Head of Household

Primary responsibility for designating the head of household for SNAP purposes rests with the household. The head of household may be any adult member of the household, except that if there is a minor child, the head of household must be an adult who has parental control of the child. The worker may assist in the determination of head of household. If the household does not designate a head of household, DTA may make the designation. Any adult in the household, whether or not that person is the head of the household, may apply for benefits and may conduct business with DTA on behalf of the household. The household may select its head of household at initial certification and at each subsequent recertification. It may not change the designation during a certification period unless there is a change in the household composition, including a change due to death or institutionalization of a household member. For purposes of determining head of household in regard to compliance with the General SNAP Work Requirements at 106 CMR 362.310: SNAP Employment and Training Program or when a voluntary quit is established in accordance with 106 CMR 362.340: Voluntary Quit Provisions, the head of household shall be determined as follows. (A) The head of household shall be the household member (including any sanctioned or disqualified members) who earned the greatest amount of income in the two months before the date of the application or month of the violation (i.e., the principal wage earner), unless the household contains more than one adult parent of children. This "principal wage earner" provision applies only if the employment involves 20 hours or more per week or provides weekly earnings at least equivalent to the federal minimum wage multiplied by 20 hours. (B) A household that has more than one adult parent of children shall be given the option of selecting its head of household when all adult household members agree to the selection. The household may select its head of household at initial certification and at each subsequent recertification. It may not change the designation during a certification period unless there is a change in the composition of the household. If the household is not eligible to select its head of household, or an eligible household does not choose to select its head of household, the head of household shall be determined in accordance with 106 CMR 361.220(A). If there is no principal wage earner in the household, the household member documented in the case record as the head of the household at the time of the violation shall be considered the head of household. Designation of head of household, in accordance with 106 CMR 361.220 (A) or (B), whichever is applicable, shall take precedence over a previous designation of head of household at least until the period of ineligibility has ended.