Kentucky K-TAP Recertification and the 60-Month Time Limit

Once you get K-TAP child-only approved for a grandchild or relative's child in Kentucky, two questions follow quickly: how long can it last, and what do you need to do to keep it active?

The 60-Month Limit Does Not Apply to Child-Only Cases

Federal TANF law imposes a 60-month cumulative lifetime limit on cash assistance. This is the clock that most people associate with welfare. But under 921 KAR 2:006 Section 16, child-only K-TAP grants are exempt from that limit.

The 60-month clock runs only on cases where the caregiver is included in the grant as a needy adult. When you apply as a non-needy relative caregiver and only the child receives the payment, the assistance unit is child-only — and no months accumulate against the time limit.

A child can receive child-only K-TAP from infancy through age 18 without hitting a federal cap. This is one of the most important and least understood features of the program.

How Recertification Works

K-TAP eligibility is not set-and-forget. DCBS reviews your case periodically — typically every 12 months — to confirm that the conditions that established eligibility still hold:

• The child still lives in your home
• The child still lacks parental support (the absent parent has not returned)
• Any child income (child support, survivor benefits) has not exceeded the gross income limit
• You still meet the qualifying relationship requirement

DCBS sends a recertification notice before the review date. You must respond with updated verification. If you miss the deadline, the case closes — and reopening it means filing a new application from scratch.

What You Must Report Between Reviews

Even outside the annual recertification, you are required to report certain changes to DCBS within 10 calendar days:

• Child income changes — new child support orders, increased survivor benefits, or new SSI payments
• Address changes — Kentucky residency must remain current
• Child absence — if the child leaves your home for more than 30 consecutive days (visiting a parent, hospitalization, etc.), you must report it
• Change in parental status — if the absent parent returns to the household or resumes active custody

Failure to report triggers overpayment claims under 921 KAR 2:016 Section 11. DCBS will calculate what was paid during the period of unreported change and recoup the excess from future benefits or demand repayment.

Work Rules Still Do Not Apply

Recertification for child-only K-TAP does not include work requirements. The Kentucky Works Program participation mandates under 921 KAR 2:370 apply only to adult-included TANF cases. Your employment status, retirement, disability, or lack of a job has no bearing on recertification.

Similarly, your personal income is not reevaluated at recertification. The income exclusion that applied at initial approval — caregiver income completely excluded — remains in effect.

Keeping the Case Clean

The simplest way to avoid problems at recertification: respond to every DCBS notice on time, report changes within 10 days, and keep a folder of dated documents (the recertification notice, your response, any income verification you submitted). If something goes wrong, that folder is your evidence at a fair hearing.

For a complete walkthrough of K-TAP from application through recertification, including a tracking worksheet for deadlines and reporting obligations, see the Financial Help for Grandparents and Relatives Raising a Child in Kentucky guide.

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