3. a. In any case in which the department reports on the incomes of public benefit participants, the department shall compare participant incomes to their local county NJ Elder Index.
b. The department shall refer to the NJ Elder Index and related data when:
(1) making recommendations for funding to the Governor and the Legislature;
(2) establishing public benefit income eligibility limits;
(3) calculating the change in economic security levels in order to benchmark the impact of public benefit programs for seniors;
(4) designing public outreach programs; and
(5) evaluating case management initiatives that capture the incomes of public benefit program participants and track the impact of the resulting economic security benefit for these participants.