Code of Colorado Regulations
2500 - Department of Human Services
2506 - Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
10 CCR 2506-1 - RULE MANUAL VOLUME 4, SNAP
Section 10 CCR 2506-1-4.304 - DETERMINING HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION

Universal Citation: 10 CO Code Regs 2506-1, ยง 4.304

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 5, March 10, 2024

A. All applications shall be submitted on behalf of a household. Some groups of individuals living together are required to be included in the same SNAP household in accordance with Section 4.304.1.

B. A household may be composed of any of the following individuals or groups of individuals:

1. An individual living alone.

2. An individual living with others but customarily purchasing food and preparing meals for home consumption separate and apart from the others.

3. A group of individuals living together who customarily purchase and prepare food together for home consumption.

4. An individual who is sixty (60) years of age or older, and the spouse of such individual, living with others, who is unable to purchase and prepare meals because they suffer from a disability considered permanent under the Social Security Act or suffers from a non-disease-related, severe, permanent disability. However, for such a person to be eligible, the income (all nonexempt earned and unearned income) of the other members (excluding the person(s) with disabilities and their spouse) with whom the individual resides cannot exceed one hundred sixty-five percent (165%) of the federal poverty level according to household size as provided in Section 4.401.1.

4.304.1 Persons Ineligible for Separate Household Status

Separate household status shall not be granted to the following, except as noted:

A. Children twenty-one (21) years of age and under, who live with at least one (1) natural parent, adoptive parent, or stepparent, shall not be considered a separate household from the natural, adoptive, or stepparent, even if they purchase and prepare meals separately.

If a child lives in the same home with both parents, both parents, regardless of their marital status, shall be included in the household, even if one (1) parent does not request assistance or declares that they purchase and prepare meals separately from the other parent and child.

B. Children, excluding foster children, who are under eighteen (18) years of age who purchase and prepare meals separately but live under the parental control of an adult household member who is not the natural parent, adoptive parent, or stepparent, cannot be separate households. A child is under parental control if they are financially dependent on an adult member of the household, unless the State of Colorado defines the child as an adult or an emancipated minor.

C. The spouse of a household member shall not be a separate household when they are living together, even if they purchase and prepare meals separately.
1. Spouses refer to:
a. Persons who are defined as married to each other under state law; or,

b. Persons who are living together, are free to marry, and represent themselves as spouses to relatives, friends, neighbors, and tradespeople.

2. Spouses who are living together and legally separated are eligible for separate household status unless paragraph A of this section applies.

3. If two adults are in a relationship but are not considered married as specified in C, 1, of this section, and there is a child living in the home but only one (1) of the parents is the biological or adoptive parent to the child, the non-biological parent does not have to be considered part of the household if the non-biological parent is: not the natural or adoptive parent to the child, not exercising parental control of the child as specified in B of this section, purchasing and preparing meals separately from the rest of the household.

4.304.2 Shared Living Arrangements

A. In instances when two (2) households request SNAP for the same child, the child shall be considered a member of the household that provides the majority of the child's monthly meals. If only one (1) household is applying for or requesting SNAP benefits for a child, then determining a majority of meals shall not be a factor when determining household composition.

B. If two (2) households request assistance for the same child and both households provide an equal number of meals to the child, and the households cannot agree on who should receive SNAP benefits for the child for the duration of the certification period, then the household that applies for SNAP benefits for the child first shall be able to receive benefits for the child.

C. In instances when a client or ongoing household requests benefits for a child who is already receiving SNAP in another household, the household who provides the child with the majority of meals shall be eligible to receive benefits for the child.

4.304.3 Non-Household Members

The following individuals residing with a household shall not be considered household members in determining the household's eligibility or allotment, unless otherwise stated:

A. Roomers

Roomers are individuals to whom a household furnishes lodging, but not meals, for compensation. Roomers, who are otherwise eligible, may participate in the program as separate households.

B. Ineligible Student

Any person who is:

1) at least eighteen (18) and not yet fifty (50) years of age,

2) physically and mentally fit, and

3) enrolled at least half-time in an institution of higher education, unless they meet the eligibility criteria specified in Section 4.306.1.

C. Live-in Attendant

Individuals who reside with a household to provide medical, housekeeping, child care, or other similar personal services. Persons who are otherwise eligible may participate in the Program as separate households.

D. Boarders

Individuals residing with others and paying reasonable compensation to others for lodging and meals. Boarders are not eligible to participate in SNAP as a separate household.

1. Boarders shall not be considered members of a household, unless the household requests that they be considered as members. If the boarder is not considered a household member, the income and resources of the boarder shall not be considered available to the household. However, the amount of payment that a boarder gives to a household for lodging and meals shall be treated as self-employment income to the household. If the household requests that the boarder be considered a household member, the boarder's income and resources shall be considered available to the household.

2. Individuals for whom foster care payments are intended are to be treated as boarders. If the household requests to include those individuals as household members, the foster care payments received by the household will be included as unearned income.

3. Boarder status shall not be granted to the following persons:
a. Children under eighteen (18) years of age under the parental control of a member of the household. The parental control provision does not apply to foster care children under eighteen (18) years of age.

b. Children twenty-one (21) years of age and younger living with their natural, adoptive, or stepparent.

c. The spouse of a member of the household.

d. A person paying less than a reasonable monthly payment for meals. Such a person will be considered a member of the household which provides the meals and lodging. When the boarder's payments for room are distinguishable from his/her payments for meals, only the amount paid for meals will be considered in determining if reasonable compensation is being paid for meals. Persons who only work in exchange for meals or make payments to a third party on the household's behalf in exchange for meals would not be classified as boarders.

A reasonable monthly payment shall be either of the following:

1. Boarders, whose board arrangement is for more than two (2) meals per day, shall pay an amount which equals or exceeds the maximum SNAP allotment for the number of persons in the boarder household.

2. Boarders, whose board arrangement is for two (2) meals or fewer per day, shall pay an amount which equals or exceeds two-thirds of the maximum allotment for the number of persons in the boarder household.

4.304.4 Persons Disqualified or Ineligible to Participate in SNAP

A. Disqualified individuals shall not be allowed to participate in SNAP as separate households. "Disqualified individuals" are individuals disqualified for:
1. IPV/fraud;

2. Failure to either provide or obtain an SSN;

3. Being an ineligible non-citizen;

4. Failure to comply with work requirements;

5. Being an ABAWD who has been disqualified after receiving three (3) months of SNAP benefits within a period of thirty-six (36) months; or,

6. Being a person with a felony conviction who is not in compliance with the terms of their sentence and was convicted as an adult for conduct that occurred after February 7, 2014 for any of the following crimes:
a. Aggravated sexual abuse under Section 2241 of Title 18, United States Code;

b. Murder under Section 1111 of Title 18, United States Code;

c. An offense under Chapter 110 of Title 18, United States Code;

d. A federal or state offense involving sexual assault, as defined in Section 40002(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925(a)); or

e. An offense under state law determined by the attorney general to be substantially similar to an offense described in clause (a), (b), or (c).

B. Individuals who are fleeing to avoid prosecution or custody for a crime, or an attempt to commit a crime, that would be classified as a felony shall not be considered eligible household members. If an individual is suspected of being a fleeing felon, either by their own admission or based on a report from law enforcement, the fleeing status must be verified in to determine if the client is eligible for SNAP.

The following four-part test must be used to determine if the individual would be considered a fleeing felon for SNAP:

1. There is an outstanding felony warrant for the individual by a Federal, State, or local law enforcement agency and the underlying cause for the warrant is for committing, or attempting to commit, a crime that is a felony under the law of the place from which the individual is fleeing or is a high misdemeanor under the law of New Jersey; and

2. The individual is aware of, or should reasonably have been able to expect that, the felony warrant has already or would have been issued; and

3. The individual has taken some action to avoid being arrested or jailed; and

4. The Federal, State, or local law enforcement agency is actively seeking the individual as provided in 4.304.4, C, 1.

C. Individuals who are determined to be a parole or probation violator shall not be an eligible household member. To be considered a probation or parole violator, an impartial party, as designated by the agency, must determine that the individual violated a condition of his or her probation or parole imposed under Federal or State law, and that Federal, State, or local law enforcement authorities are actively seeking the individual to enforce the conditions of the probation or parole as outlined below.
1. For the purposes of this provision, actively seeking is defined as follows:
a. A Federal, State, or local law enforcement agency informs the local office that it intends to enforce an outstanding felony warrant or to arrest an individual for a probation or parole violation within twenty (20) days of submitting a request for information about the individual to the local office; or,

b. A Federal, State, or local law enforcement agency presents a felony arrest warrant as provided in 4.304.4, B, 1; or,

c. A Federal, State, or local law enforcement agency states that it intends to enforce an outstanding felony warrant or to arrest an individual for a probation or parole violation within thirty (30) days of the date of a request from a local office about a specific outstanding felony warrant or probation or parole violation.

D. Residents of commercial and noncommercial boarding houses and institutions are not eligible to participate in the Program unless exempt in Section 4.304.41.
1. The household of the proprietor of a boarding house may participate in the Program separate and apart from the residents of the boarding house if that household meets all eligibility requirements for Program participation.

2. An institution is a place which has not been authorized by FNS to accept SNAP benefits, but which provides its residents with more than fifty percent (50%) of their daily meals as a part of its normal services. Residents of a halfway house for persons with a disability are residents of an institution if they are provided meals as part of their regular service.

3. Students who purchase meal plans through an institution of higher education shall be considered residents of an institution if the meal plan provides the student more than fifty percent (50%) of his/her meals, unless the individual is otherwise exempt from the institution provisions as provided in Section 4.304.41.

4.304.41 EXEMPTIONS FROM THE BOARDING HOUSE AND INSTITUTION PROHIBITIONS
A. An individual who is a resident of federally subsidized housing for persons aged sixty (60) and older under 12 U.S.C. 1701Q or 12 U.S.C. 1715Z-1.

B. Narcotic addicts or alcoholics and their children, who, for purposes of regular participation in a drug or alcoholic treatment and rehabilitation program, reside at a facility or treatment center.

C. Residents of a public or private nonprofit group living arrangement facility, who are blind or a person with disabilities.

D. Women or women and their children who are temporarily residing in a public or private nonprofit shelter for battered women and children.

E. Residents of public or private nonprofit shelters for homeless persons.

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