Foster families have a genuine, ongoing choice about whether to include a foster child in their SNAP household, and this choice directly affects the benefit calculation: including the child means foster care payments count as household income, while excluding the child means those payments are ignored entirely, which often results in a higher SNAP benefit for the rest of the family.
This guide is independently written and is not affiliated with USDA, OPM, or the official federal Feds Feed Families campaign.
The Basic Rule and the Choice Foster Families Have
Under standard SNAP rules, children under 18 living with an adult are generally required to be part of that adult's household, but foster children are a specific, documented exception. A foster parent can choose to include or exclude each foster care, adoption assistance, or permanency care assistance recipient individually, even when caring for more than one such child at the same time, and this choice can be changed at any point, not just at initial application.
Why Excluding a Foster Child Often Increases Benefits
- The Basic Rule and the Choice Foster Families Have
- Why Excluding a Foster Child Often Increases Benefits
- A Worked Example
- The Foster Child Cannot Apply Separately
- How to Make or Change This Choice
- If a Foster Child's Parent Moves In
- Kinship Care and Grandfamilies
- FAQ
- Do I have to include a foster child in my SNAP household?
- Does excluding a foster child always result in a higher SNAP benefit?
- Can a foster child receive SNAP separately from the foster family?
- What happens if a foster child's biological parent moves into the home?
If you exclude a foster child from your SNAP household, the foster care payment your family receives for that child, along with any other income the child has such as child support or SSI, is not counted as household income. If you include the child, that income is added to your household's total, which can push your countable income higher and reduce your family's SNAP benefit as a result.
A Worked Example
Consider a family with two biological children caring for one foster child, receiving $600 a month in foster care payments. Applying for SNAP as a household of four, excluding the foster child and the $600 payment, means the family's SNAP benefit is calculated using only their own income. Alternatively, applying as a household of five, including the foster child, adds the $600 to countable income, and while the household size increases the maximum allotment slightly, the added income to the calculation often results in a lower net benefit than the exclusion option would provide.
The Foster Child Cannot Apply Separately
It's important to understand that a foster child excluded from your household cannot receive SNAP as their own separate household. The exclusion only means the child's income and the foster payment aren't counted toward your family's case, not that the child receives independent benefits elsewhere.
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How to Make or Change This Choice
You can tell your caseworker whether you want to include or exclude a foster child at the time of application, during your recertification interview, or at any other point by contacting your state SNAP agency directly, either by phone or in writing. If you're already receiving SNAP with a foster child included and want to switch to excluding them, most states allow this change to be requested at any time, not just during a scheduled renewal.
If a Foster Child's Parent Moves In
If a foster child's biological parent later moves into the foster family's home, the situation changes: generally, the parent, the child, and the foster parent must all be included together in a single SNAP household, since the parent-child relationship takes precedence over the foster arrangement once they're living under the same roof.
Kinship Care and Grandfamilies
Grandparents and other relatives caring for a child in the formal foster care system have the same choice to include or exclude that child from their SNAP household. It's also worth knowing that you can apply for SNAP on behalf of an eligible child in your care, such as a U.S. citizen grandchild, without needing to answer questions about your own immigration status if you're not applying for yourself.
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FAQ
Do I have to include a foster child in my SNAP household?
No. Foster families have the choice to include or exclude a foster child from their SNAP household, and this choice can be changed at any time.
Does excluding a foster child always result in a higher SNAP benefit?
Often, yes, since it removes the foster care payment from your household's countable income, though the specific outcome depends on your family's overall financial situation.
Can a foster child receive SNAP separately from the foster family?
No. A foster child excluded from your household's SNAP case does not receive independent benefits of their own.
What happens if a foster child's biological parent moves into the home?
Generally, the parent, child, and foster parent must all be included together in the same SNAP household, since the parent-child relationship takes precedence.
Sources: Massachusetts Legal Help, Texas Health and Human Services Texas Works Handbook, New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, Grandfamilies and Kinship Support Network.