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ESA SNAP Policy Manual 20  Parenting children (age 21 or younger) who live at home with one or both parents must be included in the same household with their parent. If the parenting minor is married, their spouse must also be in the same household if the spouse lives in the home.  Children not living with a parent: If a child under age 18 lives with an adult and that adult exercises parental control (care and supervision), the child must be in the same household as the adult. However, any person under 18 who lives with a nonparent adult, including those who have spouses and/or children, can still form their own SNAP household if they demonstrate that they are financially and otherwise independent or have been emancipated.  An individual at least 60 years old and their spouse may choose to be a separate household from those they live with, even if they purchase and prepare food together, if they meet the following criteria: − The person aged 60 or older cannot purchase and prepare meals due to a permanent disability as determined by SSA or permanent non-disease-related severe disability. − The countable income of all the other people the impaired senior lives with (other than their spouse) is not more than 165 percent of the federal poverty guidelines for the number of people in their household. − ESA only needs to verify that a disability prevents the person from purchasing and preparing food if the disability is not obvious. 2.3 Foster Children Households can choose to include or exclude children receiving foster care payments from the SNAP household as follows:  If a foster child is included in the household, ESA counts all of the foster child’s income and assets when determining the household’s eligibility and benefits.  If a foster child is excluded from the household, ESA excludes the foster child’s income and assets. 2.4 Roomers and Boarders 2.4.1 Roomers A roomer is an individual who lives in a home and pays the household rent but does not eat with or pay the household for food. A roomer is not considered a household member. Rent paid by roomers (“roomer income”) is considered unearned income for the household providing the room if no services are provided. Roomer income is considered self-employment (earned income) if services are provided. Gross rent payments should be counted, minus expenses. Expenses must be clearly associated with the rental unit (i.e. expenses the household would incur as a result of renting out part of the home). If expenses are greater than the gross rent payment, the gross rental income should be reduced to zero. Return