Boarders

Definition [63-402.3]

A boarder is defined as:

• A foster care child who is receiving foster care payments, or
• An individual residing with the household and paying reasonable compensation to the household for lodging and meals. A reasonable monthly payment will be either of the following:
  • For more than 2 meals per day, an amount which equals/exceeds the Thrifty Food Plan for the size of the boarder household.
  • For two meals or less per day, an amount which equals/exceeds two-thirds of the Thrifty Food Plan for the size of the boarder household.
• An individual who pays less than reasonable compensation to the household which provides him/her with meals and lodging will be considered a member of that CalFresh household rather than a boarder.

Who Is Not a Boarder

The following persons will not be considered boarders:

• Children under 18 years of age under the parental control. Refer to Definitions of a member of the household, except for foster care children.
• Adult or minor children living with their natural, adopted, or step parents.
• Parents living with their natural, adopted, or step children.
• A spouse of a member of the household.
• Siblings living with their natural, adopted, half or step brothers and sisters.

Exception: Sibling foster care children may be considered boarders. Foster care status takes precedence over the sibling relationship. Refer to Foster Care Children below. 

Commercial Boarding House Residents

Residents of a commercial boarding house are ineligible for CalFresh.

A commercial boarding house:

• Is licensed.
• Offers meals and lodging for payment with the intent of making a profit.

Foster Care Children

Foster Care children are considered boarders and must be excluded from the CalFresh household as nonhousehold members, unless the household specifically requests that they be included. This also applies to sibling foster care children.

A sibling who is a foster care child must be excluded from the CalFresh household as a boarder unless the household specifically asks for the child to be included in the CalFresh household. (Foster care status takes precedence over the sibling relationship.)

A foster child placed by a federal, state, or local government program in the private home of a relative, or other individual or family is considered a boarder, even if the mother or father of the foster care child(ren) is also in the household. (Foster care status takes precedence over parent-child relationship.)

• If the foster care child is included in the CalFresh household at the household's request, count the entire Foster Care grant as income to the household.
• If the household does not choose to include the foster child as a household member, none of his/her income is counted toward the CalFresh household.
• The foster child who is considered a boarder is not required to pay reasonable compensation to the household.
• When a child is released to the custody of his/her natural/step parent, the Foster Care payments made to the foster parent must not be budgeted to the natural/step parent’s household for CalFresh eligibility.
   

Refer to Budgeting Concepts for additional information.

Note: Children who participate in the “Foster Care Wraparound Services” Program are NOT considered Foster Care children, even though Foster Care program funds are used to provide services to these children.

CalFresh Child Receives Foster Care

When a child who received CalFresh is placed in Foster Care, a 10-day timely NOA must be sent to discontinue the CalFresh effective the end of the SAR period, unless the child is included in the Foster Care household, in which case the CalFresh will be discontinued mid-period.

ExampleExample

Treatment

Boarders who pay reasonable compensation may be included as members of the CalFresh household at the household's request.
With the following two exceptions, boarders will not be included in the CalFresh household:

• Household chooses to include the boarder in the household, or
• Boarder pays less than reasonable compensation.

Boarders are ineligible to participate in CalFresh independent of the household providing board.

Non Minor Dependents (NMD)

NMDs are youths who were under an order for foster care at age 18, and are participating in extended foster care under dependency, transition, or delinquency jurisdiction, up until he or she is 21 under a transitional independent living case plan.

Most NMDs are placed in Transitional Housing Program Plus-Foster Care (THP-FC) or Supervised Independent Living Placement (SILP) and apply for CalFresh alone.  Some NMDs live with their parents or relative caregivers. 

The current rule that applies to Foster Care children living with other household members  also applies to NMDs.  A CalFresh household has the option to include or exclude an NMD and the foster care payment when determining the household's eligibility and benefit level. Therefore, the NMD shall be considered a border and ineligible to participate in CalFresh independently from the household. 

The exception to this rule applies to NMDs who are a CalFresh household of one.  This is often the case for NMDs residing in a SILP or THP+FC placement.  In shared living arrangements where meals are purchased and prepared separately, each individual may apply for CalFresh benefits as a separate household (i.e. THP+FC, renting a room in a SILP).

In a CF household of one, any portion of the foster care payment not paid directly to the NMD is considered excluded unearned income when determining the household’s eligibility and benefit level.  Money that is not legally obligated to be paid to the household but paid to a third party for a household expense must be excluded from income as a vendor payment.  Therefore, any portion of the foster care payment not paid directly to the NMD is considered a vendor payment.  This includes the portion of the foster care payment paid directly to a transitional housing placement provider.

Budgeting

Refer to Budgeting Concepts for budget directions.

Related Topics

Definitions

Budgeting Concepts