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the home until sometime later, the absent AG member is not included in the TANF or SNAP AG until the person actually returns.

An AG member who leaves the home during the month is to be removed from the AG unless the individual is expected to return to the residence by the end of the payment month following the initial move. 3210.05.00 VERIFICATION OF AG SIZE AND COMPOSITION (S)

Assistance group size, which refers to the number of individuals in the AG, must be verified prior to the authorization of benefits only if questionable.

Due to the difficulty in verifying whether or not a group of individuals who live together customarily purchase and prepare food together and, therefore, constitute an AG, the caseworker generally accepts the AG's statement regarding food preparation and purchase. However, the caseworker may take the following steps to verify questionable situations when people who live together claim they do not "eat" meals together: • Verify household composition with the landlord or another third party (non-household member) who is in a position to know who lives with the AGs. • Obtain a signed statement from each adult explaining how they customarily purchase and prepare their meals. (Routine separate maintenance can be verified by an oral statement from the client and documented. Therefore, signed statements should only be secured when separate maintenance is questionable as opposed to securing them in all situations.) • Verify with a person outside the household who has knowledge of the family's situation of how the members of the AG purchase and prepare their food. • Schedule a pre-arranged home visit with the AG to see how meals are prepared. 3210.10.00 SNAP MANDATORY PARTICIPATING AG MEMBERS (S)

Certain individuals who live together must be included as mandatory participants in the AG due to their relationship. From the information gathered, the eligibility system determines who the mandatory participating members are for each AG. Mandatory individuals must be considered in the AG even if they do not purchase food and prepare meals together.

The income and resources of mandatory AG participants are counted in the financial eligibility determination. 3210.10.05 PARENTS AND CHILDREN INCLUDED (S)

Parents and their children who live together are mandatory members of the same AG, with the following exception: • Parents and their adult children aged 22 or older, may have separate AGs if they purchase and prepare food separately. Eligibility as a separate AG begins in the month the child obtains age 22 at application. If the child turns 22 during the certification period, the individual may have a separate AG at the next redetermination.