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MS 2010

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Volume 2 - Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) MS 2010 – R. 6/15/26 – OMTL – 698 Relatives as a Separate Household

A. [The following individuals living together must be certified as one household regardless of whether they customarily purchase and prepare food separately.

1. The spouse (as defined in MS 2000) of any household member;

Example: Individuals living together and representing themselves as spouses to the community (which includes relatives, friends, neighbors, or tradespeople) must be certified as one household.

2. Parents living with their natural, adopted, or stepchildren who are age 21 or younger (including ex-stepchildren, as divorce does not sever the stepparent relationship). For SNAP benefit purposes, biological blood ties are severed when a child is legally adopted. However, guardianship does not override a parent’s natural relationship; and

Example: A child lives in the home with a natural parent and an adoptive parent. The child must be included in the case with the adoptive parent if the parents are applying as separate households.

3. Children, other than foster children under 18, who are under the parental control of an adult household member.

Note: In situations where a parent moves into a household that contains a child and a non-parental adult who has custody of said child, the SNAP case must include the parent, child, and non-parental adult, along with anyone else with whom they purchase and prepare meals. The parent and child must be in the same SNAP case, as this is a requirement for any parent living with their child age 21 or younger. Since the non-parental adult has custody of the child and the child is under that adult’s parental control, until the child moves out or the custody has been severed, the non-parental adult must also be included in the same SNAP case.

Separate entrances to a home have no bearing on household composition; there must be a clear separation of living units.

Example: a duplex is considered separate dwellings/living units; however, a converted basement apartment is not a separate dwelling/living unit.

B. The following relatives may be granted separate household status if they meet all other eligibility criteria and purchase food and prepare meals separately from the others.

1. Adult children age 22 or older, living with their parents; and

2. Siblings who, regardless of age, are not living with their parents.

3. A person who is too disabled to purchase their own food, but who has arranged to have the food purchased and prepared separately from those