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Child Care Subsidy Policy October 1, 2024 43 biological parent is in the household, both biological and legal guardians shall be counted as participating members of the household. 5.1.3. Adult Children in the Household. An adult child (age 18 or older) residing with his/her parents is not a member of his/her parents’ family. (This person is listed as a Non-Participating Adult in PATH). 5.1.4. Head of Household The head of household may be a natural parent, step parent, or an individual acting in loco parentis, such as a relative or non-relative who has been granted custody or guardianship by a court of law or who has assumed full physical custody and responsibility for a child, with or without legal custody. 5.1.5. Adoptive Children Children legally adopted are treated the same as natural children. 5.1.6. Multiple Family Households In situations where adults, who are not spouses, reside together, any children in the household will be considered part of the family of the parent(s). Example: Mr. and Mrs. X and their two children live in a household with Mrs. X’s sister (Y) and her one child. Mr. and Mrs. X and their two children constitute one family while Mrs. Y and her child constitute a second family. 5.1.7. Unmarried Parents Although West Virginia does not recognize common law marriage, a couple living together as spouses will be considered members of the same family if they are both biological, adoptive, or foster parents of a child or children living in the household. However, if a couple resides together and each has a child of their own and share no children in common, they are two separate families and entered into PATH as such. 5.1.8. Family Members Expected to Return A family member who is away from the family residence for reasons of employment, education, training, shared custody, or military deployment and who returns regularly, maintains a residence outside the country, or is expected to return, shall be considered as a member of the household. Example 1: Mr. and Mrs. A reside in Sutton with their two children. Mr. A is employed in New York City and maintains an apartment there but returns home on average once a month. Mr. A would be considered a member of the same household as his wife and children and the family would consist of Mr. A, Mrs. and the two children. Example 2: Sally and Jeff are the children of Mr. X and Mrs. X, who are divorced. Sally and Jeff live in New York with Mr. X during the week and with Mrs. X on the weekends and for two weeks in the summer. Mrs. X receives child care services for her youngest child Ann but does not work weekends and does not need child care for Sally and Jeff. However,