10:87-2.3 Nonhousehold members, boarders and excluded household members

(a) Individuals in (a)1 and 2 below residing with a household shall not be considered household members in determining a household's eligibility or allotment. 1. The following nonhousehold members who are otherwise eligible may participate in the program as separate households: i. Individuals to whom a household furnishes lodging, but not meals, for compensation, otherwise known as roomers; ii. Individuals who reside in a household to provide medical, housekeeping, child care or other similar personal services, otherwise known as live-in-attendants; and iii. Other individuals who share living quarters with the household but who do not customarily purchase and prepare meals with the household. For example, if the applicant household shares living quarters with another family to save on rent but does not purchase and prepare food together with that family, the members of the other family are not members of the applicant household. 2. The following nonhousehold members are ineligible to participate in the program as separate households: i. Persons enrolled in an institution of post-secondary education who are ineligible because they fail to meet the eligibility criteria at N.J.A.C. 10:87-3.14(d). (b) Boarders are defined as individuals or groups of individuals residing with a household and paying reasonable compensation to the household for lodging and meals, excluding residents of a commercial boarding house. 1. Boarders are ineligible to participate in the program independent of the household providing boarder services to them. Boarders may only participate in the program as members of the household providing the boarder services to them, at such household's request. Boarders who are included in the household shall have all income and resources counted in determining the household's eligibility. 2. In no event shall boarder status be granted to children or siblings residing with elderly or disabled parents or siblings or to those individuals or groups of individuals described at N.J.A.C. 10:87-2.2(c). 3. To determine if an individual qualifies for boarder status, it is necessary to determine if the individual is paying reasonable compensation for meals and lodging. Only that amount paid for meals shall be used in determining reasonable payment provided that the amount paid for meals is distinguishable from the amount paid for lodging. A reasonable monthly payment shall be either of the following: i. Boarders whose board arrangement is for more than two meals per day shall pay an amount which equals or exceeds the maximum benefit allotment (MBA) for the appropriate size of the boarder household; or ii. Boarders whose board arrangement is for two meals or less per day shall pay an amount which equals or exceeds two-thirds the MBA for the appropriate size of the boarder household. 4. Boarder status shall not be extended to an individual who is furnished both meals and lodging by a household but is paying compensation of less than a reasonable amount (as specified in (b)3 above). Such individual shall be considered a member of the household which provides the meals and lodging and shall have his or her income and resources counted in determining the eligibility and benefits of the household with whom the individual boards. 5. None of the income and resources of individuals determined to be boarders and who are not members of the household providing boarder services shall be considered available to such household. However, the amount of the payment that a boarder gives to a household shall be treated as self-employment income to the household in accordance with N.J.A.C. 10:87-5.4(a)3. 6. Foster individuals cannot be required to be included in the household with whom they reside. The household has the option of including foster individuals in the household, but if it elects not to do so, then the foster individuals shall be treated as boarders. Likewise, children who are placed in a household under a guardianship arrangement shall be treated in a manner similar to foster children and adults. That is, the household has the option of including the individual under guardian care in the household for NJ SNAP purposes, or excluding the individual from the household. Any payment that the household receives for the care of the individual under guardianship care shall be either included in