Indiana Child-Only TANF Grant Amount and Income Limits

The phone bill, the groceries, the school supplies — it all landed in your lap when the child moved in. Knowing exactly what Child-Only TANF pays in Indiana helps you plan around real numbers instead of guesses.

Monthly Grant Amounts by Number of Children

Indiana sets TANF grant amounts based on assistance group size. In a child-only case, only the children count:

Each additional child adds roughly $104 per month. These are the maximums — the actual payment may be lower if the child has countable income.

How DFR Calculates the Payment

DFR subtracts any countable income the child receives from the maximum grant. If your grandchild gets $100 per month in child support, and they're the only child in the case, the math is straightforward: $248 minus $100 equals a $148 monthly payment.

The child's countable income includes child support collected by the state, Social Security survivor benefits, and any direct unearned income. Your income as the caregiver — pension, wages, retirement, Social Security — is excluded from the child-only TANF eligibility calculation.

Income Limits: The 35% FPL Standard

Indiana's gross income limit for TANF is set at 35% of the Federal Poverty Level, one of the strictest in the country. But in a child-only case, this threshold applies only to the child's income:

Most kinship children have zero countable income, which means they fall well under these limits. The 35% FPL restriction is harsh for adult-inclusive TANF, but it rarely blocks child-only cases.

The $1,000 Asset Limit — When It Applies

Indiana's standard TANF resource limit is $1,000 in countable liquid assets. Here's what catches people: this cap applies to adult-inclusive TANF cases, not to the non-needy relative caretaker. If you're filing a child-only case, your bank accounts, your car, your home equity — none of it counts.

Assets held in the child's name are subject to an individual resource evaluation.

What If You Join the Assistance Unit

If your own income is low enough, you could apply as an adult member of the TANF household instead of filing child-only. The grant is higher because it covers more people. But the trade-offs are real: your income and assets are counted against the 35% FPL limit, you're subject to IMPACT work requirements, and the federal 24-month (Indiana) or 60-month (federal) lifetime clock starts ticking.

For most grandparents on retirement income, staying out of the assistance unit and filing child-only is the better path.

When Benefits Start

DFR processes TANF applications within 30 to 45 calendar days. Once approved, payments load onto a Hoosier Works EBT card or arrive via direct deposit. Check the approval notice for the first benefit month and payment amount.

The Indiana Kinship Financial Help Guide includes the complete income tables, walks through the DFR calculation step by step, and covers what to do if you think the amount is wrong.

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