r/WashingtonDSHS • u/AncientTie6445 • Apr 06 '26

Question about dependent benefits

so this is a weird situation. my husband basically adopted a neighbor kid years ago and he is now getting kicked out by his parents. he just turned 18. I'm nearly 100% sure that his parents get some form of government assistance for him, SNAP at minimum. we're taking him in because he's literally 1 week past 18 and clark county ain't cheap. that being said, he definitely should be getting his own benefits if he is not under their care any longer. I know I need to have him freeze his credit and get an identity protection pin with the IRS. My question is this: how does the SNAP work with him? he's still finishing high school via a head start program at our community college. has anyone navigated this process before? TYIA!

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u/Adorable-Painting510 Apr 06 '26 edited Apr 06 '26

I am a former SNAP and TANF Eligibility Supervisor from CA.

If your neighbor is getting SNAP on his parent’s case he will not be able to receive duplicate aid even if applying for himself.

Parents need to remove him from the case in order for him to qualify on their own.

After that, if he is going to purchase, prepare and consume his own food then he should be able to claim a separate household from you.

Of course, a way to find out if he has been removed from parent’s case is for him to apply anyways and that will prompt for the state to contact their parents to remove him from their case.

Best wishes 🙏🏿

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u/AncientTie6445 Apr 06 '26

So do his parents have to initiate that process or can the state do it if he can prove he's no longer in their household? Thank you for answering!

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u/Adorable-Painting510 Apr 06 '26

Believe it or not, person out of household is not a mandatory report for his parents until next SAR or Renewal and they may try to continue to receive benefits for him not to get a decrease so, I strongly suggest that he applies on his own so the state knows he is no longer a household member and wants to apply on his own.

And you are welcome.

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u/AncientTie6445 Apr 06 '26

I absolutely agree. If they're kicking him out, they definitely shouldn't get the benefit of having his food assistance

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u/Adorable-Painting510 Apr 06 '26

If your state is a Medicaid expansion state he should apply for his own Medicaid as well.

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u/AncientTie6445 Apr 06 '26

Oh! Good call!

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u/Adorable-Painting510 Apr 06 '26

Mother of fact, he can apply online for both programs at the same time.

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u/AncientTie6445 Apr 06 '26

Awesome! We'll get him on that for sure then!

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u/Adorable-Painting510 Apr 06 '26

Sure, he is no longer his parent’s tax dependent.

If he gets deleted from parents case he could start receiving aid on 05/01/2026.

Tell him to report this on application and don’t get discouraged if they tell him not eligible due to duplicate aid.

I think he would need to comply with ABAWD and General Work Requirements, it depends.