IM-65 July 12, 2023; IM-22 April 9, 2014; IM-39 April 5, 2013; IM-142 December 2, 2005
For claims established before August 6, 2001, the head of the household is responsible for the claim.
For claims established after August 6, 2001, the following participants are responsible for the claim:
- Any adult member of the household, age 18 or over, when the overpayment or trafficking occurred, even if this participant is no longer in the household.
- If a responsible member was in the home for only part of the claim period, two or more claims will have to be established.
- A claim is needed for any months the responsible member was in the home, and separate claims are needed for the months the responsible member was not in the home.
- Note: If an adult member of the household can provide verification they were not in the home during the claim period, they are not considered responsible for the claim.
Example: Ms. A applies for SNAP benefits for herself and her adult sister. Ms. A fails to report her income increased to over 130% of poverty, so a claim is established including Ms. A’s adult sister. Ms. A’s adult sister states she did not live with Ms. A during the claim period and provides verification. The adult sister is not responsible for the debt.
Example: Ms. A applies and was approved for SNAP benefits for herself and her adult sister. Ms. A fails to report her income increased to over 130% of the federal poverty level in January.
The household is overpaid for March to September. Ms. A’s sister moved out of the household in July, and returned to the household in September.
Claims for three periods must be established. The first claim is for March through July and includes Ms. A and Ms. A’s adult sister as responsible claim members. The second claim is for August and includes only Ms. A as the responsible member. The third claim is for September and includes Ms. A and Ms. A’s adult sister as responsible members.
- Any member of the household, age 18 or over, who was not reported in the SNAP household is a responsible member of a claim.
Example: Mr. B applied for himself and his three children. It is discovered his wife has been living in the home since the time of application and has income over the 130% of poverty making the household ineligible for SNAP benefits. Since the wife is a mandatory household member she is also a responsible member of the SNAP claim.
- A sponsor of an immigrant household member if the sponsor is at fault;
- A person connected to the household, such as an authorized representative, who actually traffics or otherwise causes an overpayment or trafficking;
Example: The authorized representative signs the eligibility statements and applies for the household. There is an overpayment due to information provided by the authorized representative. The authorized representative is a responsible member of the claim.
- A Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center (DATC), while the DATC is acting as authorized representative for the resident. The resident of the DATC is not responsible.
If a participant is established as a responsible member in error, the participant must be deleted from the claim. Contact the SNAP Program and Policy Unit at ColeFSPolicy@dss.mo.gov to have the participant deleted.