Household Composition - EAEDC

About the Household Composition Section

The Household Composition section is available in the following workflows:

  • Request for Assistance
  • Case Maintenance
  • Closed AUs
  • Extension Request (Not applicable to EAEDC)
  • Reevaluation
  • Reinstatement

It contains the following pages:

  • Address
  • Phone
  • Email
  • Household

What is the Household Composition Section Used For?

The Household Composition section records the household’s contact information and the information about members of the household who may or may not be included in the EAEDC filing unit.

Each page requires completion when a Request for Assistance is completed and is available in the other workflows listed above when changes need to be made.

When the Household page appears in the workflow or you otherwise need to make changes to who is residing in the home, you will use it to:

  • add all people who are living in the household, whether they are requesting assistance or not
  • add a person to the household who is currently listed with a status of Not Present and the client reports is in the home,
  • change a household member’s status to Not Present, or
  • remove a household member who is a duplicate of another household member listed as an Assessed person.

The status for people added in the Household page will always be Basic. That status will change to Assessed when the person is processed on the Assessed Person page.

When an EAEDC Client Reports a New Household Member

Clients can report changes to their household at any time. The steps taken by the case manager when this information is received differs depending on several factors. To determine the steps needed on the case, you must first determine:

  • What is the person’s relationship to the other members residing in the home?
  • Does the individual have a relationship that requires them to be part of the EAEDC Filing Unit or Assistance Unit?
  • Does the person have a relationship to other household members who are not receiving EAEDC that will now be required to be on the EAEDC case due to the relationship?
  • What is the age of the person being added?

How do I Add a Person to the Household Page?

To add a new person to the household, you must:

  1. access the Household page,
  2. click the Query List button to display the Household Query List popup page that shows any people associated with the grantee (there may not be any),

If the person is displayed:

  1. select the person you want to add and click Select,
    1. change the person’s Status in HH to Present, and
    2. go to step 7.

If the person is not displayed:

  1. click Select without selecting a member to enable the data entry fields on the page,
  2. enter the Last name, First name, Middle name, Birth date, and Gender of the household member,
  3. select the household member’s relationship to the grantee,
  4. if the grantee has a pending or active SNAP case, indicate if the household member purchases and prepares their food with the grantee, and
  5. click the Save button to add the household member information.

Note: You must select Yes if the person has a mandatory inclusion reason for SNAP. See Household Composition - SNAP.

If a person displayed in the Query List is receiving DTA benefits and resides at the same address, this is a Merge Household situation. You will be given a message:

“This is a household merge situation. Please click the Query List button and select the prechecked clients. If you do not want to merge the households then you must change one of the grantee addresses or match to a ’New’ address.”

Click OK and follow the instructions in the message. If you click Finish without doing so the following message will appear:

“People from the Grantee’s Current Residence Address were not selected from the Query List. Either select them from the Query List or cancel this page.”

Once you click OK and select the household members, you must click Next/Finish. You will receive another message indicating a new household has been created for the grantee.

  • the system automatically exits from the interview when you click Next/Finish,
  • the Household page will be set to require reedit, and
  • you must reenter the interview by selecting the Case Maintenance workflow from the Workflow drop down list to change any other information on the page.

Important: If the household member is a Basic Person who has not provided a Social Security Number (SSN) to the Department, do not assign an alternate identifier in the Assessed person page. Instead obtain the SSN when you are speaking to the client.

Once added to the Household page see Household Composition: AU Composition Details-EAEDC for information on adding the person to the filing/assistance unit.

If it is not a Merge Household situation:

  1. select the person chosen from the Query List (who is now in the Select List field on the Household page),
  2. select the household member’s Relationship to the grantee if it has not been established, and
  3. if the grantee has a Pending or Active SNAP case, indicate if the household member purchases and prepares their Food with the grantee.

How Do I Remove a Person From the Household?

When a client reports a household member is no longer residing in the home, it is not sufficient to only remove them from the Assistance Unit using an ineligibility reason. You must also do so on the Household page. To remove a person from the household you must:

  1. select the household member from the list in the Select List field,
  2. change the Status in HH to Not Present if the person is not a duplicate, or
  3. change the Status in HH to Duplicate if applicable, and
  4. click Save to update the household member.

How do I Add a Spouse to the EAEDC Case?

