Supporting a family can be a real challenge and getting a job is just the beginning.

In order to keep a job, you need reliable and affordable child care, transportation, health insurance and more.

WFNJ offers a number of benefits and services to you when you leave WFNJ for a job or agree to close your case.

These are time-limited supports intended to help you stay employed and move closer to an independent life.

Paycheck Plus

If you are working at least 20 hours a week, you can keep all or some of your cash assistance in addition to your paycheck. Here’s how it works for someone who begins working 30 hours a week:

• You keep all of your cash assistance for the first month to help you as you start your job;
• For the next six months, we “ignore” 75 percent of your income, which means only 25 percent of your paycheck is subtracted from your cash assistance; and
• After that, 50 percent of your paycheck will count when figuring your cash grant, until you earn too much to still be eligible.

Supplemental Work Support

If you are a TANF recipient and you become employed working at least 20 hours per week for at least four months and still receive a partial cash grant, you may be eligible to receive $200 per month for up to 24 months. To be eligible for this program, you must have been on TANF for at least six months and agree to voluntarily close your case.

This program is designed to support you in your efforts to stay employed and stay off cash assistance.

Transportation

You may be able to get assistance with travel costs when you begin to work. If you take public transportation, you may receive a one-time free monthly bus or train pass from NJ TRANSIT. You may also be eligible for an additional six months of free or low-cost bus or train passes.

For more information, contact your County Social Services Agency.

Career Advancement Vouchers

If you are off cash assistance and employed and are interested in taking work-related classes or training, this program offers opportunities to advance your career. WFNJ can help pay for classes or training for your current job or a new job with training or education vouchers worth up to $4,000.

To find out if you qualify and how to apply, ask about it at your One-Stop Career Center.

Transitional Child Care

You may need to find child care so that you can work. If you participated in WFNJ, you may be eligible for extended child care benefits for up to 24 months after you leave TANF. Once you are earning an income, you must pay part of the cost of child care (a “co-pay”). The amount of your co-pay changes as your income changes.

Let a case manager know that you have a job, and bring a month’s worth of pay stubs to show how much money you earn.

A case manager will give you a referral to the Child Care Resource & Referral (CCR&R) Agency in your county that will help you find child care.

For more information, call toll-free: 1-800-332-9227 or visit www.ChildCareNJ.gov.

NJ FamilyCare – 24-month extension

If your circumstances change and you are working, you and your family may be eligible for a 24-month extension of your NJ FamilyCare health benefits. As your income changes, so will your NJ FamilyCare eligibility.

Exactly when the two years begins depends on when your circumstances change, and the amount of your increase in income.

If your new job already provides health benefits, you will use those first, then your NJ FamilyCare benefits, if needed, to pay for health care costs.

For more information, call the Medicaid Hotline toll-free: 1-800-701-0710 or visit www.NJFamilyCare.org.

By the time you have been off WFNJ for a couple of years, most of the programs for people leaving WFNJ will have come to an end. But New Jersey still offers a number of programs to strengthen low-income, working families.

These programs – which are not connected to the cash assistance program – are available to income-eligible or qualified working families.

Some of the services available to you while you were on WFNJ may still be available to you. For example, many low-income working families are eligible for NJ SNAP food assistance. And if you need assistance or have questions about child support, reach out to your County Social Service Agency or visit www.NJChildSupport.org.

Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP)

Low- and moderate-income parents who work, are in school full-time or are attending a training program may get help paying for child care. You must have a child or children under age 13 (or under age 19 if your child has special needs), and meet income eligibility. If you were receiving transitional child care and are eligible for the CCAP, your child may be able to remain in the same child care program.

You can check eligibility and estimate your co-pay amount using our child care calculator found on www.ChildCareNJ.gov For more information, call toll-free: 1-800-332-9227 or visit www.ChildCareNJ.gov.

NJ FamilyCare

If you have a higher income, your family or your children may be able to get free or low-cost health insurance. Eligibility is based on family size and monthly income. The NJ FamilyCare program covers some parents and children under the age of 19 who have no insurance. For example, a child who lives in a family of four with a monthly income of $8,875 may qualify. His parents also may qualify, if the family income is under $2,268 a month.

For information, ask a case manager, visit the website at www.NJFamilyCare.org or call the NJ FamilyCare hotline toll-free: 1-800-701-0710.

REMEMBER!

Even if you are working, you may still be eligible for help paying for your energy costs through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) or the Universal Service Fund (USF). For more information, call toll-free: 1-800-510-3102

Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)

EITC is a special tax benefit for working people who earn low or moderate incomes. It reduces the amount of taxes you pay. If you qualify for the EITC and file a federal income tax return, you can get back some or all of the federal income tax that was taken out of your pay during the year. Families that are eligible for the federal EITC also qualify for additional tax refunds under the New Jersey state EITC.

For more information, call the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) toll-free: 1-800-TAX-1040, or the NJ Division of Taxation: 1-888-895-9179 or visit www.njeitc.org.