CATEGORIES OF ELIGIBILITY

A. Households applying for SNAP must be determined eligible using one of the following categories of eligibility: Basic Categorical Eligibility (BCE), Expanded Categorical Eligibility (ECE) or Standard Eligibility (SE). B. SNAP households that are applying for or receiving benefits from other PA programs in addition to SNAP are still required to meet the resource limits and follow the reporting and verification requirements of the other PA program(s). Requests for information and verification to determine eligibility for other PA programs shall not affect or delay the determination of SNAP eligibility. C. Eligibility 1. Basic Categorical Eligibility (BCE) a. BCE households are: 1) Households in which all members receive, or are authorized to receive, SSI, Colorado Works (CW), Old Age Pension (OAP), Aid to the Needy Disabled (AND), Aid to the Blind (AB) or a combination of these benefits. The CW, SSI, OAP, and/or AB program(s) need only to authorize benefits for the household to be considered for BCE. Clients who are authorized to receive a benefit from one or more of these programs, but who are not paid such benefits because the grant is less than a minimum benefit or the benefits are suspended or are being recouped, are still considered eligible under BCE rules. Households not receiving, or authorized to receive, TANF, Title IV-A or SSI benefits, who are entitled to Medicaid only, shall not be considered SSI or Title IV-A participants. 2) A household in which at least one (1) member receives services from the Family Preservation Program. This determination must be documented in the case record. b. Households eligible under BCE have been deemed to have met the income and resource requirements of the program that confers eligibility; therefore, no further verification is required beyond that gathered by the program that confers eligibility. However, the local office must collect and verify eligibility factors, if these factors are not already collected and verified by the other program, are considered questionable, or are unavailable to SNAP. This includes: 1) Net income; 2) Gross income; 3) Resources; 4) Residency; 5) Social Security Number; and 6) Sponsored non-citizen information. c. A household cannot be considered under BCE rules if, at the time of application: 1) Any member is disqualified for a SNAP IPV. 2) Any member has been convicted of a drug-related felony where SNAP benefits were used to purchase drugs. Drug-related felony means the same as in 7 C.F.R. 273.11(m), which is incorporated by reference in section 4.100, above. d. Households that are ineligible for SNAP benefits under BCE rules shall have their eligibility determined under ECE or SE rules. 2. Expanded Categorical Eligibility (ECE) a. ECE households are: 1) Households with a combined gross income at or below two hundred

(200%) of the federal poverty level as defined in section 4.401.1; and 2) Households who have been authorized to receive non-cash Temporary Assistance to Needy Families/Maintenance of Effort (TANF/MOE) funded service designed to further TANF Purpose Four (4) by “encouraging the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.” Language regarding the non-cash TANF/MOE funded program shall be provided on the application, application for recertification, periodic report form, and/or the statement of facts. b. Households eligible under ECE have been deemed to have met the income and resource requirements of the program that confers eligibility; therefore, no further verification is required beyond that gathered by the program that confers eligibility. However, the agency must collect and verify eligibility factors, if these factors are not already collected and verified by the other program, are considered questionable, or are unavailable to SNAP. This includes: 1) Net income; 2) Gross income; 3) Resources; 4) Residency; 5) Social Security Number; and 6) Sponsored non-citizen information c. A household’s eligibility cannot be determined using ECE rules if, at the time of application: 1) Any member is disqualified for a SNAP IPV. 2) Any member has been convicted of a drug-related felony where SNAP benefits were used to purchase drugs. Drug-related felony means the same as in 7 C.F.R. 273.11(m), which is incorporated by reference in section 4.100, above. d. Households that are ineligible for SNAP benefits under ECE rules shall have their eligibility determined under SE rules. 3. Standard Eligibility (SE) a. SE rules shall only be applied to the following households: 1) Households that include a member who is serving a disqualification for an IPV or a fraud conviction; 2) Households that include a member who has been convicted of a drug related felony where SNAP benefits were used to purchase drugs. Drug- related felony means the same as in 7 C.F.R. 273.11(m), which is incorporated by reference in section 4.100, above; 3) Households that do not meet the criteria to be considered under BCE or ECE rules. b. Households having their eligibility reviewed under SE rules must meet the following criteria: 1) Households that include a member who is aged sixty (60) and older or a person with a disability must have a combined net income, after all applicable deductions, at or below one hundred percent (100%) of the federal poverty level. The household must have resources below the limit prescribed in Section 4.408; or 2) Households that do not include a member who is aged sixty (60) and older or a person with a disability must have a combined gross income at or below one hundred thirty percent (130%) of the federal poverty level. After all applicable deductions, the household’s net income must be at or below one hundred percent (100%) of the federal poverty level as defined in section 4.401.2. The household must have resources below the limit prescribed in Section 4.408; or 3) Households must also meet nonfinancial eligibility criteria set out in Section 4.300. c. Households, as defined in Section 4.304, that are found ineligible under SE rules shall be considered ineligible for participation in SNAP. D. If the circumstances which allowed the household to meet the criteria to be considered under BCE or ECE rules change during the certification period or at the time of recertification or periodic report, the household’s eligibility must be re-evaluated according to the appropriate category. If there is insufficient documentation to make an eligibility determination based on the new category of eligibility, the agency shall send the household a request for verification in accordance with Sections 4.604, Action on Reported Changes, and 4.604.1, Verification of Reported Changes. E. Substantial lottery or gambling winnings from an individual will disqualify the entire SNAP household from eligibility in the month the winnings are received. The next time such a household reapplies and is certified for SNAP after losing eligibility, the household must be considered under Standard Eligibility (SE) guidelines. After receiving SNAP as a SE household, the SNAP household will be re-evaluated for categorical eligibility at the next eligible certification period.