Current through Vol. 42, No. 1, September 16, 2024
(a)
Non-household members. Persons residing with a household who
cannot be considered members of the food benefit household are non-household
members. Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) does not consider non-household
members when determining the household's eligibility or food benefit allotment.
Non-household members are described in (1) through (6) of this subsection.
Except for ineligible students, persons who cannot be a separate food benefit
household, per Section 273.1(b)(1) of Title 7 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (7 C.F.R. §
273.1(b)(1)) and Oklahoma
Administrative Code (OAC)
340:50-5-1(b),
are not considered non-household members.
(1)
Roomers. Roomers are persons to whom the household provides
lodging for compensation, but not meals. They may participate in the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as separate
households.
(2)
Boarders. Boarders are residents of a commercial boarding house or
persons to whom the household provides lodging and meals and who pay a
reasonable monthly payment for board, per
7 C.F.R. §
273.1(b)(3).
(A) A commercial boarding house is an
establishment that offers meals and lodging for compensation with the intention
of making a profit, regardless of the number of residents. Boarders who live in
a commercial boarding house are not eligible to participate in SNAP.
(B) All other persons or groups of persons
that pay a reasonable amount for meals or meals and lodging are considered
boarders and are only eligible to participate in SNAP when included in the same
food benefit household that provides the board. The household providing the
board has the option of applying and receiving SNAP food benefits, when
eligible, independent of the boarder(s), or the household providing the board
may choose to include the boarder(s) in its food benefit household.
(C) To be considered a reasonable monthly
payment for board, a boarder whose arrangement is for:
(i) more than two meals per day must pay an
amount that equals or exceeds the maximum food benefit allotment amount for the
appropriate boarder household size as shown on OKDHS Appendix C-3, Maximum Food
Benefit Allotments and Standards for Income and Deductions; or
(ii) two meals or less per day must pay an
amount that equals or exceeds two-thirds of the food benefit allotment for the
appropriate boarder household size as shown on (OKDHS) Appendix C-3.
(D) A person(s) paying less than a
reasonable monthly payment for board is not considered a boarder and must be
included as a member of the household providing the board.
(3)
Children in foster care or children
placed by OKDHS Developmental Disabilities Services (DDS). Children in
foster care or children placed by DDS with extended family care providers must
be considered boarders unless the household providing foster care services
requests the children be included as food benefit household members. The
children cannot participate in SNAP independently of the household providing
the foster care or DDS services.
(A) Foster
care payments and DDS room and board reimbursements are considered as income to
the children and are:
(i) not included as
income to the household caring for the children when the children are not
included in the food benefit household; and
(ii) counted as income to the household when
the host household chooses to include the children as members of the food
benefit household.
(B)
The income paid to the extended family care provider by DDS for care rendered
is counted as earned income to the provider, per OAC
340:50-7-29(b)(8).
(4)
Live-in attendants. Live-in
attendants are persons who reside in a household to provide medical,
housekeeping, child care, or other similar services. They may participate as a
separate household in SNAP unless OAC
340:50-5-1(b)
applies.
(5)
Students.
Students are persons enrolled in an institution of higher education who are
ineligible because they fail to meet the eligibility criteria, per OAC
340:50-5-45(a).
(6)
Others. Others are persons
who share living quarters with the household but who do not customarily
purchase food or prepare meals with the household.
(b)
Non-household members'
income. Non-household members' income is not counted in determining the
food benefit household's income eligibility, per 7 § C.F.R. 273.11(d).
Refer to OAC
340:50-7-29(d)
to determine how to consider disqualified or ineligible household members'
income. When an eligible household member's earned income and a non-household
member's earned income is combined into one wage, the worker determines the
income for the eligible household members by:
(1) counting the portion due to eligible
household members, when it is possible to identify the household's share; or
(2) prorating the earned income
equally among the persons the earnings are intended to cover and counting the
prorated portion due to the eligible household members, when it is not possible
to identify the household's share.
(c)
Deductible expenses. When
the household shares deductible expenses with a non-household member, except
for utility expenses per (1) of this subsection, the worker only deducts the
amount the food benefit household actually paid or contributed as a household
expense, per 7 § C.F.R. 273.11(d)(1).
(1) When the food benefit household pays part
of the utility expenses, the household is allowed the full utility standard
deduction that it qualifies for based on criteria, per 7 § C.F.R.
273.9(d)(6)(iii)(F) and OAC
340:50-7-31.
(2) When the payments or contributions cannot
be differentiated, the worker prorates the expenses evenly among persons
actually paying or contributing to the expenses and deducts only the
household's pro rata share.
Amended at 9 Ok Reg
3843, eff 8-24-92 (emergency); Amended at 10 Ok Reg 1821, eff 5-13-93; Amended
at 15 Ok Reg 165, eff 11-1-97 (emergency); Amended at 15 Ok Reg 1623, eff
5-11-98; Amended at 17 Ok Reg 473, eff 10-12-99 (preemptive); Amended at 20 Ok
Reg 872, eff 6-1-03; Amended at 26 Ok Reg 840, eff
6-1-09