household income, if the household elects to include the individual in the NJ SNAP household, or excluded from household income if the household decides to exclude the individual from the household. (c) The following individuals residing with a household shall be excluded from the household when determining the household's size for the purposes of assigning a benefit level to the household or of comparing the household's monthly income with the income eligibility standards. However, the income and resources of an excluded household member shall be considered available to the remaining household members in accordance with N.J.A.C. 10:87-7.7. Excluded household members may not participate in the program as separate households. 1. Individuals disqualified for intentional program violation (see N.J.A.C. 10:87-11.1 through 11.10); 2. Individuals disqualified for failure to obtain or refusal to provide a Social Security number (see N.J.A.C. 10:87-3.15); 3. Individuals who do not attest to or meet the citizenship or eligible alien status requirements at N.J.A.C. 10:87-3.6, 3.7 and 3.8 or the eligible sponsored alien requirements at N.J.A.C. 10:87-7.11(a); or 4. Individuals disqualified for noncompliance with the work registration, employment and training program, or voluntary quit provisions at N.J.A.C. 10:87-10.5 and 10.15 through 10.20. History HISTORY: Amended by R.1981 d.97, effective April 9, 1981. See: 13 N.J.R. 96(c), 13 N.J.R. 228(a). (a)5: new text substituted for old. (a)6: delete disqualification of college students for failure to meet school year work registration requirements. Amended on an emergency basis, R.1981 d.398, eff. September 30, 1981 (oper. October 1, 1981) exp. November 30, 1981. See: 13 N.J.R. 769(a). Readopted, R.1981 d.517, eff. December 31, 1981. See: 13 N.J.R. 769(a), 14 N.J.R. 103(a). (a)2i: "or" deleted after "spouse" and "or parents" added; "or to either parents . . . of age or older." Amended by R.1983 d.72, effective February 28, 1983. See: 15 N.J.R. 97(a), 15 N.J.R. 444(a). Originally filed as an emergency adoption (R.1982 d.503) on December 30, 1982. Changes upon readoption were precipitated by an emergency adoption (R.1983 d.38) filed on January 31, 1983. Readopted as R.1983 d.72. The definition of "boarders" has been amended and language has been added to clarify inclusion of income and resources of disqualified individuals. Amended by R.1983 d.223, effective May 31, 1983. See: 15 N.J.R. 629(a), 15 N.J.R. 1033(a). Originally adopted as an emergency Rule R.1983 d.116, eff. March 31, 1983, operative April 1, 1983. The amendment is pursuant to the Food Stamp Act Amendments of 1982 (P.L. 97-253) and the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (P.L. 97-35). Language concerning disqualified individuals changed to excluded household members. Emergency Rule, R.1987 d.202, effective April 3, 1987 (expires June 2, 1987). See: 19 N.J.R. 649(a). (c)5 added. Readoption of Emergency Rule and Concurrent Proposal, R.1987 d.261, effective July 6, 1987. See: 19 N.J.R. 649(a), 19 N.J.R. 1207(b). Amended by R.1989 d.121, effective February 21, 1989. See: 20 N.J.R. 2689(a), 21 N.J.R. 511(b). Substantially amended. Amended by R.1990 d.270, effective May 21, 1990. See: 22 N.J.R. 139(a), 22 N.J.R. 1599(a). Stylistic revisions in (c)4 correcting reference to N.J.A.C. 10:87-2.21(b). Amended by R.1991 d.247, effective May 6, 1991. See: 23 N.J.R. 179(a), 23 N.J.R. 1412(b). Deleted (a)2ii regarding individuals disqualified for noncompliance with various work and/or training requirements. Revised such text at (c)4 for excluded household members. Amended by R.1998 d.498, effective October 5, 1998. See: 30 N.J.R. 1928(a), 30 N.J.R. 3669(b). In (b)6, substituted references to individuals for references to children throughout. Amended by R.2004 d.181, effective May 17, 2004. See: 36 N.J.R. 28(a), 36 N.J.R. 2425(a). Rewrote the section. Amended by R.2007 d.129, effective May 7, 2007. See: 38 N.J.R. 4374(a), 39 N.J.R. 1719(a). In (b)3i, substituted "benefit" for "coupon", and in (b)3i and (b)3ii, substituted "(MBA)" for "(MCA)". Amended by R.2012 d.031, effective February 6, 2012 (operative March 7, 2012). See: 43 N.J.R. 2114(a), 44 N.J.R. 241(a). In (a)2i, updated the N.J.A.C. reference; in the introductory paragraph of (b), inserted a comma following "meals"; and in (b)6, substituted "NJ SNAP" for "food stamp" twice and "that" for "which".