DC DHS Service Center Locations and Economic Security Administration

Five Service Centers Across DC

The DC Department of Human Services (DHS) Economic Security Administration (ESA) runs five service centers where you can apply in person for TANF, SNAP (food stamps), and Medicaid. All five are open Monday through Friday, 7:30 AM to 4:45 PM.

Anacostia Service Center — 2100 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, SE

Congress Heights Service Center — 4049 South Capitol Street, SW

Fort Davis Service Center — 3851 Alabama Avenue, SE

H Street Service Center — 645 H Street, NE

Taylor Street Service Center — 1207 Taylor Street, NW

Most kinship families in Wards 7 and 8 — where more than half of DC's GCP/CRCP households live — use the Anacostia or Fort Davis locations. The Taylor Street center in Northwest serves Wards 4 and 5. H Street covers the Northeast corridor.

What You Can Do at a Service Center

In-person visits handle everything the District Direct online portal does, plus a few things it cannot:

• Submit new applications for TANF, SNAP, and Medicaid
• Drop off verification documents (often faster than uploading online, especially if you have had portal upload errors)
• Pick up or request a replacement EBT card at the designated distribution centers: 645 H Street NE or 1649 Marion Barry Avenue SE. A replacement can also be requested by calling FIS at 888-304-9167.
• Complete a required SNAP interview in person; SNAP interviews are also available by phone through the DHS Call Center
• Get help with a recertification that is overdue or confusing
• Ask questions about a denial notice or missing payment

For kinship caregivers, the service center is particularly useful when the online application misclassifies your household. A caseworker at the center can manually adjust the household composition — ensuring that a child-only TANF case correctly excludes your income, for example.

What to Bring

Arrive with the same core documents you would submit online: the child's birth certificate or identity proof, your DC residency documentation (lease, utility bill, or driver's license), proof of your caregiving arrangement (school records, medical records, or a professional letter), and income documentation for household members whose income counts under the program's rules.

If you are applying for SNAP and are 60 or older, bring receipts for medical expenses exceeding $35 per month to claim the elderly medical deduction.

The Online Alternative

You do not have to visit a service center. District Direct at districtdirect.dc.gov and the District Direct mobile app accept applications for all three programs. But caregivers in the East of the River communities have reported persistent friction with the portal — document upload failures, unconfirmed application statuses, and confusion over household unit definitions.

If your online application stalls or you receive a denial that seems incorrect, visiting a service center in person to speak with a caseworker is often the fastest way to resolve it.

CFSA Is Separate

DHS service centers handle TANF, SNAP, and Medicaid. They do not process GCP/CRCP subsidy applications — those go through CFSA's kinship portal at kinshipdc.org. If you need both, you will interact with both agencies separately.

The DHS Public Benefits Call Center at (202) 727-5355 (TTY: 711) can answer questions about TANF, SNAP, and Medicaid without requiring an in-person visit.

For a complete walkthrough of every DC benefit application — online and in person — with document checklists and recertification schedules, see the DC Kinship Financial Help Guide.

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