Can You Get KCSP and SSI in Louisiana?

The Short Answer: Not for the Same Child

A child who receives Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is not eligible for KCSP. Louisiana's kinship subsidy rules specifically exclude children who receive SSI or foster care board payments. If the child is currently drawing SSI — typically because of a qualifying disability — you cannot add KCSP on top of that for the same child.

This is not a loophole or an oversight. SSI is a federal program that already provides income support for the child, and KCSP is funded through TANF block grant dollars. The state treats them as mutually exclusive cash benefit streams.

What About Siblings?

The exclusion applies per child, not per household. If you are raising three grandchildren and one receives SSI, the other two can still qualify for KCSP — assuming all the other eligibility conditions are met (your household income below 150% FPL, legal custody, no parent in the home).

The same principle works with FITAP. A child receiving SSI is excluded from the FITAP assistance unit, but non-SSI siblings remain eligible for FITAP child-only grants.

Comparing the Numbers

For 2026, the maximum federal SSI benefit rate for an individual is $994 per month, though a child's actual payment may be lower. Louisiana provides a state SSI supplement in limited circumstances, including for some recipients in nonpsychiatric Medicaid long-term-care facilities. The federal maximum is still more than double the $450 KCSP payment.

But SSI has its own complications for kinship households:

• Living arrangement rules: if you provide the child with free shelter or the child pays less than their fair share of housing costs, SSI may reduce the payment by up to one-third. Since September 30, 2024, food is no longer counted in this calculation.
• Deeming rules for non-parent caregivers: when a child lives with a non-parent (a grandparent who has not adopted the child), SSA generally does not deem the caregiver's income to the child. This is favorable — it means your retirement income or wages do not reduce the child's SSI payment.

What Other Benefits Still Apply?

Even when KCSP is off the table because of SSI, the child can still access:

• Medicaid — SSI recipients are automatically eligible for full Medicaid in Louisiana
• SNAP — SSI payments are counted as income in the household's SNAP calculation, but the child is still part of the SNAP household
• SUN Bucks — if the child receives income-based Medicaid, summer EBT is automatic
• GOEA services — respite care and caregiver support for grandparents aged 55+ are not means-tested against the child's benefits

If SSI ends while the child is still under 18, KCSP may be an option if the child and caregiver meet all other eligibility requirements. Turning 18 does not create KCSP eligibility; the program is for minor children.

For the full picture of how Louisiana's kinship benefit programs interact — including which ones you can and cannot stack — the Louisiana Kinship Financial Help guide maps every program side by side.

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