Best Financial Help Resource for Indiana Grandparents on a Fixed Income Raising Grandchildren

If you are a grandparent in Indiana living on Social Security, SSDI, or a pension and suddenly raising a grandchild, start with programmes whose rules do not automatically count your income as the child's. In a child-only TANF case, a non-needy relative caregiver's income is excluded. For Hoosier Healthwise, a relative caregiver's income is excluded when the caregiver does not claim the child as a tax dependent. The DCS unlicensed relative stipend is for eligible formal DCS placements. Eligibility for each programme depends on its own rules, and DCS payments require a DCS case.

The biggest obstacle is not eligibility. It is the widespread assumption — including among some caseworkers — that your income disqualifies the child. For child-only TANF, it does not; Hoosier Healthwise uses tax-filer rules to determine whether caregiver income counts.

Why Fixed-Income Grandparents Miss Benefits They Qualify For

Indiana's benefit system can be hard to navigate when a relative applies for a child. When a grandparent on Social Security opens the FSSA Benefits Portal, the child-only rules may not be clear. A grandparent receiving $2,100 per month in Social Security may see household-income questions and assume the child will not qualify.

But for a Child-Only TANF case, Indiana evaluates only the child's own income and resources. A grandparent who is not included in the assistance unit does not have their Social Security, pension, or wages counted in that child-only determination. The same income that would disqualify a parent applying for themselves is irrelevant for a grandparent filing a child-only case.

This is not a loophole. It is how the programme is designed. Non-needy relative caregivers were never intended to be evaluated alongside the child.

Programmes with Income-Exclusion Rules

Child-Only TANF

The cash grant for a child living with a specified relative within Indiana's fifth-degree relationship rule. It evaluates only the child's income — not the caregiver's Social Security, pension, wages, or savings. One child qualifies for up to $248 per month. Two children qualify for up to $409 per month. Apply through the FSSA Benefits Portal as a child-only case.

The critical step is ensuring the application is processed as a child-only case, not a family case that includes you in the assistance unit. State Form 53460 identifies an authorized representative for a SNAP/TANF case; the child's eligibility as a child-only case comes from assistance-unit rules, not this form alone.

Hoosier Healthwise (Medicaid for children)

Hoosier Healthwise uses MAGI rules for children. When a relative caregiver does not claim the child as a tax dependent, the caregiver's income is excluded; the child's MAGI is compared with the programme thresholds: Package A free coverage up to 158% FPL, or Package C coverage with copays up to 250% FPL. If the caregiver claims the child as a tax dependent, caregiver household income is counted. DFR determines eligibility.

Apply through the same FSSA Benefits Portal. The child can qualify even if you do not.

DCS Unlicensed Relative Stipend

If the child was placed in your home by DCS under an open CHINS proceeding and you are an unlicensed relative caregiver, DCS Policy 16.02 provides a flat stipend of $300 per month per child ($150 if the child is placed in your home for fewer than 15 days in a month). Contact your DCS Family Case Manager to confirm eligibility.

KinGAP Guardianship Assistance

KinGAP is available only for qualifying DCS wards, not private informal care. The child must be at least 13 when the agreement is signed, or a younger sibling in the same relative home as a qualifying youth age 13 or older. The relative must be licensed, and the child must live in that licensed home for at least six consecutive months. DCS and the relative must negotiate and execute the KinGAP agreement before the court enters the final guardianship order; DCS and the court must also rule out reunification and adoption as permanency goals. The monthly rate is negotiated based on the child's needs and cannot exceed the foster-care per diem the child would have received in a licensed home.

Programmes Where Your Income Does Count

Not everything ignores the caregiver's finances. Understanding which programmes count your income prevents surprises:

• SNAP (food benefits): includes household members who live together and purchase and prepare meals together, so the grandparent's income and assets count if the grandparent is part of the SNAP unit. Indiana uses Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility, with a gross income limit of 130% FPL; ask DFR how current household and resource rules apply.
• CCDF childcare vouchers: initial eligibility requires gross monthly household income at or below 135% FPL; continuing eligibility allows income up to 85% of State Median Income. FSSA maintains a waitlist for new applicants, with priority or exemptions for children placed with relatives through DCS foster care or CHINS cases.
• WIC: for children under five. A relative caregiver may apply if caregiver gross income is at or below 185% FPL, or the child may qualify through adjunctive eligibility if enrolled in Medicaid or SNAP.

