How to Apply for Arkansas Benefits for a Kinship Child Without Your Pension Counting

If you are a grandparent or relative raising a child in Arkansas and you need the child to receive benefits without your retirement income being counted, the answer is to apply through the programs that evaluate only the child's income — not the programs that include everyone in the household. The most important of these is child-only TEA, where your pension, Social Security, and savings are legally excluded from the eligibility calculation.

This is not a loophole. Child-only TEA was designed for this exact situation: a child living with a non-parent caregiver whose own income should not determine whether the child gets help.

The Programs and How They Treat Your Income

Arkansas benefit programs fall into two groups when it comes to a caregiver's retirement income.

Programs that do NOT count your pension or Social Security:

• Child-Only TEA — The Transitional Employment Assistance child-only pathway evaluates only the child's countable income and resources. Your pension, Social Security, SSI, and personal savings are not part of the calculation. The $513 net income limit applies to the child's income only. Maximum monthly grant: $162 for one child, $204 for two, scaling to $457 for eight or more.

• ARKids First — Both ARKids A (Medicaid, Title XIX) and ARKids B (CHIP, Title XXI) evaluate the child's eligibility based on the child's household circumstances. A relative caregiver's retirement income typically does not factor into the child's health coverage determination.

• Subsidized Guardianship (DCFS) — Monthly payments for relatives who assume legal guardianship of a child formally placed by DCFS. Your income is not the barrier — the child must first be placed by the Division of Children and Family Services and live with you for at least six consecutive months in a fully licensed or approved relative foster home that is no longer provisional at the end of that period. The Subsidized Guardianship Agreement must be signed before guardianship is finalized.

• Title III-E Caregiver Support — Eligible relative caregivers age 55 and older can access respite care, supplemental services, and support group referrals through their local Area Agency on Aging. Most services have no income test.

Programs that DO count your income:

• SNAP — Federal rules require that everyone who purchases and prepares food together is counted as one household. A grandparent's Social Security or pension is included. A separate-household exception exists if the child's food is purchased and prepared separately, but the documentation requirements are strict.

• CCDF Childcare Vouchers — Income thresholds apply to the working caregiver, though eligibility rules differ for TEA participants.

The Application Sequence That Protects Your Income

The order in which you apply matters. Each program has different forms, different agencies, and different income rules. Applying in the wrong sequence — or applying for the wrong version of a program — can delay assistance or lead to an incorrect eligibility decision.

First: Child-Only TEA through Access Arkansas. This is the highest-stakes application because it has two pathways — standard and child-only. When you apply, request a child-only or non-needy caretaker grant and ask DHS to confirm that your case is set up that way. Under standard TEA, your pension counts. Under child-only, it does not. The application goes through Access Arkansas (access.arkansas.gov) or Form DCO-0004 at your county DHS office.

Second: ARKids First. Apply through Access Arkansas or Form DCO-0004 at a county DHS office. ARKids A covers children in lower-income households with full Medicaid benefits. ARKids B (CHIP) covers children in households with slightly higher income. Both evaluate the child's circumstances, not your retirement assets.

Third: SNAP — but understand the rules first. If you and the child purchase and prepare food separately, DHS may treat you as separate SNAP households. If you buy and prepare food together, your income is counted with the child's. A SNAP denial does not affect your TEA child-only eligibility — the two programs are separate.

Fourth: Everything else. CCDF childcare if you are working or in a TEA work activity. Title III-E through your Area Agency on Aging if you are an eligible caregiver age 55 or older. And if the child was placed by DCFS, the subsidized guardianship pathway — though this requires the formal licensing sequence first.

What Goes Wrong When the Order Is Reversed

The most common and costly mistake is applying for SNAP first, getting denied because your household income is too high, and then never applying for TEA child-only because you believe the child is ineligible for all assistance. SNAP and TEA use completely different rules. A SNAP denial has zero bearing on TEA child-only eligibility.

The second mistake is applying for TEA without clearly requesting child-only or non-needy caretaker status. Ask DHS to confirm that your income is excluded from the case; if the application is treated as a standard household grant, your income may be counted and the child's eligibility could be assessed incorrectly.

The third mistake involves subsidized guardianship. Relatives who obtain Circuit Court guardianship before completing DCFS placement, the required six-month period in a fully licensed or approved relative foster home, and signing the Subsidized Guardianship Agreement cannot receive the subsidy retroactively. The agreement must be signed before guardianship is finalized.

What to Bring to Every Application

Across all programs, you will need:

• The child's birth certificate or other proof of age and identity
• Proof that the child lives in your home (school records, medical records, or a lease or landlord statement — the exact form of proof varies by program)
• Your identification (though your income documents are only needed for programs that count your income)
• The child's Social Security number
• Any court orders, DCFS placement letters, or other documentation of your caregiving arrangement

For TEA child-only specifically, you need to document that you are a non-parent caregiver and that the child's own income (if any) is below the $513 monthly net limit.

When You Need More Than an Application

If a TEA, SNAP, or ARKids application is denied, you have 30 calendar days from the Notice of Action to file Form DHS-1200 with the DHS Office of Appeals and Hearings. For an appeal of a benefit reduction or case closure, file within 10 calendar days of the notice and request that benefits continue to preserve aid-paid-pending protection. Missing the 10-day window means that protection does not apply; the hearing can still proceed if you file within 30 days.

The Arkansas Kinship Benefits Navigator walks through every program's application steps, the income-counting rules for each, the correct TEA child-only coding, the subsidized guardianship licensing sequence, and the appeal deadlines — all with the Arkansas-specific form numbers and statutes. It includes eight printable tools: a benefit eligibility worksheet, application tracker, deadline tracker, and agency contacts directory.

Full refund, no time limit. Email [email protected] if it does not help.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a county DHS caseworker explain all of this at the office?

County caseworkers process specific program applications, but they are not trained as holistic benefit advisors across TEA, SNAP, ARKids, CCDF, subsidized guardianship, and appeals. A SNAP caseworker may focus on SNAP rules, so ask DHS about child-only TEA separately. High staff turnover at county offices means advice can vary between visits.

What if I already applied for TEA and was denied because my income was counted?

You may have been processed under standard TEA rules instead of child-only. If your denial was recent, you can file an appeal within 30 calendar days using Form DHS-1200. You can also submit a new application specifically requesting child-only TEA status. The guide explains both paths.

Will getting child-only TEA affect my ability to get subsidized guardianship later?

No. The TEA grant itself does not disqualify you. Eligibility still depends on completing the DCFS sequence before guardianship is finalized: formal DCFS placement, at least six consecutive months in a fully licensed or approved relative foster home that is no longer provisional at the end of that period, and a signed Subsidized Guardianship Agreement before the court order. Ask DCO and DCFS how TEA is affected when a child enters a DCFS placement; do not assume the payments overlap.

Is there a time limit on how long a child can receive child-only TEA?

Child-only TEA is not subject to the adult 24-month lifetime limit. The caregiver is not subject to work requirements or the standard time-limit clock because the caregiver is not in the assistance unit. A child's grant may continue until age 18, or age 19 if the child is enrolled full-time in secondary school or equivalent vocational training, as long as the child meets the financial and categorical requirements.

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