Residents of Group Living Arrangements

A. Group living arrangements are residential settings that are considered alternatives to institutional living. Institutional settings are not included in this provision. To be eligible as residents of a group living arrangement, the person must be a person with disabilities. In addition, the local office shall verify that the group living arrangement is a public or private nonprofit facility with no more than sixteen (16) residents and is certified as a group living arrangement by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the state department under Section 1616(e) of the Social Security Act (codified at 42 U.S.C. 1382e(e)). FNS may also certify under standards determined by the USDA that are comparable to standards implemented by the state under 1616(e) of the Social Security Act. Individuals residing in a for-profit facility are considered residents of an institution per Section 4.304.4(E). B. Residents of group living arrangements must voluntarily elect to participate in SNAP. Residents shall either apply and be certified through an authorized representative, who is employed and designated by the group living arrangement or apply and be certified on their own behalf or through an authorized representative of their own choice. The group living arrangement shall determine if any resident may apply for SNAP on his/her own behalf; the determination shall be based on the resident's physical and mental capability to handle his/her own affairs. 1. If residents apply using the group living facility's authorized representative, eligibility shall be determined as a one-person household. The group living arrangement may either: a) Receive and spend the allotment on food prepared by and/or served to the eligible resident, or b) Allow the eligible resident to use all or any portion of the allotment on his/her own behalf. 2. The group living facility employee designated to serve as an authorized representative shall be responsible for obtaining their own Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card and Personal Identification Number (PIN) with which to access benefits from the resident’s account while the resident remains a resident of the facility. 3. The resident’s EBT card shall be stored in a secure area while the resident resides in the group living facility. The group living facility shall not have access to, or knowledge of, the PIN for the resident’s personal EBT card. 4. If the residents apply on their own behalf, the applications shall be accepted for any individual applying as a one-person household or for any grouping of residents applying as a household. If residents are certified on their own behalf, the allotment may be returned to the facility to be used to purchase food for meals served either communally or individually to eligible residents, used by eligible residents to purchase and prepare food for their own consumption, and/or to purchase meals prepared and served by the group living arrangement. C. Applications for residents of group living arrangements shall be processed using the same standards that apply to all other SNAP households including that residents entitled to expedited service shall have benefits available for spending no later than seven (7) calendar days following the date the application was filed. Required verification shall be obtained prior to further benefits being issued. D. The local office shall process changes in household circumstances and recertifications by using the same standards that apply to all other SNAP households, and resident households shall be afforded the same rights all other SNAP households enjoy, including the right to notices of adverse action, fair hearings, and entitlement to lost benefits.