Financial Help for Grandparents Providing for a Grandchild
According to the West Virginia University Extension Service, more than 3.9 million grandparents in the U.S. currently provide for their grandchildren. Raising grandchildren poses many challenges for grandparents, including financial challenges. Grandparents often rely on Social Security benefits or other retirement benefits, and those benefits don't always stretch far enough to raise a whole family.
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Kinship Care
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Kinship Care is a program meant to assist relatives caring for children, including grandparents who provide for grandchildren. Eligibility criteria vary somewhat from state to state, and the amount of assistance grandparents can receive also varies. To qualify for Kinship Care, grandparents must have legal custody of their grandchildren; they don't qualify for Kinship Care if it is only a temporary placement.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
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Grandparents caring for a grandchild may qualify for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, a program offered through the welfare office in each state. Grandparents must have low incomes, and their grandchildren must live with them in order for grandparents to qualify for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. The amount of financial help available varies based on the number of people in the household and the total household income.
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Assistance From Children's Services
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If Children's Services removes grandchildren from their parents' care because of neglect, abuse or other reasons and places them in the care of grandparents, the agency may provide some financial assistance to grandparents if needed. It may cost the agency less money to assist grandparents in providing for their grandchildren than it would cost to place the children in foster care, and professionals often feel placement with a relative is in the best interests of children. The amount of assistance available from Children's Services varies from location to location and is based on the circumstances of the placement.
Other Sources of Help
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Grandparents providing for grandchildren may qualify for many other sources of financial help depending on their incomes and other circumstances. They may qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the Home Energy Assistance Program or other programs that help with utility bills, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers or other programs that help with housing costs, Medicaid, help with transportation, child care vouchers, grants for medical care and more. If their grandchildren have a case worker through Children's Services, she can refer grandparents to many sources of assistance. The county welfare office can also help grandparents find the help they need.
Child Support
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The court commonly orders noncustodial parents to pay child support to grandparents that provide for their children. The amount of child support varies depending on several factors, including the income of the noncustodial parents. However, some parents fail to pay child support even when ordered to do so by the court.
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References
- Kelly Morris; Social Worker; Mansfield, Ohio
- Courtney Meder; Brown County Children's Services Case Worker; Georgetown, Ohio
- West Virginia University Extension Service: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
- California Department of Social Services: Kinship Care
- Administration for Children and Families: About TANF
Resources
- Photo Credit grandparents with grandchild image by Pavel Losevsky from Fotolia.com
