Medi-Cal, CalWORKs, and Kinship Care Benefits in California

Financial Help Exists — But Nobody Hands It to You

Raising someone else's child is expensive, and most informal kinship caregivers in California discover the financial support programs the hard way — by running out of their own money first. The state provides real help through Medi-Cal, CalWORKs child-only grants, and county kinship support services. But none of it arrives automatically. You have to know what to apply for, where to apply, and what your household structure looks like on paper.

Medi-Cal for Kinship Children

Many children qualify for Medi-Cal under MAGI rules, which use federal tax rules to determine household and countable income and do not count assets. A caregiver's income is not automatically counted just because the child lives with them; DHCS's example of a grandparent who claims a grandchild shows that the grandparent's income is not counted in the child's Medi-Cal budget. The county determines the child's household and countable income under the rules that apply to the case.

For most kinship children, especially those whose parents have limited or no income, eligibility is straightforward. You apply through your county's Department of Social Services, through a local enrollment navigator, or online at BenefitsCal.com.

What Medi-Cal covers for children is broad: doctor visits, dental care, vision, immunizations, hospital stays, prescriptions, mental health services (including outpatient therapy under AB 665), and specialty referrals. There are no monthly premiums for eligible children.

The Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit is not required to apply for Medi-Cal — the application process is separate. But having the affidavit in place makes it easier to manage the child's healthcare once coverage is active, because providers need to know who has medical consent authority.

CalWORKs Child-Only Grants

CalWORKs (California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids) provides monthly cash grants for eligible children. When a kinship caregiver applies on behalf of a child, the grant is typically issued as a "child-only" case — the child receives the benefit, but the caregiver is not a participant in the program and isn't subject to CalWORKs work requirements.

Effective October 1, 2026, the exempt Maximum Aid Payment (MAP) for a non-needy relative child-only case is $824 for one child or $1,058 for two children in Region 1; in Region 2, it is $784 or $1,005. Countable income can reduce the grant.

To qualify, the child must meet income and asset limits based on their own resources. The parent's income is generally not counted if the parent is absent from the household. Your income as the caregiver is not counted in a child-only case.

Apply through your local county welfare office. You'll need the child's birth certificate or other identity documentation, proof that the child lives with you, and information about any income the child receives (which, for most kinship children, is none). The Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit can serve as proof of your caregiving arrangement, though some counties also accept a signed statement.

KSSP: County Kinship Support Services

KSSP is funded by some California counties in partnership with community providers. It supports relative caregivers with children who are court-dependent and children who are not court-dependent, as well as some post-permanency kinship families. It is not available in every county.

What KSSP offers varies by county, but typically includes:

• Peer support groups with other kinship caregivers
• Non-financial support services, which can include support groups, respite care, guardianship clinics, referrals, and advocacy; services vary by county
• Respite care referrals so you can get a break
• Help with benefit applications — Medi-Cal, CalWORKs, school enrollment
• Legal referrals for caregivers considering guardianship
• Information workshops on the Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit, school rights, and medical consent

The California Kinship Support Services Program offers local support services; contact your county to ask whether it is available and what eligibility rules apply.

What You Won't Get as an Informal Caregiver

The biggest financial gap for informal kinship caregivers is the monthly foster-care maintenance payment. Formal kinship foster parents — those approved through the county's Resource Family Approval process with a juvenile court dependency order — may receive monthly payments based on placement type and the child's assessed needs.

You also won't automatically receive clothing allowances, specialized therapeutic services, or an assigned social worker to help navigate the system. These supports are tied to the formal foster care track, which requires child welfare involvement and court oversight. See our comparison of kinship foster care vs. informal care for a full breakdown.

Applying Strategically

If you're newly caring for a child, apply for Medi-Cal and CalWORKs at the same time — many county offices handle both applications together. Contact KSSP early, even before you've figured out all the paperwork, because their navigators can walk you through the benefit applications and catch things you'd miss on your own.

Keep copies of everything you submit. County welfare systems are large and slow, and applications occasionally get lost. Follow up two weeks after submission if you haven't received an acknowledgment.

How This Connects to School and Medical Consent

Benefits and consent authority are separate legal tracks. Medi-Cal helps cover eligible care; the Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit gives you the authority to make medical decisions and enroll the child in school.

Our California school and medical consent guide covers the consent side in full: the affidavit, school enrollment, medical consent tiers for relatives and non-relatives, escalation letters when institutions push back, and the decision about when guardianship becomes worth the cost. Together with the benefit programs described here, it gives you the administrative toolkit to care for a child without a court order.

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