New Jersey Statutes 44:7-19. Assistance by relatives; enforcement
Terms Used In New Jersey Statutes 44:7-19
- Assistance: means money payments to or on behalf of eligible persons. See New Jersey Statutes 44:7-1
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- County welfare board: means the boards established within the several counties for the purposes of administering welfare to the needy, whether set up under the authority of this chapter or pursuant to any other laws of this State. See New Jersey Statutes 44:7-1
- Director of welfare: means the director of the county welfare board. See New Jersey Statutes 44:7-1
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Old age assistance: means assistance to aged needy persons as provided by this chapter, and, unless otherwise indicated, includes all programs of assistance for other specified classes of persons authorized to be administered by or through the county welfare boards. See New Jersey Statutes 44:7-1
- person: includes corporations, companies, associations, societies, firms, partnerships and joint stock companies as well as individuals, unless restricted by the context to an individual as distinguished from a corporate entity or specifically restricted to one or some of the above enumerated synonyms and, when used to designate the owner of property which may be the subject of an offense, includes this State, the United States, any other State of the United States as defined infra and any foreign country or government lawfully owning or possessing property within this State. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
- Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
Should any relative or other person responsible for the support of an applicant for old age assistance fail to perform the order or direction of the director of welfare with regard to the support of such applicant, the Superior Court may, upon certification in writing of the director of welfare or of two residents of the municipality or county, summon or otherwise direct the appearance of the persons chargeable and subpoena witnesses, and compel the production of books, records, and other documents as may be pertinent, and shall, in a summary way, inquire into the cause of such failure to perform the order or direction of the director of welfare, and may order and adjudge the able relatives or other persons responsible for the support of such applicant to pay such sum or to deliver to the court or to the director of welfare such other pledge or guaranty as the circumstances may require in the discretion of the court for each such applicant. However, where it shall appear that the person or persons sought to be held were the child or children of the applicant for old age assistance and were abandoned and deserted by the applicant who failed to support and maintain them during minority, the Superior Court may revoke the order of the director of welfare or reduce the amount of said order against such child or children, in proportion to the actual support and maintenance rendered by said applicant to the child or children sought to be held. Any child now under an order to support an applicant for old age assistance may apply to the Superior Court which issued said order for the revocation or reduction of said order in accordance with the terms of this provision. Violation of any such order of the court shall be a contempt of said court and punishable as such.
The county welfare board may also bring appropriate action in any court of competent jurisdiction to recover any sum of money due for assistance given any person under this chapter against such person or against any other persons chargeable by law for the support of such person.
Amended 1938,c.361,s.13; 1940,c.57; 1943,c.164,s.7; 1953,c.42,s.35; 1991,c.91,s.444.