Michael Swayze's Community Resources

Category: Advocacy

  • Do You Feel Stuck On Welfare?

    “Do you feel STUCK… …on Welfare?” is the title of a brochure produced in partnership with a nonprofit organization, The Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless. It provides information on a number of programs and is written for TANF clients, as well as families who have left welfare. For New Jersey nonprofits that provide counseling to low-income customers it offers useful information for new staff.

    A few items in the Coalition’s brochure are worth highlighting. For example:
    Employment Disregards provide an incentive to work. Earnings are completely disregarded in the first month of employment. It must be reported within ten days of receiving the first paycheck. Thereafter, 75% of gross earnings are disregarded, for up to six months. If a household remains eligible after the sixth month the disregard falls to 50%. For a full explanation consult an eligibility worker or case manager at your local county welfare agency.

    Clients who are working but remain eligible for a partial grant may opt in to the Supplemental Work Support program. An application must be requested for SWS before the cash assistance case closes. Ask to speak to an income eligibility worker.

    The brochure also makes references to stopping the clock. Families need to be reminded that welfare is time limited. Unless exempted, cash assistance ends after sixty months. The Supportive Assistance to Individuals and Families (SAIF) program provides intensive case management services to individuals as they approach the 60 month limit.

    Families are encouraged to take advantage of a number of Post-TANF benefits, including the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) both federal and state, transportation services, child care, energy assistance (LIHEAP, USF) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps.

    This Welfare to Work brochure is available for downloading.

    This is the third and last article in a series pertaining to welfare and workforce development.

  • WFNJ Handbook

    Twenty years ago “welfare as we know it” was fundamentally changed with the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996. New requirements and responsibilities are now a standard rule, along with the availability of a number of supportive services. Yet, after two decades, information is not be readily disseminated so welfare clients can make informed decisions in their efforts to become self-sufficient.

    Every applicant for cash assistance is given a handbook which gives an overview of the program, available support services, as well as information on time limits, income disregards, work activities, deferrals and sanctions.

    The handbook also details the many programs that individuals and families may receive both while receiving assistance and for the two year period following case closing. A number of these programs are under-utilized. They include: Supplemental Work Support (SWS), Career Advancement Voucher Program (CAVP), Transitional Child Care (TCC) and transportation services.

    Available for downloading is the most current edition of the WFNJ Handbook, (revised April, 2016). Also available is a Spanish version.

    This is the first in a series of articles and documents to be issued pertaining to welfare and workforce development.

  • Expungement Information Session

    City of Elizabeth Hosts Expungement Information Session – August 11

    The City of Elizabeth will host an Expungement Information Session on Thursday, August 11 from 6pm to 8pm at the Elizabeth Public Library, 11 South Broad Street. The purpose of the meeting is to explain changes to the expungement of criminal records, based on legislation that took effect in April, 2016, following a two-year effort.

    Advocates and attorneys representing such groups as Legal Services of New Jersey, Community Health Law Project and Make the Road New Jersey will be present to answer questions.

    The information session coincides with the recent launching of a Facebook page,
    City of Elizabeth Reentry Program. The site already provides a number of links on the expungement process. Persons interested in volunteering to assist at the meeting – greeters, registration – may call Deshawn Pierce at 908-820-4052.

    Related links on expungement include: