Code of Maine Rules
10 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
144 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES - GENERAL
Chapter 301 - SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (SNAP) RULES
FS-1 and FS-100's
100 - INTRODUCTION; GENERAL PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS/NONFINANCIAL ELIGIBILITY FACTORS
Section 144-301-100-FS 111-1 - Household Concept

Universal Citation: 10 ME Code Rules § 144-301-100-FS 111-1

Current through 2024-38, September 18, 2024

1. GENERAL RULE

A household must satisfy certain conditions, and the number of individuals in the household must be established, before financial eligibility can be determined. Factors affecting the composition of a household shall be verified, if it is contradictory to information known to or received by the Department.

A. Households must reside in the State of Maine.

B. Households must not live in an institution which provides the majority of meals, except for--

(1) federally subsidized housing for individuals who are elderly, built under either Section 202 or 236 of the National Housing Act et seq.

(2) centers for the treatment of Substance Use Disorders (Section 444-5) .

(3) approved group living arrangements for individuals with disabilities (Section 444-5) .

(4) shelters for battered persons (Section 444-6) .

(5) shelters for individuals experiencing homelessness (Section 999-1) .

NOTE: Individuals residing in correctional facilities are not eligible for SNAP during their stay, but may apply for benefits within 30 days prior to release. See Section 222-1.

2. A HOUSEHOLD MAY BE

A. an individual living alone;

B. an individual or a group of individuals who live with others, but purchase and prepare meals separately including roomers;

C. an individual at least 60 years of age who has a permanent disability which renders them unable to prepare their own meals and their spouse who live with others whose gross income does not exceed 165% of the Federal Poverty Level (Section 999-3 Chart 3);

NOTE: Exclude the individual who is elderly and their spouse when making this income determination.

D. a group of individuals who live together and purchase and prepare the majority of their meals together, even if the food is eaten elsewhere.

NOTE: Household members may be away from home part of the certification period but still be considered "living together". The deciding factor to consider an individual part of a household is the "majority of meals" rule as stated above. Majority of meals can be determined by counting meals shared with the applicant household from the previous month or a longer past period not to exceed the previous certification period. The household and the Department will determine a representative period.

The following shall be considered as customarily purchasing food and preparing meals together even if they actually do purchase food and prepare meals separately:

(1) spouses residing together;

(2) parents and their natural, adoptive or stepchildren 21 years of age or younger with whom they are living;

NOTES:

(a) Ties to biological parents are severed permanently when a child is legally adopted by another person or for the duration of the guardianship designation when a child is placed under the guardianship of another person by the Court. If a child, their guardian and a biological parent reside together, only the child and guardian are mandatory members of the household.

(b) Ties to a stepparent are severed when a parent's marriage to a stepparent is dissolved.

(c) In joint custody situations, where physical custody, including the purchase and preparation of meals is shared equally, the households may choose which household will receive SNAP benefits for the shared child(ren). The household applying for the shared child(ren) is assumed to be the household of choice unless the other household contacts the Office for Family Independence (OFI) with different information.

(3) children under 18 years of age (excluding foster children - see Section 444-3), living in a household in which another member is assuming parental responsibility; and

(4) boarders not paying an adequate amount for their meals. An adequate amount is determined by the Thrifty Food Plan (Section 999-3 Chart 5). When a boarder eats two meals or fewer per day the adequate amount is at least two-thirds of the Thrifty Food Plan.

3. NON-HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS ARE

A. boarders (Section 444-3) paying an adequate amount for their meals. The household can include such boarders as members of their household if they wish to do so.

B. roomers, if purchasing and preparing meals separately from the household.

C. live-in attendants.

D. disqualified members (Section 444-4) .

E. other individuals who live with the household, but purchase and prepare their meals separately.

NOTE: These individuals are not considered when determining household size.

4. TO DETERMINE HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION

A. identify the total number of individuals who live together.

B. determine the relationship of individuals who live together.

C. identify members who-

(1) must be a member of the household;

(2) are members of the household by choice; or

(3) are not members of the household.

D. Include as household members those who must be household members and those who choose to be.

E. Once the household is established, identify members who are ineligible or disqualified (Section 444-4) .

NOTE: These individuals' income and assets receive special treatment. They are not eligible for benefits (Section 444-4) .

F. If separate household status is claimed, the claimant shall be responsible for proving that they are a separate household as defined in Section 999-1 and detailed in Paragraphs 2 and 3 above.

5. HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD

That responsible adult household member selected by all adult members of the household.

The household may designate their head of household each time the household is certified for participation in SNAP, but may not change the designation during the certification period unless there is a change in the composition of the household.

EXCEPTION: In situations where there are no children in the SNAP household, for purposes of failure to comply with work requirements, the head of household is the principal wage earner (that household member, including ineligible and disqualified members, who is the greatest source of earned income in the two months prior to the month in which the violation occurred).

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Maine may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.