Help for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: 2026 by State

If you are raising a grandchild because the parents can’t, you are not alone. Generations United, a national nonprofit, counts over 2.4 million children living with grandparents, other relatives or close family friends. Its 2025 report says that for every 1 child raised by relatives in foster care, 19 are raised by relatives outside it — usually with no foster care check at all.

This guide is built on the free research tools that Generations United’s Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network publishes. Generations United is a nonprofit, not a government program, and it does not give money to families. The help below comes mostly from government programs run by your state — the Network’s work is what makes them easier to find. We explain each one, show what your state paid in 2023, and list what to have ready before you call.

The Short Answer

• Monthly cash for the child: ask your state TANF office for a “child-only” grant. In most states it counts only the child’s income, not yours. The 2023 average maximum was $328 a month for one child.
• No work rule, no asset test (almost everywhere): only Guam asks kin caregivers to work for a child-only grant, and no state counts your savings or home.
• A guide who knows the system: most states have a kinship navigator program that helps you apply for TANF, SNAP and Medicaid.
• If you are 55 or older: your local Area Agency on Aging can offer caregiver support — counseling, support groups and sometimes respite — even if you are raising the child without a court order.
• Food and health coverage: the child can often get SNAP and Medicaid or CHIP. Ask for them when you apply for TANF.

Help #1: The TANF “Child-Only” Grant

TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) is the federal cash assistance program. States run it, and many call it something else — CalWORKs in California, K-TAP in Kentucky, Family Assistance in Alabama. The Network’s 2026 fact sheet calls TANF “often the only available ongoing financial support” for children raised by grandparents.

There are two kinds of TANF grants, and grandparents should know the difference:

	Child-only grant	Family grant
Who is on the grant	The child only	You and the child
Whose income counts	The child’s (child support, Social Security survivor benefits). Exceptions: AZ, NV, OR	Yours and the child’s
Assets (savings, home)	Not counted in any state or territory	Your state’s asset rules apply
Work requirement	None, except in Guam	Usually yes (many states exempt caregivers over 60)
Five-year federal limit	Months on the grant don’t count against you, because you are not on it	Up to 60 months
Amount	Smaller — 2023 average maximum $328/month for one child	Larger

Why the five-year clock doesn’t touch you on a child-only grant: the federal rule (45 CFR 264.1) limits families where an adult head of household has received assistance for five years, and says states must not count months of assistance to someone who is not the head of household. On a child-only grant the money is for the child, so the Network says most relative caregivers “should be able to receive a monthly child-only grant on behalf of the child they are raising until the child becomes an adult.”

Three states also look at your income for a child-only grant: Arizona (up to 130% of the federal poverty level), Nevada (up to 275%) and Oregon (up to 185%). Everywhere else, your pension or Social Security does not stop the child’s grant.

The money is not per child. The study found no state that pays a full amount for each child the way foster care does. In Alaska, for example, one child gets up to $452 a month, but three children get $656 together — about $219 each.

Short-term crisis help. Many states also use TANF for one-time help, such as a crib, school supplies or a utility bill. The Network says these benefits “will not last more than four months” and have no work requirement. Ask your TANF office if they offer it — some states limit it to families involved with child welfare.

What Your State Paid: Maximum Child-Only Grant (FY 2023)

This is the maximum monthly TANF child-only grant in each state, from Table A2 of the 2025 Network and Child Trends study. These are 2023 rates — the newest the study had, and the same figures the Network’s June 2026 fact sheet still uses. Your state may have changed its amount since. A dash means the study had no amount for that state.

