Re: Food Stamps for our Adult children living at home

[Guest guest]

Just to share my direct experiences with the process........

I applied on-line for food stamps for my daughter. I indicated on the application that she paid "rent". During the mandatory telephone interview prior to approval, all items on the application were discussed, including the source of the income from which the "rent" was paid. At that time, my daughter's primary source of income was SSI. The caseworker told me that it was a misrepresentation on the application to say that my daughter paid "rent" because, by definition, payments from SSI for adults with disabilities living in the family home are for "room and board." At first, I thought, well, this is a distinction without a difference, but I learned that it is a significant distinction.

If your adult child lives in your home and pays you out of their SSI check, then they do not pay "rent", they pay "room and board" which is their fair share of total household expenses ....... their share of the mortgage payment, real estate taxes, insurance, electricity, food and water. Those of us who have already applied for SSI for our adult child know that you disclose those expenses when you apply and you disclose the composition of the household. The social security administration calculates your child's "fair share" based on total household expenses (including food) divided by the number of persons in the household. As a sort of shorthand, we think of this monthly amount as rent, but it is not rent ..... it is an amount that includes an allowance for food. Having been told this, I withdrew the application.

About a month later, I received an appointment letter from the social security administration to come in for a recertification interview. As part of the interview, I was asked for updated household expense figures and also, I was asked directly if my daughter received food stamps. I launched into my experience (above) thinking the representative at ssa would be appalled and give me guidance on how to go about getting the food stamps. Instead, she told me, quite clearly that......... If your adult child lives in your home and pays room and board and then gets food stamps, his/her SSI is subject to reduction dollar for dollar for the amount of the food stamps received. If she had been receiving the food stamps and it only became known after the fact, then I would have been in for a "surprise" at the recertification interview .... a retroactive and prospective change in the monthly SSI benefit.

As an added note, I have recently revisited the process because my daughter lost her SSI. She lost it because her earnings plus another source of income available to her exceeded (just slightly) the maximum allowable income for SSI. So, I thought, well......she no longer pays room and board from SSI, she still is disabled under social security rules, she gets state plan medicaid, so surely she is eligible for food stamps......you know, the whole "family of one" thing. Well, No, the caseworker told me that since my adult daughter lives in the family home, then the income of the entire household (not just the applicant) is counted unless I attest that she purchases, prepares and consumes all of her meals separately from the other members of the household. I felt that I could not honestly assert that and so I asked what the process would be to document the family income, if I wanted to even test for eligibility. I was told that everyone in the household would need to submit their most recent three months of bank accounts and proof of earnings. Assets of other household members would not be counted, but the income of all household members must be counted.

Hope this brings some clarity to the issue. If that is even possible.

Lucille

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the clarification. It appears to be easier to pay "room and board". To: deniseslist

Sent: Saturday, December 31, 2011 1:35 AM Subject: Re: Food Stamps for our Adult children living at home

Just to share my direct experiences with the process........

I applied on-line for food stamps for my daughter. I indicated on the application that she paid "rent". During the mandatory telephone interview prior to approval, all items on the application were discussed, including the source of the income from which the "rent" was paid. At that time, my daughter's primary source of income was SSI. The caseworker told me that it was a misrepresentation on the application to say that my daughter paid "rent" because, by definition, payments from SSI for adults with disabilities living in the family home are for "room and board." At first, I thought, well, this is a distinction without a difference, but I learned that it is a significant distinction.

If your adult child lives in your home and pays you out of their SSI check, then they do not pay "rent", they pay "room and board" which is their fair share of total household expenses ....... their share of the mortgage payment, real estate taxes, insurance, electricity, food and water. Those of us who have already applied for SSI for our adult child know that you disclose those expenses when you apply and you disclose the composition of the household. The social security administration calculates your child's "fair share" based on total household expenses (including food) divided by the number of persons in the household. As a sort of shorthand, we think of this monthly amount as rent, but it is not rent ..... it is an amount that includes an allowance for food. Having been told this, I withdrew the application.

About a month later, I received an appointment letter from the social security administration to come in for a recertification interview. As part of the interview, I was asked for updated household expense figures and also, I was asked directly if my daughter received food stamps. I launched into my experience (above) thinking the representative at ssa would be appalled and give me guidance on how to go about getting the food stamps. Instead, she told me, quite clearly that......... If your adult child lives in your home and pays room and board and then gets food stamps, his/her SSI is subject to reduction dollar for dollar for the amount of the food stamps received. If she had been receiving the food stamps and it only became known after the fact, then I would have been in for a "surprise" at the recertification interview .... a retroactive and prospective change in the monthly SSI benefit.

