Mississippi Child-Only TANF for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

Mississippi has a cash assistance program most grandparents never hear about — and the people who do hear about it often assume they won't qualify because they collect Social Security or still work part-time. That assumption is wrong. Under child-only TANF rules, Mississippi's Department of Human Services (MDHS) does not count your income at all.

How Child-Only TANF Works in Mississippi

When a child lives with a non-parent relative — a grandparent, aunt, uncle, sibling, or first cousin — and neither biological parent is in the home, MDHS can open a "child-only" assistance unit. The unit covers only the child. You, the caregiver, are listed as the protective payee, meaning you receive and manage the money, but you are not a member of the assistance unit.

The practical result: your Social Security check, your pension, your wages — none of it factors into the eligibility calculation. MDHS looks only at the child's own income and countable assets. Income usually means child support payments or Social Security survivor benefits received in the child's name. If the child has no countable income and meets the asset rules, the full grant amount may be paid.

The maximum monthly grant for one child with zero countable income is $112 per month. For a household with more than one eligible child, ask MDHS to calculate the child-only unit's grant. The $283 figure is the maximum for a two-person full TANF unit, not a child-only unit with two children.

Who Qualifies as a Specified Relative

MDHS follows federal guidelines on who counts as a "specified relative." The list includes grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings (including half-siblings), nieces, nephews, and first cousins.

The child must be under 18, or age 18 and enrolled full-time in secondary school or equivalent vocational training. There is no residency-duration requirement beyond living in Mississippi.

What Makes Child-Only Cases Different

Two exemptions set child-only cases apart from standard TANF:

No work requirement. In a regular TANF case, the adult must participate in the TANF Work Program (TWP). In a child-only case, you are not subject to that requirement. You will not be assigned to job search activities or training programs as a condition of the child's grant.

No 60-month time limit. Federal law caps adult TANF receipt at 60 months over a lifetime. That clock does not apply to child-only grants. The child can receive the payment for as long as they meet age and financial eligibility — which for most kinship households means until they turn 18.

How to Apply

You can apply online through the Access MS portal or in person at your county MDHS office. The application is the same form used for standard TANF, but you'll indicate that no parent lives in the home and that you are a non-parent caretaker relative.

Bring these documents to your interview:

• The child's birth certificate
• Your photo ID (Mississippi driver's license or state ID)
• Proof of your relationship to the child (birth certificates showing the family link)
• Proof that the child lives with you (school enrollment, mail in the child's name, or a signed statement)
• Any income the child receives in their own name (child support records, SSA award letters)

If the child has no income of their own, you can say so — MDHS will verify through state data matches.

The Child Support Cooperation Requirement

There is one requirement that catches many grandparents off guard. When you apply for TANF, you must cooperate with the MDHS Division of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE) to establish paternity and pursue support orders against the absent parents. For some families, that feels like a betrayal — the parent might be your own adult child.

Mississippi allows a Good Cause Exception. If cooperating with child support enforcement could put the child or the caregiver at risk of physical or emotional harm, you can file a Good Cause Claim at the MDHS office. The claim pauses all parent outreach while it is reviewed. The exception also applies when the child was conceived through rape or incest.

If the situation feels complicated, talk to Catholic Charities' Kinship Navigator line at 769-218-8436 before your interview. They can walk you through the options without judgment.

Putting It in Context

$112 per month is not a lot, but it is a guaranteed monthly payment that does not reduce your own benefits and does not require you to jump through work-program hoops. Pair it with SNAP, Medicaid, and the Child Care Payment Program, and the financial picture starts to stabilize.

Our Mississippi Kinship Financial Help guide walks through each of these programs in order, with a printable document checklist so you can handle TANF, SNAP, and Medicaid in one organized trip to the county office.

See more Mississippi guides →