2023 New Mexico Statutes › Chapter 27 - Public Assistance › Article 2B - New Mexico Works Act › Section 27-2B-4 - Application; resource planning session; individual responsibility plans; participation agreement; review periods.

A. Application for cash assistance or services shall be made to the department. The application shall be in writing or reduced to writing in the manner and on the form prescribed by the department. The application shall be made under oath by an applicant having custody of or residing with a dependent child who is a benefit group member and shall contain a statement of the age of the child, residence, a complete statement of the amount of property in which the applicant has an interest, a statement of all income that the applicant and other benefit group members have at the time of the filing of the application and other information required by the department.
B. The department shall assist an applicant in completing the application for cash assistance or services and shall evaluate an applicant to determine eligibility for all department programs for which the applicant is eligible. The department shall process all expedited food stamp applications within two business days of submission, and the department shall deliver expedited food stamps to an eligible applicant within seven days of the application.
C. At the time of application for cash assistance and services, an applicant and the department shall identify everyone who is to be counted in the benefit group. Once an application is approved, the participant shall advise the department if there are any changes in the membership of the benefit group.
D. No later than thirty days after an application is filed, the department shall provide to an applicant a resource planning session to ascertain the applicant's immediate needs, assess financial and nonfinancial options, make referrals and act on the application.
E. No later than five days after an application is approved, the department shall provide reimbursement for child care.
F. Whenever the department receives an application for assistance, a verification and record of the applicant's circumstances shall promptly be made to ascertain the facts supporting the application and to obtain other information required by the department. The verification may include a visit to the home of the applicant, as long as the department gives adequate prior notice of the visit to the applicant.
G. No later than fifteen days after an application is approved, the department shall assess the education, skills, prior work experience and employability of the participant.
H. After the initial assessment of skills, the department shall work with the participant to develop an individual responsibility plan that:
(1) sets forth an employment goal for the participant and a plan for moving the participant into employment;
(2) sets forth obligations of the participant that may include a requirement that the participant attend school, maintain certain grades and attendance, keep the participant's school-age children in school, immunize the participant's children or engage in other activities that will help the participant become and remain employed;
(3) is designed to the greatest extent possible to move the participant into whatever employment the participant is capable of handling and to provide additional services as necessary to increase the responsibility and amount of work the participant will handle over time;
(4) describes the services the department may provide so that the participant may obtain and keep employment; and
(5) may require the participant to participate in appropriate services, such as substance abuse, domestic violence or mental health services.
I. The participant and the department shall sign the participant's individual responsibility plan. The department shall not allow a participant to decline to participate in developing an individual responsibility plan. The department shall not waive the requirement that a participant develop an individual responsibility plan. The department shall emphasize the importance of the individual responsibility plan to the participant.
J. If a participant does not develop an individual responsibility plan, refuses to sign an individual responsibility plan or refuses to attend semiannual reviews of an individual responsibility plan, the participant shall be required to enter into a conciliation process pursuant to Subsection C of Section 27-2B-14 NMSA 1978. If the participant persists in noncompliance with the individual responsibility plan process after the conciliation process, the participant shall be subject to sanctions pursuant to Section 27-2B-14 NMSA 1978.
K. The participant shall also sign a participation agreement that designates the number of hours that the participant must participate in work activities to meet participation standards.
L. The department shall review the current financial eligibility of a benefit group when the department reviews food stamp eligibility.
M. The department shall meet semiannually with a participant to review and revise the participant's individual responsibility plan.
N. The department shall develop a complaint procedure to address issues pertinent to the delivery of services and other issues relating to a participant's individual responsibility plan.
History:
Laws 1998, ch. 8, § 4 and Laws 1998, ch. 9, § 4; 1999, ch. 71, § 1; 1999, ch. 273, § 2; 1999, ch. 280, § 1; 2001, ch. 295, § 2; 2001, ch. 326, § 2; 2007, ch. 350, § 2.
ANNOTATIONS
The 2007 amendment,
effective June 15, 2007, in Subsection B, increased the expedited process for food stamps from 24 hours to 2 business days; and in Subsection H, provided that individual responsibility plans may require a participant to participate in appropriate services, including domestic violence and mental health services.
The 2001 amendment,
effective June 15, 2001, in Subsection A, substituted "benefit group member" for "household group member" twice; in Subsection C, substituted "everyone" for "household group members" and deleted "household group or" preceding "benefit group" at the end of the subsection and substituting "thirty days" for "forty-five days" in Subsection D.
The 1999 amendment,
effective June 18, 1999, substituted "custody of or residing with a dependent child who is a household group member" for "custody of a dependent child" in the last sentence of Subsection A, added the last three sentences of Subsection I, added Subsection J, and redesignated former Subsections J to M as Subsections K to N.