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Chapter: 2200 Standard Filing Unit Program: FS 13 2210.0319.03 Certification of Residents (FS) Residents of shelters for battered persons who wish to participate in the Food Stamp Program are subject to the same policy and procedures that apply to other households with certain exceptions. Shelter residents may apply on their own behalf; however, they are free to designate a shelter staff member or volunteer or some other individual as an authorized representative. The eligibility specialist should consider the possibility that shelter residents could be endangered should they leave the shelter and waive the office interview on a case-by-case basis. Individuals and individuals with children temporarily residing in a shelter for battered persons will be considered individual SFUs for the purpose of applying for and participating in the program. 2210.0319.04 Certification Based on Current Circumstances (FS) Shelter residents are certified based on their current circumstances in the shelter. Only the income, assets, and expenses of the current SFU will be considered in the eligibility determination while the income, assets, and expenses of their former living arrangement are not considered. Assets owned jointly by shelter residents and any individual in the former household are considered inaccessible to the resident if access to the value of the asset is dependent on the agreement of a joint owner who still resides in the former household. 2210.0319.05 Residents Who Leave SFUs to Enter Shelter (FS) Many shelter residents have recently left an assistance group containing the individual who has abused them. Their former assistance group may be participating in the Food Stamp Program, and its entitlement may be based on an SFU size that includes the individuals who have just left. Shelter residents who are included in such SFUs may, if otherwise eligible, be approved and participate as separate SFUs if their former SFU contains the individual who subjected them to abuse. In other words, shelter residents who are included in such SFUs may receive food stamps beginning with the month they enter the shelter even though they were included in the allotment for the former assistance group. However, residents may receive additional food stamps only once a month. 2210.0320.01 Student Eligibility (FS) Individuals enrolled at least half-time in institutions of higher education are not eligible to participate in the food stamp assistance group or standard filing unit unless they meet at least one student exemption even if they live with parents or siblings. 2210.0320.02 Student Eligibility Test (FS) Complete the student eligibility test for students in institutions of higher education to determine if they meet a student exemption. Testing for student eligibility does not apply to individuals attending high school, individuals not attending school at least half-time, or individuals enrolled full-time in schools and training programs that are not institutions of higher education. Individuals pass the student eligibility test and are eligible to participate in the Food Stamp Program if they are:

1. Age 17 or under or 50 or older;

2. Physically or mentally unfit. Individuals are physically or mentally unfit if they are receiving temporary or permanent disability benefits from government or private sources or are obviously physically or mentally unfit. Individuals meet the obviously unfit criteria if the impairment is so severe that they are not only unable to do their previous work but cannot, considering their education and experience, hold any other kind of job in the national, state, or local economy. If the unfitness is not obvious, get written or verbal verification from a physician, physician’s assistant, nurse, nurse practitioner, designated representative of the physician’s office, licensed or certified psychologist, social worker, or other medical personnel. Assist the individual in providing the verification;