Connecticut SNAP Benefits When a Grandparent Is Raising a Grandchild

SNAP Household Rules Are Different From TFA

If you're raising a grandchild and already know about the TFA child-only grant — where your income doesn't count — SNAP will feel like a different world. Under federal SNAP rules, everyone who lives together and customarily purchases and prepares food together is a single household. That means your income, your grandchild's income, and any other household member's income all get combined.

There is no "child-only" carve-out for SNAP the way there is for TFA. As of October 1, 2025, the household gross income limit is 200% of the Federal Poverty Level, and net income after deductions must be at or below 100% FPL. DSS separately uses 130% FPL as an income-change reporting threshold.

What Counts as Income

For a grandparent-grandchild SNAP household, all of the following get counted:

• Your Social Security retirement or SSDI benefits
• Any pension or annuity income
• The child's Social Security survivor benefits or child support
• DCF guardianship stipend payments (if applicable)
• Any wages or self-employment income

SSI received by a household member counts as unearned income in the SNAP household calculation. Standard deductions — earned income, dependent care, shelter costs, medical expenses for elderly or disabled household members — can significantly reduce your countable income.

The Work Requirement Expansion and Your Exemption

The federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act (signed July 2025) expanded Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWD) work requirements to cover adults ages 18 through 64. Under these rules, adults must document 80 hours per month of work, training, or volunteering to keep SNAP benefits.

But here's the provision that protects kinship caregivers: relatives caring for a dependent child under 14 are explicitly exempt. If you have a grandchild under 14 living with you, the work requirement does not apply to you — regardless of your age or employment status.

Adults aged 65 and older are outside the expanded 18–64 ABAWD age range. People ages 60–64 may still be subject to ABAWD rules unless another exemption applies; caring for a dependent child under 14 is one such exemption.

How to Apply

SNAP applications go through the ConneCT portal (connect.ct.gov), by mail, or at a DSS regional resource center — the same channels as TFA and HUSKY. You can apply for all three on a single form.

Renewals happen on a 12-month cycle, with a Periodic Report Form required at the six-month mark. You must report if your household income exceeds 130% FPL gross or if the child leaves your home.

Direct Certification for School Meals and Summer EBT

Once your household receives SNAP, your grandchild is automatically certified for free school breakfast and lunch — no separate application required. Connecticut also participates in Summer EBT, which loads nutritional funds onto your EBT card during summer months when school meals aren't available.

Heat and Eat Changes

The 2025 federal law restricted the LIHEAP-linked Standard Utility Allowance (the "Heat and Eat" provision) to households that include at least one elderly or disabled member. If your household includes someone age 60 or older or someone with a disability, this restriction won't affect your SNAP benefit calculation. For households without an elderly or disabled member, the change could reduce the utility deduction.

Putting SNAP Together With Everything Else

SNAP is one piece of a larger picture. The TFA child-only grant doesn't count your income at all. HUSKY Health evaluates the child separately. Care 4 Kids has its own income scale. Each program has different rules for the same household, and applying for one doesn't automatically trigger the others.

Our Connecticut kinship financial help guide maps how all these programs interact — which income counts where, which documents each one needs, and the renewal schedules you need to track so nothing lapses.

See more Connecticut guides →