982. Readopted as R.1982 d.497. Language changed regarding earned income verification.
Amended by R.1983 d.465, effective 10/17/1983, operative November 1, 1983.
See: 15 N.J.R. 1338(a), 15 N.J.R. 1768(c).
The provision for issuance of supplemental payments to SSI households receiving automatic payments is deleted.
Emergency amendment and concurrent proposal amended, R.1984 d.538, effective and operative November 1, 1984 (expires December 31, 1984).
See: 16 N.J.R. 3217(a).
Substantially amended.
Emergency amendment readopted R.1985 d.5, effective 1/2/1985.
See: 16 N.J.R. 3217(a), 17 N.J.R. 310(a).
Amended by R.1985 d.492, effective 10/7/1985.
See: 17 N.J.R. 1737(a), 17 N.J.R. 2441(a).
Emergency Amendment, R.1985 d.539, effective 10/28/1985 (operative November 1, 1985, expires December 27, 1985).
See: 17 N.J.R. 2791(a).
(d)1(2) added text "If an applicant ... submitting Form SS-5."
Readopted amendment R.1985 d.708, effective 12/24/1985.
See: 17 N.J.R. 2791(a), 18 N.J.R. 194(a).
Emergency Adoption R.1987 d.496, effective 10/28/1987 (operative November 1, 1987, expires December 27, 1987).
See: 19 N.J.R. 2208(a).
Added text to (a) "Heating assistance applications ... of each year".
Adopted Concurrent Proposal as R.1988 d.46, effective 12/24/1987.
See: 19 N.J.R. 2208(a), 20 N.J.R. 291(a).
Amended by R.1988 d.482, effective 10/17/1988.
See: 20 N.J.R. 1643(a), 20 N.J.R. 2577(a).
Added (d)1i(2)(A) and new (d)1ii(2) and renumbered old (2)-(3) as (3)-(4).
Amended by R.1990 d.315, effective 6/18/1990.
See: 22 N.J.R. 599(a), 22 N.J.R. 1939(a).
In (a): revised date from "April 30" to "March 31" and from "June 30" to "May 31."
In (c)1: added text regarding application by mail of other households.
Emergency Amendment, R.1992 d.38, effective 12/26/1991 (expires February 24, 1992).
See: 24 N.J.R. 300(b).
In (d)1i(7), added "unearned income" and "any applicable documentation". In (d)1i(8), added "UIB, disability and support payments".
Adopted concurrent proposal, R.1992 d.125, effective 2/21/1992.
See: 24 N.J.R. 300(b), 24 N.J.R. 952(b).
Provisions of emergency amendment R.1992 d.38 readopted without change.
Emergency Amendment R.1992 d.517, effective 12/8/1992, operative January 1, 1993 (expires February 6, 1993).
See: 24 N.J.R. 4593(a).
Application intake for heating and cooling assistance changed to end of February.
Adopted Concurrent Proposal, R.1993 d.97, effective 1/28/1993.
See: 24 N.J.R. 4593(a), 25 N.J.R. 997(a).
Provisions of emergency amendment, R.1992 d.517, adopted without change.
Emergency Amendment, R.1996 d.47, effective 12/21/1995 (expires February 19, 1996).
See: 28 N.J.R. 293(a).
Adopted Concurrent Proposal, R.1996 d.134, effective 2/16/1996.
See: 28 N.J.R. 293(a), 28 N.J.R. 1537(a).
Emergency amendment R.1997 d.149, effective 2/25/1997 (to expire April 26, 1997).
See: 29 N.J.R. 940(a).
Substituted "CAA or other non-profit agency" for "CWA" throughout; in (a), (e)2, and (g), substituted "DCA" for "DFD"; and in (e), substituted "DH&CR" for "DFD".
Adopted concurrent proposal, R.1997 d.207, effective 4/25/1997.
See: 29 N.J.R. 940(a), 29 N.J.R. 2473(a).
Emergency amendment R.1998 d.82, effective 1/9/1998 (to expire March 10, 1998).
See: 30 N.J.R. 568(a).
In (a), substituted a reference to February 28 for a reference to February 1 in the first sentence.
Adopted concurrent proposal, R.1998 d.168, effective 3/10/1998.
See: 30 N.J.R. 568(a), 30 N.J.R. 1285(a).
Emergency amendment, R.2000 d.160, effective 3/23/2000 (to expire May 22, 2000).
See: 32 N.J.R. 1426(a).
Added (k).
Emergency amendment, R.2000 d.160, expired May 22, 2000.
Deleted (k).
Amended by R.2005 d.130, effective 5/2/2005.
See: 37 N.J.R. 18(a), 37 N.J.R. 1518(b).
Rewrote the section.