Idaho Kinship Care Resources for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

About 10,300 grandparents in Idaho are raising grandchildren — and for every child in formal foster care with a relative, nineteen are being raised informally, completely outside the child welfare system. If you are one of them, here is where to find help.

Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (IDHW) Kinship Program

IDHW runs Idaho's kinship navigator services. Call 2-1-1 (the Idaho CareLine) to start an intake assessment. A navigator can connect you with:

• SNAP food assistance
• Medicaid enrollment for the child
• TAFI (Temporary Assistance for Families in Idaho) Relative Caretaker Grants — up to $309 per month per eligible household, with eligibility based on the child's income and resources, not yours
• Local support groups for kinship caregivers
• Referrals to legal aid for guardianship questions

Navigators are not lawyers — they cannot fill out legal forms or give legal advice. But they can point you to people who can.

TAFI Relative Caretaker Grant

This is the single most important financial resource for Idaho kinship families. The grant provides cash assistance specifically for relatives raising a child outside the foster care system. Eligibility is based on the child's financial resources, not the household income of the caregiver.

To apply, call IDHW at 1-877-456-1233 or contact your local field office. You will need documentation showing you have the child in your care (a Power of Attorney works, as does a school enrollment record showing your address).

Idaho Legal Aid Services

Idaho Legal Aid provides free legal help for low-income families in family law matters, including guardianship petitions and custody questions. They prioritize emergency cases, so kinship care requests may have a waiting period, but it is worth making the call.

They can help with:

• Filing a minor guardianship petition (CAO GCM 1-1)
• Understanding your rights as a kinship caregiver
• Responding to a parent's custody challenge

Contact Idaho Legal Aid through their website or call their intake line.

Idaho Parents Unlimited (IPUL)

If the child in your care has a disability or learning difference, IPUL is the state's Parent Training and Information Center under IDEA (the federal special education law). They provide free training and advocacy support for families navigating IEPs, 504 plans, and special education services.

IPUL does not provide legal representation or attend IEP or 504 meetings, but it offers training and information to help families understand their options.

AARP GrandFacts and Grandfamilies.org

AARP publishes state-specific resource sheets for grandparents raising grandchildren. The Idaho GrandFacts sheet lists contact information for the IDHW kinship program, legal aid organizations, and support groups. Grandfamilies.org maintains a searchable database of kinship programs by state.

Support Groups

Connecting with other grandparents and relatives in the same situation is one of the most valuable things you can do. IDHW can refer you to local kinship caregiver support groups, and many are run through churches, community centers, and Area Agencies on Aging across Idaho.

Getting the Paperwork in Order

Most of these resources are easier to access when you have basic authority on paper — a notarized Power of Attorney under Idaho Code § 15-5-104, at minimum. The Idaho School and Medical Consent Guide walks through the entire process of getting authority set up, enrolling the child in school, handling medical consent, and knowing when it is time to escalate to court.

See more Idaho guides →