My state's website wants me to fill out a form that lists all the members of my household and disclose what the household income is. Problem is if I include my dad I most likely will not be able to qualify. And I can't like write on the form anywhere "yes I live at home with my dad and he makes well over $30k a year, but he won't help me financially unless he feels like it." I really don't know what to do. I keep running out of money and food, I need EBT and cash assistance but if I lie and don't include my dad or lie about the household income, that's fraud and I could get in a lot of trouble I can't handle.
The fuck am I supposed to do? Has any other comrades ran into anything like this before? I know every state is different but maybe someone else on here lives at home with a wealthy parent and still qualified for EBT.
Help!!
Does your dad purchase and prepare food with you, or not? That's apparently what determines whether he counts as being part of your household.
I was going to say that how do people with roommates apply? Would it be possible to consider him a roommate if he doesn't help with money/food with any regularity
Who counts as a member of my household?
Anyone you live and buy/make food with counts a member of your household.
You may live with people who don’t count as household members, like tenants who are renting a room, or adult children (22+) who buy/make their own food.
Children (under 22) always count as household members, even if they buy/make their own food.
Elderly (60+) and disabled people count as household members if you buy/make food for them, or you buy/make food together. If they live with you but buy/make food separately, they do not count as household members.
This is for Indiana but it seems pretty much the same as the criteria used for my state, so, roommates shouldn't be considered as part of the same household unless they prepare/purchase food together (and tbh I would just lie even if you do it's not like the government will know unless somebody tattles on you)
I specifically told the social worker who called me that I live with my gf and she's been paying rent but that doesn't matter because we're not married, not part of same household, and I didn't say shit about eating together
All he does is give me money for food, I buy it and prepare it.
Do you then share the food with him, or is he just giving you money to buy your own food? Basically if you're eating together or sharing food, I think it counts as him being part of the same household. If you're eating separately and not sharing food, though, then it isn't relevant that he gives you money on occasion, and he wouldn't count as part of your household.
No I eat the food alone and there's no sharing. So then I don't even need to mention my dad in the application form or his finances?
That's what it seems like based on my brief internet research. Here's the sources I consulted:
https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/recipient/eligibility (see question "Who is in a SNAP household?")
and
https://eligibility.com/food-stamps/how-do-you-know-who-is-considered-part-of-your-household
Also have to be over the age of 22 unless it varies by state but that seems consistent with my state and the one random state I checked
Yeah same, it doesn't just set a cap on "how well you're doing" or what kinds of support you have, but it also insults your intelligence by presenting artificial scarcity as just the way it is.
Edit: oh yeah and obviously the threat of penalties for screwing up or lying on applications, like excuse me for having basic needs
Generally I think it's a bad idea to lie on those applications. Doesn't seem like it's worth it since there are consequences and you still have to provide paystubs, receipts, etc. to prove everything... But I acknowledge that every situation is different, and the ability to stock up at the grocery store for free is definitely a game changer.
If your dad is planning/threatening to cut off support then maybe you could wait to apply until the month after the last time he gives you money for food. That way you can apply without having to
name him as part of your householdreport the money you get from him, or his income. You can apply without mentioning housemates, etc as long as you are not sharing most of your food or pooling your money for food. If you're paying rent to your dad, then that would also be an expense that you would report.So yeah, you can bend the truth a little bit while applying for benefits but i wouldn't do anything that feels like it's pushing it.
Edit: for clarity and correctness
. Doesn’t seem like it’s worth it since there are consequences and you still have to provide paystubs, receipts, etc. to prove everythi
I don't want anyone to follow my example and get in trouble but I didn't have to prove shit, like, I just filled out my app, got a phone call asking some basic questions and when I said my gf is paying rent "but with the expectation I pay her back" they just took my rent portion off my application (because it was somehow reducing my benefits, I guess by making it look like I had more income) and then a few days later I got my card with my government food monopoly money on it
Yeah you know, I almost mentioned that just about every time I've interacted with a real live human as a case worker on my applications, they did everything they could to at least get me some of the benefits. Go figure. California, btw, not sure if that makes a difference.
I'm just saying that if their dad could arguably fit into any of those categories of "not being a housemate" then they should leave him off the application, but if none of these exceptions apply and they can't present some kind of evidence for whichever story they do tell, then it doesn't seem worth the risk, but that's just because I don't want a comrade to have to face any of the penalties that they threaten you with.
my understanding is that it's very state dependent. in FL, for example, they are dicks and will investigate and come after you to squeeze blood from a stone to reclaim benefits paid "in error". they will do this even if you answered everything truthfully and the state made a mistake entirely on their end in awarding you benefits.
other states are less worried about giving somebody $40 worth of food a week or whatever.
I've ended up having to pay back a couple hundred in food assistance benefits because I made "too much" money during consecutive reporting months, and I'm something of an obsessive rule-follower and hoop -jumper when it comes to these kinds of things.
It's all about the story you tell on the forms, and whether your supporting documents exhaustively agree with that story.
My state used to make me fill out and submit a ridiculous amount of forms and supporting documents, affidavits, and so on every few months. Now they've streamlined the process and since the pandemic started actually, they haven't really required me to submit an annual report, either.
Edit: someone like OP who's trying to enroll in food benefits for the first time still has to jump through all the hoops, though
i'm not a lawyer, but my sense is you should just not mention him, and if you do that possibly also delete this thread
My thought is that it would depend on whether your dad claims you as a dependent on his taxes. If he isn't listing you as a dependent, then he's not your head of household--he's your landlord. That's my 2 cents, anyway.
If you have time, call the relevant agency and request an answer to your question in an email to you.
Also call a community legal centre near you if you can, answering a question like this probably wouldn't entail legal fees.
That way, if you run into any trouble, you have evidence to back you up.
Go to your local office and talk to a person about it, they'll answer questions and usually try to help. Or call. Different states are as you say different
