Kentucky CHFS Kinship Care Services

The Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) is the state agency behind virtually every benefit a kinship caregiver in Kentucky interacts with — K-TAP cash, SNAP food assistance, Medicaid, child care subsidies, and child welfare placements. Understanding how CHFS is organized helps you find the right office the first time instead of getting transferred between divisions that handle different things.

How CHFS Is Organized for Kinship Caregivers

CHFS operates through two key departments relevant to kinship care:

Department for Community Based Services (DCBS) — this is where most of your interactions happen. DCBS has 120 county offices across Kentucky, and its internal divisions handle different programs:

• Division of Family Support — processes K-TAP child-only cash grants, SNAP, and Medicaid/KCHIP applications. This is the division you deal with through the kynect.ky.gov portal.
• Division of Protection and Permanency — manages child safety investigations, foster care placements, the Relative Placement Support Benefit, and the KinGAP subsidized guardianship program. This division gets involved when a child is formally removed from a parent's home.
• Division of Child Care — administers the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP).

Department for Medicaid Services — handles Medicaid policy and the KCHIP children's health program at the state level, though applications go through DCBS.

The practical distinction: if you are applying for benefits voluntarily as an informal caregiver, you work with the Division of Family Support. If DCBS has placed a child in your home due to abuse or neglect concerns, you work with both Family Support (for K-TAP, SNAP) and Protection and Permanency (for placement support, foster care, KinGAP).

Is There an Age Limit for Kinship Caregivers?

No. Kentucky does not impose an upper age limit on kinship caregivers. A 75-year-old grandparent has the same right to apply for K-TAP child-only, SNAP, Medicaid, and CCAP as a 35-year-old aunt.

The only age-related rule works in your favor: the Area Agency on Aging Family Caregiver Program requires the caregiver to be at least 55 to qualify under the standard track (younger caregivers qualify if income is at or below 150% FPL). Being over 60 also unlocks the SNAP medical expense deduction and exempts you from SNAP work requirements.

There is no age at which DCBS will refuse a kinship placement or deny a benefit application solely because of the caregiver's age.

What the Legacy Kinship Care Program Was (and Why It Confuses People)

Searching for "Kentucky kinship care program" often surfaces references to a specific program under 922 KAR 1:130 that closed to new applicants on April 1, 2013. That program paid up to $300 per month per child to relatives who took permanent legal custody of a child placed by DCBS.

If your care arrangement started after April 2013, you cannot enter this program. The active alternatives are:

• K-TAP child-only — monthly cash up to $964 for seven or more children, available to blood/marriage/adoptive relatives regardless of court order
• Relative Placement Support Benefit — a one-time discretionary grant under 922 KAR 1:400 for relatives taking temporary custody during an active DCBS child protection intervention; it is subject to available funds
• KinGAP — ongoing monthly subsidy for relatives who take permanent guardianship after at least six months of certified foster care

The legacy program's name continues to cause confusion because CHFS materials still reference it, and caregivers who hear about "kinship care payments" assume a program is active that has been closed for over a decade.

The Kentucky Kinship Resource Center

CHFS funds the Kentucky Kinship Resource Center (KKRC), operated through the University of Kentucky College of Social Work. KKRC is not a benefit application office — it is a support and navigation service:

• Kinship Support Hotline: 877-565-5608
• Email: [email protected]
• Text: KINSHIP to 31996

KKRC connects caregivers to benefits information, peer support through the KY-KINS navigator program (nine regional navigators with personal kinship caregiving experience), legal aid referrals, and support groups. If you are unsure which CHFS program applies to your situation, KKRC is a good first call.

For a complete map of every CHFS benefit and how to navigate the application process, see the Financial Help for Grandparents and Relatives Raising a Child in Kentucky guide.

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