1105.015.00 ELIGIBILITY UNIT DETERMINATION

The eligibility unit (EU) consists of one or more persons who live in the same household and purchase and prepare food together for home consumption.  There are some exceptions for boarders, foster persons, and certain elderly and disabled individuals.

Refer to the FAMIS User Guide ADDING A MEMBER TO THE SUPERCASE AND/OR ELIGIBILITY UNIT for instructions on adding individuals to the supercase and/or EU.

1105.015.04 Eligibility Unit Members:

An EU may be composed of any of the following individuals or groups of individuals including the homeless person(s), provided that they are not residents of a commercial boarding house, or residents of an institution, except those institutions authorized to participate in the program.

• Owners or managers of retail stores authorized by Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) to accept Food Stamp benefits may participate as part of an eligibility EU.
• Managers of a cooperative buying club (such as an organization of low-income families who pool their buying powers to obtain food at lower prices) may participate as part of an eligible EU.
• Proprietors of commercial boarding houses may participate in the program and are considered separate from the resident boarders in determining eligibility.

1105.015.04.05 Individuals:

• An individual who:
  • lives alone and purchases and prepares food for home consumption;
  • lives with others but customarily purchases food and prepares meals for home consumption separate and apart from the others;
  • is eligible for delivered meals and/or communal dining program;
  • lives at a residential treatment program authorized by FNS and receives meals through such program (refer to FS Manual section 1135.005.15 Residents of Drug and Alcohol Treatment Centers).
  • lives with others but is unable to purchase and prepare meals because he/she is disabled. The individual must be:
    • 60 years of age or older and receiving SSA based on permanent disability, or
    • 60 years of age or older determined by the Medical Review Team (MRT) to have a non-disease related permanent disability.

      NOTE:  The countable income of the others with whom the individual resides:

      • cannot exceed 165 percent of the poverty level; and
      • is the gross income of the others with whom the individual resides determined as if they were applying to participate in the Food Stamp Program.

1105.015.04.10 Eligibility Unit Groups:

• An eligibility group is made up of two or more individuals whom:
  • Live together and customarily purchase food and prepare meals together for home consumption;
  • Live together and some or all individuals are eligible for delivered meals and/or communal dining program;
  • lives in a residential treatment program  authorized by FNS which provides meals (refer to FS Manual section 1135.005.15 Residents of Drug and Alcohol Treatment Centers). Include the individuals children if the children are living with the parent/s at the residential treatment center.
  • lives with others but is unable to purchase and prepare meals because he/she is disabled. The individual must be:
    • 60 years of age or older and receiving SSA based on permanent disability, or
    • 60 years of age or older determined by the Medical Review Team (MRT) to have a non-disease related permanent disability.

      NOTE:  The countable income of the others with whom the individual resides:

      • cannot exceed 165 percent of the poverty level; and
      • is the gross income of the others with whom the individual resides determined as if they were applying to participate in the Food Stamp Program.
  • lives with his or her spouse and the spouse is eligible for delivered meals and/or communal dining program.

1105.015.04.15 Mandatory Eligibility Unit Groups:

• EU members who must be in one Food Stamp EU regardless of whether they purchase and prepare food together:
  • Spouses.
  • Children 21 years of age or younger, up to the month they turn 22, living with his or her natural or adoptive parent(s) or step-parent(s);

    NOTE: An adopted child in a household, that also includes the natural parent, would be mandatory member with the adoptive parent(s), not the natural parent as they have given up parental rights and the relationship has been severed.

    However, legal guardianship does not sever the natural parent’s parental rights or relationship to the child. A household containing legal guardian(s) and a natural parent of a child, would all be mandatory EU members.

  • Children, except foster children, under 18 years old who are under the parental control of a person other than their parent (the inclusion of foster children as EU members is optional). A child is considered under parental control if s/he is financially or otherwise dependent on a member of the EU;
  • Boarders paying less than a reasonable monthly payment. Refer to Non-EU Members for a further definition of a boarder.

    NOTE: Boarders are ineligible for Food Stamps separate and apart from the EU in which they reside. The EU in which the boarder resides (including the EU of the proprietor of a boarding house) may be eligible, if the EU meets all program eligibility requirements.

  • Individuals who eat more than 50% of their meals at the residence with the EU despite the living arrangement.

    NOTE:  If the EU composition is questionable, determine if the individual is in the EU for more than 50 percent of his/her meals. Meal computation is based on three meals per day. If a person is in the EU for any one day, consider the person to have had three meals.

  • If an individual's job requires they are out of the home (such as but not limited to; over the road truck drivers) for any part of the month and are otherwise a mandatory EU member, they must be included in the eligibility unit.  The individual's income is counted in full when determining eligibility and benefit amount.

    EXAMPLE: A truck driver resides with his wife and children however; he works over the road and returns home only one weekend per month.  He cannot establish residency anywhere else as he works from his truck, he is mandatory in the eligibility unit.  His income and needs are considered when determining benefits

    If the individual has established residency other than with the assistance group, income given to the assistance group is considered contributions (CO).

1105.015.04.20 Joint Custody Situations:

• Children living in more than one household during the month are considered a member of the household providing the majority of their meals.
  • If a child is involved in a joint custody arrangement and receives an equal number of meals from each parent's house, the parents must decide which household will apply for benefits for the child.  If an agreement between the parents cannot be made, the child will be included in the household that applies first.

  EXAMPLE: Anna and William have 50/50 shared custody of Ava. Neither is designated as primary caretaker. They do not agree on who exercises more control over Ava. They both have Ava for 3 and one half days per week.  William applies for Food Stamps first. Ava will be included in William's EU.

1105.015.04.25 Foster Care Individuals:

When the Supercase contains foster care individuals, the Supercase members may use their own discretion when determining if they are included in the Eligibility Unit. Foster Care individuals can be included as EU members at the EU's option.

Foster care individuals are considered boarders. They cannot participate in the Food Stamp Program independently of the EU providing the foster care services. Children of foster care individuals cannot participate independently of the EU providing foster care services. If included in the EU, count the entire income of the foster individual.

1105.015.04.30 Separate Eligibility Units:

• It is possible for more than one EU to share common living quarters, cooking facilities, and common shelter costs even if they are not purchasing and preparing food in common. To determine separate EUs, carefully evaluate and document each such situation.
  • Persons living together who both purchase food and prepare meals together constitute a Food Stamp EU.
  • Do not use separate food storage and the availability of cooking facilities to determine separate EUs.
  • In most cases, accept the EU's statement regarding EU composition.
  • If the EUs statement is questionable, use personal judgment in evaluating information to determine EU composition. The following are some additional items that may be considered in making a final determination.
    • How are household expenses met?
    • Are meals cooked and eaten in common and do all members eat similar food?
    • Do other reasonable considerations, such as illness or special diet of an EU member, make the decision to classify the EU as separate logical?
• On initial applications for EUs that claim separate EU status and have no income, obtain the EU's statement that food will be purchased and prepared separately. Thoroughly record the reason for approval.