Piloting benefits navigators in New Jersey
State of New Jersey Department of Labor
Oct 2024 - Present
Why This Matters For Families
Over the past 20 years, 13 states and D.C. have adopted paid family and medical leave (PFML) programs that provide income support to families when new children arrive, a family member needs care, or for their own personal health issue. Paid leave is associated with higher labor force participation rates, higher earnings over time, better health, worker retention and productivity, and economic growth.
The New Practice Lab team is working directly with state administrators, as well as the individuals and families whom they serve, to streamline state paid leave program benefits. The team has also offered guidance to states working to pass paid family and medical leave laws, offering advice on language and processes that will aid benefit delivery to claimants and families. These programs can provide critical relief to U.S. families — but only if they reach the people who need them, when they need them.
Implementation Challenge
New Jersey first passed a temporary disability law in 1948 and later passed a Family Leave Insurance program into law in 2008. Together, these laws make up the state’s paid family and medical leave program. As one of the first states to run a paid leave program, they are facing the same issues as many older programs: legacy technology that is not easily updated to meet user needs.
While a modernization effort is underway, the state is interested in other strategies to improve access for New Jersey residents today. To that end, they are interested in running a pilot for a navigator to assist new parents with applying for leave. The unique combination of two programs (and two applications for pregnancy and then bonding are required at different times) has contributed to a low uptake rate for new parents in particular. For those that do know to apply to both programs, completing applications is confusing and burdensome, leading to prolonged back-and-forth communications between the state and the applicant which can result in a parent not receiving their benefits in a timely manner and forcing those who can’t go without payment to return to work earlier than planned.
Our Approach
After assessing needs from various stakeholders, including the state, area community based organizations, health providers, and families themselves, we plan to assist NJDOL with designing and standing up a pilot to understand if having navigators supports increased uptake of leave and an improved experience for families. The New Practice Lab will help design the navigator service as well as training materials for the navigators, as well as outline a way to evaluate the success of the pilot program in Trenton with the hopes of scaling the project state-wide if successful.
OBJECTIVE
Help NJ standup a paid leave navigator pilot program that can improve uptake of TDI and FLI for new parents.
WHAT WE PLAN TO DO
Interview state examiners, local community organizations supporting families, related state-based programs, and families
Offer recommendations on scope of pilot, service design, and evaluation metrics
Collaborate with the state and a partner CBO to hire and train a small number of navigators
Define evaluation metrics and help assess the pilot throughout and at the end of a set pilot period
What We Learned
This project is still actively in progress - here’s what we’ve learned so far:
The best chance someone has of getting their benefits in a timely manner is to submit a claim completely and correctly filled out the first time. Internal processes and rules mean that any claims that require a correction or additional information are highly likely to end up in a significant backlog that may take weeks to get to. In addition, the legacy system can only send form letters that are often too vague for claimants to understand what is required of them and the system does not allow for easy language updates.
Applying for paid leave requires strategic planning in a way that other benefit program applications do not require. Because of how New Jersey law mandates leave time is calculated, a parent would get fewer days off if they decide to take the leave intermittently rather than continuously. Parents need to assess what works best for them when they apply, potentially trading off leave, or working around available child care options. Additionally, New Jersey’s cash benefit programs do not provide job protection. Sometimes, a worker’s job may be protected under separate state and federal laws, but not always. These strategic decisions could be assisted by a navigator.
In part due to legacy systems and processes, there are a number of ‘tips and tricks’ that, if known, would increase the likelihood of a claim getting through smoothly. In a primarily paper based system, forms that get scanned and copied as they move between parties degrade the resolution which may cause poor scanning. There is no digital mechanism to find scanned documents and are occasionally misplaced.
Next Steps
The initial scoping phase of this project will conclude in January 2025, at which point the New Practice Lab and NJDOL teams will determine pilot timeline and activities.