When an EAEDC client resides with their spouse, the spouse will not be part of the EAEDC assistance unit but they will be part of the filing unit. If the spouse is disabled or otherwise eligible for EAEDC, they will have a separate EAEDC case and each case will include the respective spouse as a deemor. To add the spouse to the EAEDC filing unit, on the AU Mandatory/Responsible page:

  1. select No for Applying,
  2. select Yes for Mandatory Inclusion,
  3. select the date the client informed you of the change as the Application date
  4. select Deemor from the drop-down selection for Inclusion reason, and
  5. select Spouse from the drop-down selection for Responsibility.

The living arrangement for the EAEDC will change and can result in a benefit change if the spouse has income or is receiving EAEDC or TAFDC.

Examples of Adding a Spouse to the EAEDC Case

If an EAEDC client reports they have gotten married and the spouse is receiving EAEDC for themselves:

  • the spouse must be added as a deemor to the client’s EAEDC,
  • the client must be added as a deemor on the spouse’s EAEDC, and
  • the EAEDC benefit amount for both clients would decrease based on this Living Arrangement.

If a client reports that their spouse has moved back into their home and the spouse has no income:

  • the spouse must be added as a deemor to the client’s EAEDC, and
  • the EAEDC benefit amount would not change.

If the client reports they are now residing with their spouse and their spouse is working:

  • the spouse must be added as a deemor to the client’s EAEDC, and
  • the amount of the spouses income will determine whether the client remains eligible for EAEDC or decreases.

Examples of Adding a Child to an Active EAEDC Case

If a client is receiving EAEDC as a person with a disability or health condition, and they report they now have custody of their friend’s child (the child has no income and neither the child’s parents nor siblings are residing in the home), after adding the child on the Household page, the case manager must:

On the AU Mandatory/Responsible page:

  1. select Yes for Applying,
  2. select Yes for Mandatory Inclusion, and
  3. enter the date the client reported the change as the Application date.

The client will not need to verify their disability for EAEDC until:

  • the child turns 15 years of age and the client becomes subject to the Department of Career Services (DCS) registration at MassHire or Transitional Employment for Massachusetts Parents (TEMP) participation, or
  • the child is removed from the EAEDC because they turned 18 or are no longer in the home.

See Caretaker Family Disability Exemption - EAEDC

If an EAEDC client aged 65 or older gains custody of a child and the client also has custody of the child’s sibling who is receiving RSDI, the siblings cannot be separated.

When adding the child:

  • the two children and any income either child has must be added to the EAEDC together, or
  • the client can choose to continue to receive EAEDC for only themselves.

If the client receiving EAEDC wishes to add a child to their case, any income the child has must be considered for the EAEDC. See Rules for Counting Income - EAEDC.

What if the Client Reports a New Household Member While the EAEDC Application is Pending?

In general, if the client indicates there is a new household member while the EAEDC application is still pending, on day one:

  • establish the EAEDC with the accurate information at the time of application,
  • add the additional household member on day two using the date the client reported the change as the application date.

Verifying SSNs for New Household Members

A Social Security Number (SSN) must be provided orally or in writing for any household member applying for EAEDC benefits, unless good cause exists.

In many cases, a client gaining custody of a child to whom they are not related or not closely related may not immediately have the SSN for the child.

You must not assign an Alternate SSN to the child unless the client has indicated a good cause reason for the delay in obtaining the SSN. Where good cause exists, the household may submit verification that an SSN application has been filed or a request for a new Social Security card has been made.

When a child is born in a Massachusetts hospital, an application for an SSN is applied for on the child’s behalf. If the client is adding a newborn less than four months of age, they have submitted a hospital birth record or birth certificate indicating the child was born in a Massachusetts hospital, you must enter the SSN application date as the child’s date of birth on the Assessed Person page. Do not click “unable to obtain”.

BEACON will then automatically assign a system generated Alternate Identifier for the child.

For a newborn child, the SSN for the child must then be provided by four months of age, unless good cause exists.

In most cases, if the child’s first and last name and date of birth are entered in BEACON correctly, a batch from SSA will update the child’s SSN.

An alternate Identifier must never be assigned for a US Citizen who is not a newborn.

See Alternate Identifiers and Social Security Number Requirements

Related Topics

Household Composition Policy and Procedures

Last Update: May 7, 2026