New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 8 - SOCIAL SERVICES
Chapter 139 - FOOD STAMP PROGRAM
Part 400 - RECIPIENT POLICY - WHO CAN BE A RECIPIENT
Section 8.139.400.8 - BASIS FOR DEFINING GROUP (HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION)

(1) Identity: It is mandatory that the applicant's identity be verified. Identity may be established through readily available documentary evidence, or, if this is not possible, through a collateral contact or home visit. Acceptable documentary evidence includes, but is not limited to, driver's license; work or school ID; school records; ID for health benefits or for another assistance or social services program; voter registration card; wage stubs or marriage certificate. Any document that reasonably establishes the applicant's identity must be accepted. No requirement for a specific type of document, such as a birth certificate, may be imposed.

(2) Household composition: Information regarding household composition must be verified before certification, recertification, or when a change is reported. If household size or composition becomes questionable, the income support specialist (ISS) must request verification. Findings must be documented in the case file.

(1) an individual living alone;

(2) an individual living with others who customarily purchases food and prepares meals for home consumption separate and apart from the others;

(3) a group of individuals who live together and who customarily purchase food and prepare meals together for home consumption;

(4) an individual 60 years of age or older (and the spouse of such individual) who lives with others and cannot purchase and prepare food because they suffer from a disability considered permanent under the Social Security Act or suffers from a non disease-related, severe, permanent disability; the income of the others with whom such an individual resides (excluding the income of the individual and spouse) cannot exceed one hundred sixty-five percent of the poverty line (Subsection E of 8.139.500.8 NMAC);

(5) separate status may be granted on a case-by-case basis to other individuals or groups of individuals who have customarily purchased and prepared food apart from the individual(s) with whom they are now living.