As an added note, I have recently revisited the process because my daughter lost her SSI. She lost it because her earnings plus another source of income available to her exceeded (just slightly) the maximum allowable income for SSI. So, I thought, well......she no longer pays room and board from SSI, she still is disabled under social security rules, she gets state plan medicaid, so surely she is eligible for food stamps......you know, the whole "family of one" thing. Well, No, the caseworker told me that since my adult daughter lives in the family home, then the income of the entire household (not just the applicant) is counted unless I attest that she purchases, prepares and consumes all of her meals separately from the other members of the household. I felt that I could not honestly assert that and so I asked what the process would be to document the family income, if I wanted to even test for eligibility. I was told that everyone in the household would need to submit their most recent three months of bank accounts and proof of earnings. Assets of other household members would not be counted, but the income of all household members must be counted.

Hope this brings some clarity to the issue. If that is even possible.

Lucille

[Guest guest]

We had a similar experience with our adult child. The people at the

food stamp office told me that if my son lived in an apartment over my garage,

or in a separate housing unit on my property, he could get food stamps, but if

he lived in the same house and paid room and board, he couldn't get anything.

I too was told that if he got the food stamps, he would lose a portion of his

SSI. Sometimes we as parents are stuck " between a rock and a hard place. " Would

the food stamps be more important than the SSI dollars or not? Probably not, as

the food stamps can only be used for food, whereas the SSI money can be used for

food or other necessities.

Regards,

Glenda

>

>

> Just to share my direct experiences with the process........

>

> I applied on-line for food stamps for my daughter. I indicated on the

> application that she paid " rent " . During the mandatory telephone interview

> prior to approval, all items on the application were discussed, including

> the source of the income from which the " rent " was paid. At that time, my

> daughter's primary source of income was SSI. The caseworker told me that it

> was a misrepresentation on the application to say that my daughter paid

> " rent " because, by definition, payments from SSI for adults with disabilities

> living in the family home are for " room and board. " At first, I thought,

> well, this is a distinction without a difference, but I learned that it is a

> significant distinction.

>

> If your adult child lives in your home and pays you out of their SSI

> check, then they do not pay " rent " , they pay " room and board " which is their

> fair share of total household expenses ....... their share of the mortgage

> payment, real estate taxes, insurance, electricity, food and water. Those of

> us who have already applied for SSI for our adult child know that you

> disclose those expenses when you apply and you disclose the composition of

the

> household. The social security administration calculates your child's

> " fair share " based on total household expenses (including food) divided by the

> number of persons in the household. As a sort of shorthand, we think of

> this monthly amount as rent, but it is not rent ..... it is an amount that

> includes an allowance for food. Having been told this, I withdrew the

> application.

>

> About a month later, I received an appointment letter from the social

> security administration to come in for a recertification interview. As part

of

> the interview, I was asked for updated household expense figures and also,

> I was asked directly if my daughter received food stamps. I launched into

> my experience (above) thinking the representative at ssa would be appalled

> and give me guidance on how to go about getting the food stamps. Instead,

> she told me, quite clearly that......... If your adult child lives in your

> home and pays room and board and then gets food stamps, his/her SSI

> is subject to reduction dollar for dollar for the amount of the food stamps

> received. If she had been receiving the food stamps and it only became

> known after the fact, then I would have been in for a " surprise " at the

> recertification interview .... a retroactive and prospective change in the

> monthly SSI benefit.

>

> As an added note, I have recently revisited the process because my

> daughter lost her SSI. She lost it because her earnings plus another source

of

> income available to her exceeded (just slightly) the maximum allowable income

> for SSI. So, I thought, well......she no longer pays room and board from

> SSI, she still is disabled under social security rules, she gets state

> plan medicaid, so surely she is eligible for food stamps......you know, the

> whole " family of one " thing. Well, No, the caseworker told me that since

> my adult daughter lives in the family home, then the income of the entire

> household (not just the applicant) is counted unless I attest that she

> purchases, prepares and consumes all of her meals separately from the other

> members of the household. I felt that I could not honestly assert that and

so

> I asked what the process would be to document the family income, if I

> wanted to even test for eligibility. I was told that everyone in the

household

> would need to submit their most recent three months of bank accounts and

> proof of earnings. Assets of other household members would not be counted,

> but the income of all household members must be counted.

>

> Hope this brings some clarity to the issue. If that is even possible.

>

> Lucille

>