HAR §17-663-2. Household concept

(a) A household is composed of one of the following individuals or groups of individuals, unless otherwise specified in subsection (b): (1) An individual living alone; (2) An individual living with others, but customarily purchasing food and preparing meals for home consumption separate and apart from the others; or (3) A group of individuals who live together and customarily purchase food and prepare meals together for home consumption. (b) The following individuals who live with others shall be considered as customarily purchasing food and preparing meals with the others, even if they do not do so, and thus must be included in the same household, unless otherwise specified: (1) A spouse of a member of the household as specified in section 17-663-1. (A) A spouse of a member of the household, who is temporarily out of the home for part of the month such as a salesperson or construction worker whose job site is too distant for daily commuting, shall continue to be a member of the spouse's household. If the spouse, who is temporarily out of the home due to employment, incurs shelter costs while away from home, the household may claim shelter costs for both the primary residence and the shelter away from home; (B) A spouse who is out of the home for more than a calendar month shall not be considered a member of the SNAP household for that calendar month; (C) Spouses who establish separate residences with the intent to sever marital ties and do not return to the home for any part of the month may claim §17-663-2 663-12 separate household status according to chapter 17-680. (2) A person under twenty-two years of age who is living with his or her natural or adoptive parents or stepparents; and (3) A child under age eighteen that establishes more than one residence on an ongoing basis such as a student living on campus or in the home of another during the week and returning home on weekends, or a child whose divorced parents have joint custody and split the living arrangement shall be eligible as a household member in that household where the child resides the majority of the month. (4) A child (other than a foster child) under eighteen years of age who lives with and is under the parental control of a household member other than his or her parent. A child shall be considered to be under parental control for purposes of this provision if he or she is finacially or otherwise dependent on a member of the household. (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), an otherwise eligible member of such a household who is sixty years of age or older and is unable to purchase and prepare meals because he or she suffers from a disability considered permanent under the Social Security Act or a nondisease related, severe, permanent disability, may be considered, together with his or her spouse (if living there), a separate household from the others with whom the individual lives. Separate household status under this provision shall not be granted when the income of the others with whom the elderly disabled individual resides (excluding the income of the elderly and disabled individual and his or her spouse) does not exceed 165 per cent of the poverty line. (d) Residents of a commercial boarding house, regardless of the number of residents, are not eligible to participate in the program. (1) A commercial boarding house is an establishment licensed to offer meals and lodging for compensation. It does not include any of the entities listed in section §17-663-2 663-13 17-663-4(f). In project areas without licensing requirements, a commercial boarding house is a commercial establishment that offers meals and lodging for compensation with the intent of making a profit. (2) All other individuals or groups of individuals paying reasonable compensation for meals or meals and lodging must be considered boarders and are not eligible to participate in the program independently of the household providing the board. Such individuals or groups of individuals may participate, along with a spouse or children living with them, as members of the household providing the boarder services, only at the request of the household providing the boarder services. An individual paying less than reasonable compensation for board must not be considered a boarder but must be considered, along with a spouse or children living with him or her, as a member of the household providing the board. (A) For individuals whose board arrangement is for more than two meals per day, "reasonable compensation" must be an amount that equals or exceeds the maximum SNAP allotment for the appropriate size of the boarder household. (B) For individuals whose board arrangement is for two meals or less per day, "reasonable compensation" must be an amount that equals or exceeds two-thirds of the maximum SNAP allotment for the appropriate size of the boarder household. (3) Boarders shall not be considered residents of an institution as specified in section 17- 655-30. (e) Individuals placed in the home of relatives or other individuals or families by a federal, state, or local governmental foster care program must be considered to be boarders. They cannot participate in the program independently of the household providing §17-663-2 663-14 the foster care services. Such foster care individuals may participate, along with a spouse or children living with them, as members of the household providing the foster care services, only at the request of the household providing the foster care. (f) Individuals to whom a household furnishes lodging for compensation, but not meals, may participate as separate households. Persons described in subsection (b) of this section must not be considered roomers. (g) A live-in attendant may participate as a separate household. Persons described in subsection (b) must not be considered live-in attendants. [Eff 3/19/93; am 2/7/94; am 10/16/95; am 10/28/96; am and comp 11/19/05; am and comp 10/07/10] (Auth: HRS §346- 14) (Imp: 7 C.F.R. §§271.2; 273.1(a) and (b))