(1) A person must be in your assistance unit
if they live in the same home as you and regularly buy food or prepare meals
with you.
(2) If the following
people live with you, they must be in your assistance unit even if you do not
usually buy or prepare food together:
(a) Your
spouse;
(b) Your parents if you are
under age 22;
(c) Your children
under age 22;
(d) The parent of a
child who must be in your assistance unit;
(e) A child under age 18 who does not live
with their parent unless the child:
(i) Is a
foster child;
(ii) Is emancipated;
or
(iii) Is not financially
dependent on an adult in the assistance unit.
(3) If any of the people in subsections (1)
or (2) of this section already receive transitional food assistance (TFA) under
chapter
388-489 WAC, they can only receive benefits if they choose to reapply
for basic food as described in WAC
388-489-0022.
(4) If you live in an institution where you
may be eligible for basic food under WAC
388-408-0040, we decide who is in
your assistance unit as follows:
(a) If the
facility is acting as your authorized representative under WAC
388-460-0015, we include you and
anyone who must be in your assistance unit under subsection (2) of this
section; or
(b) If you apply for
benefits on your own, we include you, anyone who must be in your assistance
unit under subsection (2) of this section, and other residents you choose to
apply with.
(5) Anyone
who must be in your assistance unit under subsection (1) or (2) of this section
is an ineligible assistance unit member if they:
(a) Are disqualified for an intentional
program violation under WAC
388-446-0015;
(c) Do not provide a social security number
under WAC
388-476-0005;
(d) Do not meet the citizenship or alien
status requirements under chapter
388-424 WAC;
(e) Are fleeing a felony charge or violating
a condition of parole or probation under WAC
388-442-0010.
(6) If your assistance unit has an
ineligible member:
(a) We count the
ineligible member's income as part of your assistance unit's income under WAC
388-450-0140;
(b) We count all the ineligible members
resources to your assistance unit; and
(c) We do not use the ineligible member to
determine your assistance unit's size for the maximum income amount or
allotment under WAC
388-478-0060.
(7) If the following people live
in the same home as you, you can choose if we include them in your assistance
unit:
(a) A permanently disabled person who
is age 60 or over and cannot make their own meals if the total income of
everyone else in the home, not counting the elderly and disabled person's
spouse is not more than the 165% standard under WAC
388-478-0060;
(b) A boarder. If you do not include a
boarder in your assistance unit, the boarder cannot get basic food benefits in
a separate assistance unit;
(c) A
person placed in your home for foster care. If you do not include this person
in your assistance unit, they cannot get basic food benefits in a separate
assistance unit;
(d) Roomers;
or
(e) Live-in attendants even if
they buy or prepare food with you.
(8) If someone in your assistance unit moves
out of your home for at least a full issuance month, they are not eligible for
benefits as a part of your assistance unit, unless you receive TFA.
(9) Your TFA household includes the people
who were in your basic food assistance unit the month you received transitional
cash assistance (TCA); or, for the last month you received:
(a) Temporary assistance for needy
families;
(b) State family
assistance; or
(c) Tribal TANF
benefits.
(10) When the
assistance described in subsection (9) of this section was reduced because a
family member is not meeting WorkFirst program requirements (WAC
388-310-1600), the individual(s)
in sanction will be excluded from TFA.
(11) If someone in your assistance unit
received basic food or TFA in another assistance unit or another state, they
cannot receive benefits in your assistance unit for the same period of time
unless they left the assistance unit to live in a shelter for battered women
and children under WAC
388-408-0045.
(12) A student who is ineligible for basic
food under WAC
388-482-0005 is not a member of
your assistance unit.