Even in these programmes, a grandparent on Social Security alone may qualify, depending on the programme's household and income rules; adding a grandchild does not guarantee eligibility.

Who This Is For

• Grandparents receiving Social Security retirement benefits who assumed their income disqualified the grandchild from any cash assistance
• Grandparents on SSDI who want to know which programmes evaluate the child separately
• Retirees on a pension who are paying out of pocket for a grandchild's food, clothes, and school expenses without realising the child qualifies for benefits in their own right
• Any relative caregiver on a fixed income who tried the FSSA Benefits Portal and stopped when the income questions seemed too high

Who This Is NOT For

• Grandparents who are the child's legal parent through adoption — adoption changes the eligibility rules for most programmes
• Anyone seeking advice on how Social Security treats a grandchild as a dependent — that is a separate SSA question, not a state benefit question
• Anyone who needs help today — call 211 for immediate food, shelter, and utility assistance

How a Guide Compares to Figuring It Out Yourself

You can navigate every one of these programmes by calling the FSSA helpline, visiting your county DFR office, and contacting DCS directly. The agencies are free. The programmes are free. Nobody is gatekeeping the information.

What takes time is learning the income rules programme by programme, knowing which legal arrangement unlocks which payment, and keeping track of the documents each agency needs. A resource like the Indiana Kinship Financial Help Guide puts all of that into a single document: a programme-by-programme walkthrough, an income decision tree showing whose income counts where, and printable checklists for every application.

For a grandparent on a fixed income, the stakes are specific: every month you spend figuring out the system is a month of Child-Only TANF you could have collected. At up to $248 per month for one child, the cost of delay adds up faster than the cost of any guide.

The Tradeoffs

Pros of a printed guide:

• See every programme and its income rules in one place before you start calling
• Income decision tree tells you immediately which programmes ignore your Social Security
• Document checklists mean fewer trips back to the DFR office for missing paperwork
• Legal arrangement matrix shows exactly what a guardianship unlocks versus a Power of Attorney

Cons:

• It costs money up front — though less than one month of the smallest benefit it covers
• It cannot answer questions specific to your case — you still need to talk to a caseworker for that
• It covers Indiana programmes only — if you are also dealing with SSA benefits or federal tax credits, those require separate guidance

Frequently Asked Questions

Will applying for Child-Only TANF affect my Social Security payments?

No. The Child-Only TANF grant is paid on behalf of the child, not the caregiver. It does not count as income to the grandparent and does not affect your Social Security retirement, SSDI, or SSI benefits.

Can I apply for the child's benefits without having guardianship?

Yes. Child-Only TANF, SNAP, Hoosier Healthwise, and WIC do not require legal guardianship. A grandparent providing the child's primary care can apply for these programmes with informal custody. KinGAP requires a qualifying DCS ward placement, licensing, six months in the licensed home, age and permanency criteria, and an agreement before the final guardianship order; a DCS unlicensed relative stipend requires an eligible open CHINS placement. The core benefits are available without a court order.

What if I already applied and was denied?

Check the denial notice carefully. Some denials happen because the application was processed as a family case instead of a child-only case — including the grandparent's income when it should have been excluded. You have 33 days from the notice to request a fair hearing. To ask to keep existing cash or Medicaid benefits at the current level while the appeal is pending, file within 10 days of the notice or before the change takes effect; if the decision is upheld, you may have to repay benefits paid during the appeal.

Is there a free checklist I can start with?

The free Indiana Kinship Benefits Checklist lists every programme, the agency to contact, and the basic documents to bring. If you want the full income decision trees, application walkthroughs, and tracking worksheets, the complete guide covers everything in one printable document.

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