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COMBINED MANUAL

ISSUE DATE 06/2021

DETERMINING THE CASH ASSISTANCE UNIT

0014.03.03

People who apply for a program and are not eligible may be eligible for other assistance as a separate assistance unit. See 0014.03 (Determining the Assistance Unit).

Also see 0014.06 (Who Must Be Excluded From Assistance Unit) for people who must be excluded from the unit because they are not eligible or are disqualified due to non-cooperation with a program procedure.

MFIP: Some people MUST be in the same assistance unit when they live together. These people are “Mandatory Unit Members”. To determine who meets the definition of family, see 0013.03 (MFIP Bases of Eligibility).

Mandatory members of the unit are:

● A child who meets the definition of a minor child and who has a parental caregiver(s). See MINOR CHILD in 0002.41 (Glossary: Medically Necessary...).

● The minor child’s minor siblings, minor half-siblings, and minor step-sibling(s), whether birth or adopted.

NOTE: There must be a relationship from the caregiver to the minor child for that child to be eligible for MFIP even if the child is a sibling or half sibling to the other children in the household.

● The minor child’s birth, step-, or adoptive parent(s). If there is no parent in the minor child’s home, see below for who may be optional caregivers.

● A pregnant woman. See 0012.06 (Requirements for Caregivers Under 20), 0013.03.03 (Pregnant Woman Basis – MFIP/DWP).

● The spouse of a pregnant woman.

● A pregnant minor with no other children, who receives assistance with her parents, must remain as part of her parent’s unit until after the birth of her child.

● When the parent who normally resides with the family is living and working away from the home (or the family) and there is no marital or relationship breakdown, consider that parent a mandatory unit member. When a parent does not live in Minnesota, he/she is considered an ineligible mandatory unit member because the parent is not physically present in Minnesota. Count total income and assets of all unit members, including the members away from the family, when determining the unit’s eligibility and benefit level. See 0015.48 (Whose Assets to Consider), 0016 (Income From People not in the Unit). This is not considered temporary absence.

Do NOT include the parent who is away from the home on active military duty as a member of the assistance unit, but count any income and assets the person on active duty makes available to the family. See 0015.48 (Whose Assets to Consider), 0017.06 (Excluded Income), 0017.12.03 (Unearned Income), 0017.15.93 (Military Income).

Some people may choose to be in the assistance unit when they live with mandatory members of the unit. These people are “Optional Unit Members”. Optional members are:

● A non-parental eligible caregiver and the spouse of the non-parental eligible caregiver, if there is not a natural or adoptive parent or stepparent in the minor child’s home. If an optional caregiver chooses to be in the unit, that person’s spouse must also be in the unit. Optional caregivers who choose not to be in the unit may be eligible to receive SNAP as a separate unit. See 0022.24 (Uncle Harry Food Support Benefits).

Any of the following adults who live with the child and give the child care and support may be an optional caregiver:

- Grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent, or great-great-great-grandparent.