404.1 Purpose

The purpose of this section is to describe policy and procedures on the head of household and authorized representative.

404.2 Head of Household

The household may choose who is to be designated as head of household.

Generally, the head of household is one of the following persons:

An adult parent of a child (any age);

An adult who has parental control over a child (under 18 years of age);

One of the adults in an all adult household.

NOTE: All adult household members must agree on the selection of the head of household.

The head of household designation is used only for case identification purposes.

Do not use the head of household designation to impose special requirements on the household such as requiring that the head of household, rather than another responsible member of the household, make an application or appear for the interview.

The local department will designate the head of household if the household declines to designate a head of household or cannot agree on a selection.

One of the children of the household may be designated as the head of the household and an adult living in the home (non-SNAP household member) may be named the authorized representative if there is no adult member of the SNAP household.

NOTE: For the purposes of application and interview procedures, a responsible household member is any member capable of representing the household by providing the local department with sufficient and accurate information about the household’s circumstances.

404.3 Authorized Representative

The head of household, spouse or other responsible member may designate an authorized representative to act on its behalf if the authorized representative is aware of the household’s circumstances and the designation is in writing.

An authorized representative may:

Appear for interviews;

Apply for benefits for the household;

Use the Independence Card to purchase food for the household;

Be named to use the Independence Card to purchase food for the household in an emergency.

NOTE: In an emergency situation, the household may designate an emergency authorized representative to use the Independence Card to purchase food for the household. Written authorization must be obtained from the head of household and signed by both the head of household and the emergency authorized representative

Except for situations in which a drug or alcohol treatment center or other group living arrangement acts as the authorized representative, the local department must inform the household that the household will be held liable for any overissuance that results from erroneous information given by the representative.

404.4 Drug/Alcohol Treatment Centers