State	1 child	2 children	3 children
Alabama	$165	$190	$215
Alaska	$452	$554	$656
Arizona*	$204	$275	$347
Arkansas	$81	$162	$204
California	$770–$809	$987–$1,039	$1,248–$1,314
Colorado	$141	$296	$444
Connecticut	$489	$661	$833
Delaware	$201	$270	$338
District of Columbia	$490	$612	$781
Florida	$180	$241	$303
Georgia	$155	$235	$280
Hawaii	$450	$607	$763
Idaho	$309	$309	$309
Illinois	$329	$447	$565
Indiana	$248	$409	$513
Iowa	—	—	—
Kansas	$224–$267	$309–$352	$386–$429
Kentucky	$372	$450	$524
Louisiana	$244	$376	$484
Maine	$188	$359	$529
Maryland	$373	$620	$772
Massachusetts	$553	$688	$823
Michigan	$158	$274	$420
Minnesota	$419	$642	$756
Mississippi	$200	$236	$260
Missouri	$136	$234	$292
Montana	$347	$467	$588
Nebraska	$331	$408	$485
Nevada*	$418	$478	$538
New Hampshire	$753	$1,022	$1,291
New Jersey	$214	$425	$559
New Mexico	$327	$439	$550
New York	$363–$493	$481–$650	$648–$836
North Carolina	$181	$236	$272
North Dakota	$349	$510	$664
Ohio	$363	$495	$608
Oklahoma	$104	$205	$289
Oregon*	$228	$348	$477
Pennsylvania	$205	$316	$403
Rhode Island	$327	$449	$554
South Carolina	$229	$308	$388
South Dakota	$432	$507	$581
Tennessee	—	—	—
Texas	$121	$174	$243
Utah	$383	$531	$662
Vermont	$562–$587	$710–$725	$856–$880
Virginia	$226–$316	$332–$422	$417–$508
Washington	$450	$570	$706
West Virginia	$417	$480	$542
Wisconsin	—	—	—
Wyoming	$493	$816	$869

* Arizona, Nevada and Oregon also count the caregiver’s income. Ranges mean the amount depends on your county or region. South Dakota pays more — $840 for one child — when a child welfare agency placed the child with you.

For comparison, the study puts the average monthly foster care payment for a child placed with a relative at $915. If a child welfare agency was involved in placing your grandchild, ask the caseworker whether you can become a licensed foster parent — that is a different program with different rules, and it is decided by your state.

Before You Call the TANF Office: Checklist

The Network’s fact sheet lists every state’s TANF program name, agency and phone number. Many states don’t explain child-only grants online, so the Network says you may need to call. Have this ready:

• Say the words “child-only grant.” Front-desk staff may assume you want a family grant with work rules.
• Proof the child lives with you — school or doctor records with your address, if you have them.
• Proof of your relationship — birth certificates that link you to the child. Each state defines “relative”; some include godparents and family friends.
• The child’s income — child support, Social Security survivor or disability benefits.
• Your income, only if you live in Arizona, Nevada or Oregon, or you also want SNAP or a family grant.
• Ask for a “good cause” exception to child support cooperation if pursuing the parents would put anyone at risk or harm the family. Federal policy lets states accept any reason; Massachusetts and Wyoming treat all kin caregivers as eligible.
• Ask for SNAP, Medicaid and child care help in the same application. Many states use one combined form.
• Ask about short-term crisis help for one-time costs like a bed or a bill.

Help #2: A Kinship Navigator

A kinship navigator is a person or program whose job is to help relative caregivers find and apply for help — TANF, SNAP, Medicaid, legal options and support groups. The Network keeps a state-by-state list. When we read it on October 4, 2026:

• Most states list at least one program, and many say they are “open to kinship families regardless of foster care or child welfare agency involvement” — you don’t need an open case.
• Four places had no navigator listed: Arkansas, Rhode Island, South Dakota and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Rhode Island and the Virgin Islands list other services that may help.
• Hawaii was “pursuing a kinship navigator pilot program” as of March 2026.
• Colorado’s statewide program is “limited to kinship families with open child welfare cases.”
• Texas is piloting navigators “in limited sites.”

If your state has no navigator, call 2-1-1 (see our 211 guide) and ask for “kinship care” or “relative caregiver” programs.

Help #3: Caregiver Support If You Are 55 or Older

The National Family Caregiver Support Program is a federal program under the Older Americans Act, run through local Area Agencies on Aging. Most people think of it as help for adults caring for an aging parent. The federal rule also covers grandparents.

Under 45 CFR 1321.3, an “older relative caregiver” is someone age 55 or older who lives with a child and is the child’s primary caregiver because the parents are “unable or unwilling” to be. The rule covers a caregiver who has legal custody, adoption or guardianship — “or is raising the child informally.” You do not need a court order to qualify for these services.

