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Chapter 2: Household Composition 1 Chapter 2: Household Composition

(A) Countable Household Members Countable household members include all individuals residing in the applicant’s home at the time of eligibility determination.

If a member of a household previously determined eligible for LIEAP assistance or Tribal energy assistance leaves that household and later applies for energy assistance, they are not eligible. If they apply as a member of another household that household will be approved without them as long as there is at least one other adult in that household.

These cases should be thoroughly explored to see if the member actually was part of the other household when eligibility was determined. If it is found that the member was not part of the approved household, over-issuance procedures should be followed if the result of including that person as part of the household provided the household with a greater benefit amount than it was eligible to receive.

(B) Adding and Removing People from the Household Household members may be added or removed by the caseworker at the time of eligibility determination without contacting the client in the following circumstances:

1) Adding Household Member(s) A caseworker may add household members to the household if recently updated information on ACCESS or other DSS systems prove that the person(s) are currently living in the household. Narration must exist to support the action.

If the household member is added and is 18 or older, a signature page should be sent to the household for that individual to sign. If the applicant denies that the individual is in the household, the applicant should be instructed that they need to submit a written/signed statement indicating when that individual left the household. 2) Removing Household Member(s) A caseworker may remove household members from the household if recently updated information on ACCESS or other DSS systems prove that the person(s) are no longer living in the household. Narration must exist to support the action.

Example: The SNAP Program indicates an individual is receiving benefits and resides at a different location than the applicant, receives benefits as part of another household, or that the client reported to that program that they are no longer living in the applicant’s home.