Alabama MyDHR Benefits Application: How to Apply for Family Assistance Online

Two Portals, One Application

Alabama runs two digital entry points for public benefits: the MyDHR portal at mydhr.alabama.gov and the OneAlabama mobile app. Both feed into the same county DHR processing system. Which one you use doesn't affect your application — pick whichever is easier to navigate on your device.

If you're a grandparent or relative raising a child and applying for Family Assistance (TANF), SNAP (food assistance), or Medicaid, the online route avoids the trip to a county office. But you can still submit paper Form DHR-FAD 690 in person if that's more comfortable.

What You Need Before You Start

Gather these before creating an account:

• Child's birth certificate or hospital birth record
• Social Security numbers for the child and any applying household members
• Proof of Alabama residency — a lease, utility bill, mortgage statement, or landlord letter
• Income documentation for the child — child support payment records, SSI benefit notices, or Social Security survivor benefit letters (if any)
• Your own identification — driver's license or state ID

For child-only Family Assistance, you won't need to document your own income or assets. The application asks for them, but the caseworker excludes them when processing a non-needy relative case.

The Application Triggers Multiple Programs

One submission through MyDHR can screen you for Family Assistance, SNAP, and Medicaid simultaneously. The system runs an automatic cross-check — if you apply for food assistance, DHR also screens the child for Medicaid and ALL Kids eligibility without a separate application.

This matters because it means one trip through the portal can set three benefits in motion at once.

Processing Timelines

DHR has 30 calendar days to process a Family Assistance or SNAP application from the date it receives a signed form. SNAP expedited processing is available if a household has gross monthly income under $150 and liquid resources of $100 or less; is a destitute migrant or seasonal farmworker household with liquid resources of $100 or less; or has combined monthly gross income and liquid resources less than monthly rent or mortgage plus actual utilities. DHR must make expedited benefits available no later than the seventh calendar day after the application is filed.

Medicaid and ALL Kids applications take up to 45 calendar days. An eligibility interview (phone or in person) is required before final approval for Family Assistance and SNAP.

County DHR Offices

Alabama has 67 county DHR offices. If you prefer in-person help or your internet access is limited, your county office can accept paper applications, conduct the eligibility interview, and answer questions about what documentation the system still needs. The Alabama Kinship Navigator helpline at 1-844-425-2546 can connect you to your local office.

Avoiding Common Application Mistakes

The most frequent error for kinship caregivers is filing as a standard household rather than identifying the case as a child-only non-needy relative application. When the system treats it as a household case, your retirement or Social Security income gets counted — and the application gets denied for income that shouldn't have been in the calculation at all.

The Alabama Financial Help for Kinship Caregivers guide includes the exact fields and sections to complete (and skip) for each benefit type, so the application goes through correctly on the first attempt.

See more Alabama guides →