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Chapter: 2200 Standard Filing Unit Program: FS 1 2210.0000 Food Stamps This chapter presents policy for the following topics:

1. Standard Filing Unit, 2. Assistance Group, and 3. Food Stamp Standard Filing Unit.

The program specific sections will discuss policy on mandatory and optional members of the SFU, whose needs must (or may) be included or excluded, whose income and assets must be included, and participation status codes used in FLORIDA. 2210.0100 STANDARD FILING UNIT (FS) The Standard Filing Unit (SFU) is the single individual or group of individuals whose income, assets, or needs are considered in the eligibility determination and benefit, income, and asset levels of the assistance group, because they share a legal or blood relationship and/or live together. Eligibility of the assistance group is based on a review of the total income and assets of all individuals in the SFU. 2210.0200 ASSISTANCE GROUPS (FS) The assistance group is the individual(s) who meets the financial and technical eligibility requirements of the program for which they are applying. An assistance group member will always be an SFU member; however, an SFU member is not always a member of the assistance group. 2210.0300 FOOD STAMP STANDARD FILING UNIT (FS) The following topics will be discussed in this section:

SFU composition, which will include:

1. a discussion of mandatory members and verification requirements for those members, 2. members whose needs must be included or excluded from consideration, and 3. members whose income and assets must be included or excluded, and 4. participation status codes for FLORIDA. 2210.0301 Standard Filing Unit (FS) The standard filing unit (SFU) may be one individual or a group of individuals who reside together and customarily purchase and prepare their food together. Consider same-sex married couples as members of the same SFU. It is not necessary that the group of individuals share other nonfood SFU expenses. Also, there is no requirement that the SFU have cooking facilities or use common storage of food. Parents and children are generally mandatory members of the SFU because of relationship. Exceptions to this can be found in passages 2210.0304 through 2210.0315.04.

It is possible for more than one food stamp SFU to live under one roof. If they do not customarily purchase and prepare food in common, each group may apply as a separate SFU provided they are not mandatory members of the same SFU due to their relationships. The eligibility specialist must annotate on FLORIDA screen CLRC, the name, relationship and reason anyone living in the household is not listed on FLORIDA screen AIID. The purchase and prepare status of those members not on AIID must also be addressed in CLRC.