Financial Help for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren in Louisiana

The Programs You Should Know About

When a grandchild lands in your care, the bills arrive immediately — food, clothes, school supplies, doctor visits — and no one hands you a list of what help exists. Louisiana has at least six separate programs that can put money toward those costs, administered across several agencies with their own rules. Here is what is actually available.

Cash assistance comes from two programs. The Kinship Care Subsidy Program (KCSP) pays $450 per child per month to relatives with household income below 150% of the federal poverty level who hold legal or provisional custody. Child-only FITAP pays $240 per month for one child, $590 for four, and $95 for each additional child; it does not count the caregiver's income — useful while custody paperwork is still pending.

Food help includes SNAP (food stamps), which uses the 200% FPL gross income threshold, and WIC for children under five. If the grandchild is enrolled in SNAP, FITAP, KCSP, or income-based Medicaid, they automatically receive SUN Bucks — a one-time $120 summer nutrition benefit loaded onto the family's EBT card.

Health coverage through Medicaid and LaCHIP covers children up to 217% FPL at no cost, with a sliding-scale option up to 255% FPL. Legal custody is not required.

Childcare subsidies through CCAP help working or studying caregivers with income at or below 65% of the state median income.

Older caregiver support from the Governor's Office of Elderly Affairs (GOEA) provides respite care, support groups, and material assistance for grandparents aged 55 and older through the local Area Agencies on Aging.

What Your Care Arrangement Changes

The legal relationship between you and the grandchild determines which programs you can access. Informal care — no court order, no notarized document — can still qualify a child for Medicaid/LaCHIP, child-only FITAP, WIC, SNAP (if you and the child purchase and prepare food separately), and SUN Bucks. You cannot get KCSP without legal custody or a Provisional Custody by Mandate.

A Provisional Custody by Mandate under La. R.S. 9:951 opens the door to KCSP, but it expires after one year. By annual redetermination, DCFS must have current legal or provisional custody documentation; ask your caseworker which documents are acceptable in your case.

Full court custody — through a voluntary transfer (La. Ch. C. arts. 1510–1520) or a tutorship order — documents your authority for programs that require it. Each program has its own eligibility rules.

Where to Start

Apply for Medicaid/LaCHIP and SNAP first. These programs have lower documentation barriers, do not require legal custody, and protect the child's health and nutrition immediately. Once those are in place, work on the custody paperwork needed for KCSP.

Applications for FITAP, KCSP, and SNAP can go through the CAFÉ Self-Service Portal (cafe.dcfs.la.gov) or by calling 1-888-LAHELP-U (1-888-524-3578). Medicaid/LaCHIP applications can go through CAFÉ or LDH's Medicaid portal; call 1-888-342-6207 for Medicaid application help. CCAP and GOEA services use separate application or referral routes. Bring the child's birth certificate, Social Security card, your photo ID, proof of residency, and any household income documentation.

If you need legal help with a custody petition, free assistance is available through Southeast Louisiana Legal Services (22 parishes, 800-349-0886) or Acadiana Legal Service Corporation (42 parishes, 1-866-275-2572). The Kinship Navigator Program (dial 211 or text KINSHIPLA to 898-211) can help you find local support groups and Family Resource Centers.

The Louisiana Kinship Financial Help guide puts these programs, their income limits, the documents you need, and the step-by-step application instructions into one place — so you are not jumping between agency websites while the bills keep coming.

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