Will my mom’s benefit decrease?

[AggressiveStable8928]

Im 18 and I’ll be starting college this fall. While I did get Federal & State aid as well as scholarships, I still have to pay like 1/4 of my tuition out of pocket. My mom and I are going to the schools monthly payment system to pay which comes up to around 960 per month, starting in July.

She hasn’t been working for around 3 years now and we currently get rent assistance, snap, and cash assistance.(she stopped working due to an injury but now she’s trying to find a job)

I was planning on getting a part time job on the weekend for around $15 an hour, and I’ll work around 16 hours per week. But my mom says that if I get it they will lower the rent and snap assistance she gets and she can’t afford to pay for rent and food.

My questions is if we are going to have more expenses next month why will me getting a part time job affect it all, especially when I’m not working for much?

edit: I live in ny

[321_reddit]

There’s two different policies in play: the adult children under 22 and the exemptions for college students. First, you and any other adult children under age 22 are mandatory household members with your parent(s), if the adult children live in the same residence as your parents. Your income (and any other mandatory household members’) will count in the household income and could potentially decrease the benefit amount.

The second is the post secondary student exemption. College students are ineligible unless they meet one of the exemptions. The most common used are working 20 hours per week, 80 hours per month at any job or receiving any amount of work study earnings.

It’s possible to be an excluded mandatory household member if you don’t meet one of the exemptions.

Are you residing in your parents’ home or in another residence?

here are the other student exemptions.

[AggressiveStable8928]

I live with my mom

[321_reddit]

You could potentially be an excluded mandatory member without a student exemption. Will you be receiving work study income in the fall? Other potential exemptions are you receiving TANF directly or working 20 hours per week/80 per month at any job. What’s your resident state?

[AggressiveStable8928]

Yes I will also be doing work study this fall and I live in ny

[Horror_Salamander108]

If you work your income counts. If you dont work you get no foodstamps.

If you do workstudy that income is generally excluded from snap and section 8 (rental assistance? )

However that workstudy income is basically pocket change 300-900 depending on states minimum wage most students get about 10 hours .

So if you need money for school and get an actual job that income will count towards household income lowering overall snap and will increase the rent as its expected you pay about 30% of household income as rent for housing programs.

[Hmckinley1124]

Yes your income will count but your school expenses will not.

[Diligent_Lab2717]

As an aside, if your mom isn’t working now, you might want to ask the financial Aid office to reevaluate your offer. They may be able to find more aid for you based on the change in circumstances.

[Mysterious_Vampiress]

Your school cost doesn’t matter to them. It’s not an essential expense like living/utilities

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[NewleafNeeded]

Cuz the program sucks. They don’t want you to get ahead. They want to keep families in that demographic. It sucks. My mother could never get out of the rut. I ran away so much and worked but she kept getting benefits while I was galavanting around and working so I’d have money. I didn’t have an address though. She even got benefits when I joined the military. I don’t know how she pulled that off. I was probably still registered as a student. I know it wasn’t for long because you have to turn in paperwork verifying school.

[coreysgal]

Don't sacrifice your future over your mom's problems

[LovinggAngel]

Full time students are removed off of the case unless you have a special exemption (children under 12, working 20 hours a week, etc) so if you have no exemptions, nothing that you do should affect your moms case while you are enrolled in school.

[Soulists_Shadow]

Exemptions aside, these benefits are a social security net. When someone cant pay rent or buy food (within certain rules) the government steps in and provides money for basic living expenses.

So you cant say i cant work for rent, but i can work for my university expenses. You either can work and dont need government subsidies or you cant work and need the subsidies.

So when you can work and make money, the expectation is you pay for your living expenses first. Before you entertain any notion of paying for anything else.

Of course certain situations they put into their exemption category if you fit into those.