What the program can offer (45 CFR 1321.91), depending on your area and funding:

• Information about services and help getting them, including case management
• Counseling, support groups and caregiver training
• Respite care, so you can get a break
• Supplemental services “on a limited basis” — each state and local agency decides what that means

One detail from the rule text: the requirement that the person being cared for can’t do at least two daily activities without help is written for caregivers of adults 60 and older or people with Alzheimer’s. It is not a condition for grandparents raising a child. Your eligibility ends when the child turns 18.

To reach your local Area Agency on Aging, use the Eldercare Locator — our Eldercare Locator call checklist has the number and what to ask. Say: “I’m 55 or older and raising my grandchild. What does your family caregiver program offer?”

Help #4: Food, Health Coverage and Child Care for the Child

• SNAP (food stamps): if you apply with a TANF child-only grant, the Network says you will be asked about your income too, but in most states it is used only to set the SNAP amount. See SNAP eligibility and how to apply.
• Medicaid and CHIP: children can often be covered even when the grandparent is not. See CHIP for children and Medicaid eligibility.
• Child care: if you work or go to school, see help paying for child care (CCDF).
• School meals: see free and reduced-price school lunch.

Your State’s GrandFacts Sheet — Check the Date

Generations United publishes a free GrandFacts fact sheet for every state, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with local programs, legal options and data. They are on the GrandFacts page. Before you rely on a phone number in one, look at its edition:

• By the file names on that page, 36 of the 53 sheets are 2021 editions. Only Alabama, Alaska and Idaho have 2025 updates; ten states have 2024 updates.
• The Spanish-language page still says its sheets were updated as of April 30, 2021. Only Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska and North Carolina have 2024 Spanish updates. Alabama and Alaska have 2025 English sheets, but their Spanish sheets are 2021 editions. The Spanish page also has a sheet for Puerto Rico, which the English list does not.

The Network now updates sheets “upon request.” If you find an old phone number, email grandfamilies@gu.org.

How We Checked This

We opened and read every source below on October 4, 2026.

• TANF basics, the $328 / $447 / $555 averages, child support and short-term help come from the Network’s national fact sheet, TANF: Help for Kin Caregivers (PDF dated June 22, 2026).
• The state table, the income exceptions, work and asset rules come from Table A2 and the findings of Uneven Support for Kinship/Grandfamilies: State TANF Child-Only Grants (Network and Child Trends, 2025). We copied the table row by row from the PDF.
• The 55+ caregiver rule comes from the regulation text itself — 45 CFR 1321.3 and 1321.91 — and the five-year limit from 45 CFR 264.1, both read through the eCFR API (title 45 issue of October 1, 2026).
• Navigator coverage comes from the Network’s Kinship Navigator Programs page. We counted the states marked “No information.”
• GrandFacts editions come from the file names on the English and Spanish fact sheet pages.
• Nonprofit status comes from IRS data on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer (Generations United Inc, EIN 31-1542973, 501(c)(3)).

What reading the sources directly showed us:

• The “2026” average is 2023 money. The June 2026 fact sheet’s $328 average matches the 2025 study, whose amounts are FY 2023 rates (updated from state websites “as of January 2025” where available). Treat every number in the table as a starting point and ask your state for today’s amount.
• Your income usually doesn’t matter. Many caregivers assume a pension or Social Security disqualifies them. For child-only grants, only three states look at caregiver income, and none look at assets.
• The study’s own numbers don’t fully line up. Its text says California’s one-child maximum is “$780”; its table shows $770–$809 by region. Its text says New York’s maximum averages “$460”; the table shows a range of $363–$493. We show the table figures.
• Generations United counts children two ways: “over 2.4 million” on its website and “about 2.5 million” in its 2025 report.

What we could not verify. We did not call any state TANF office, so we could not confirm 2026 grant amounts. The study had no amounts for Iowa, Tennessee or Wisconsin. We did not check each state’s definition of “relative” or what custody papers it requires. We did not test the phone numbers in the GrandFacts sheets.

Generations United and its Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network are nonprofit organizations — not government agencies — and they do not decide who gets benefits. TANF, SNAP, Medicaid and caregiver support are government programs run by your state and local agencies, which make every eligibility decision. Figures are FY 2023 state amounts and federal rules in effect on October 4, 2026.

This is general information, not legal or financial advice.