Colorado Works 60-Month Limit and SB 26-181: What Kinship Caregivers Need to Know

One of the most common fears among kinship caregivers receiving Colorado Works is that the money will stop after five years. The federal TANF program does impose a 60-month lifetime benefit limit — but for most grandparents and relatives raising a child, this clock doesn't apply the way they think it does.

Child-Only Cases Are Exempt

Here's the central rule: child-only Colorado Works grants do not count toward the 60-month lifetime benefit limit. The time clock applies to adult recipients who are receiving cash assistance for themselves. In a non-needy caretaker relative case — where the grandparent or relative is not part of the assistance unit and the grant covers only the child — no months are accumulated.

The child remains eligible for the child-only grant until they turn 18 (or 19 if enrolled full-time in high school or vocational training), as long as they continue to meet the income and residency requirements. There is no cumulative time limit forcing termination.

This exemption exists because the caretaker relative isn't receiving benefits for themselves. The 60-month limit was designed to encourage workforce participation among adult beneficiaries, and since child-only cases involve adults who aren't in the assistance unit, the policy rationale doesn't apply.

What SB 26-181 Changed

Senate Bill 26-181 made several adjustments to Colorado Works that affect the broader landscape, even if they don't directly change child-only eligibility:

Extensions are now permissive, not mandatory. Before SB 26-181, Colorado law required counties to offer extensions beyond the 60-month lifetime maximum for households that demonstrated good cause; child-only cases were among the listed good-cause circumstances. SB 26-181 made extensions permissive and removed child-only cases and hardship from those listed good-cause examples.

If your case is subject to the 60-month limit, ask the county to explain whether it is adult-included and whether you meet a current good-cause rule. If your case should be child-only, ask the county to review its Colorado Benefits Management System (CBMS) coding.

COLA freeze for FY 2026–27 and 2027–28. SB 26-181 suspended the Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) for Basic Cash Assistance during state fiscal years 2026–27 and 2027–28. The law pauses the scheduled inflation adjustment during those years; it does not itself reduce the current nominal grant amounts ($173 for one child, $362 for two, etc.).

For families already living on tight margins, a two-year COLA freeze means the purchasing power of the child-only grant quietly erodes. It doesn't reduce the nominal payment, but it doesn't keep pace with rising food and housing costs either.

How to Verify Your Case Type

If you're concerned about the 60-month limit applying to your case, check with your county caseworker to confirm that your Colorado Works case is coded as a non-needy caretaker relative, child-only in the Colorado Benefits Management System (CBMS). Miscoding happens — particularly when the initial application is processed through the PEAK portal, which doesn't always distinguish cleanly between adult-included and child-only cases.

Signs your case might be miscoded:

• You're being asked to complete work activities or job training
• Your personal income appears on benefit determination notices
• Your redetermination packet asks for your earnings or employment status

In a correctly coded child-only case, none of these should apply. If you see any of these red flags, call your county office and ask them to review the CBMS case type. If you receive an adverse Notice of Action on a Colorado Works determination, you have 90 calendar days from the notice to request a fair hearing through the Office of Administrative Courts.

The Bottom Line

For the vast majority of kinship caregivers receiving Colorado Works, the 60-month limit is not a threat. The child-only grant continues as long as the child is eligible. SB 26-181 changes the extension rules for cases subject to the limit and pauses scheduled cost-of-living increases during two state fiscal years.

The Colorado Kinship Financial Help Guide walks through the difference between child-only and adult-included cases, how to verify your CBMS case coding, and what to do if your benefits are being calculated incorrectly.

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