Montana TANF, Medicaid, and Benefits for Kinship Caregivers

Getting a child into school and to a doctor are the first emergencies. The financial reality of raising someone else's child on your income is the one that lingers. Montana has several benefit programs that treat kinship caregivers differently than biological parents — and in many cases, more favorably.

Healthy Montana Kids (HMK) Insurance

Children living with relative caregivers may qualify for Healthy Montana Kids (HMK) insurance at up to 261% of the Federal Poverty Level or Healthy Montana Kids Plus (HMK Plus/children's Medicaid) at up to 143% FPL. The crucial detail: when a caretaker relative applies on behalf of a relative child, the child can be designated as a distinct filing unit. The relative's income and assets are not counted toward the child's eligibility determination.

That means even if your own income is well above the poverty line, the child you're raising may qualify for comprehensive health coverage including medical, dental, and vision care. Apply at apply.mt.gov or call the Office of Public Assistance helpline at 1-888-706-1535.

TANF Child-Only Grants

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program offers a Child-Only Grant specifically designed for situations where a relative is raising a child outside the foster care system. Under a child-only grant, the relative caregiver's financial resources and earned income are completely excluded from the eligibility calculation. Only the child's own independent income (if any) counts.

Because the grant covers only the child, relative caregivers are exempt from standard TANF work requirements and the 60-month lifetime benefit cap. Apply through your local Office of Public Assistance.

TANF Working Caretaker Relative Child Care

Working caretaker relatives receiving a TANF Child-Only Grant may qualify for the Working Caretaker Relative Child Care program if household net income is at or below 250% FPL, work-hour and child-age requirements are met, and the caregiver pays a required $75 monthly co-payment. Contact DPHHS for details.

Adult Medicaid Coverage

If you need health coverage for yourself as the caregiver, Montana's ACA expansion HELP Program covers adults aged 19–64 whose income is at or below approximately 138% FPL — full Medicaid coverage without an asset test. As of July 1, 2026, new Medicaid Expansion applicants who are not excluded must meet 80 hours of qualifying community engagement each month; existing members are assessed at their next scheduled redetermination. DPHHS accepts work income of at least $580 per month to verify work activity and excludes a caretaker relative or family caregiver of a dependent child under 14 or a disabled person. The traditional parent/caretaker Medicaid income limit is much lower (approximately 25% FPL), so expansion coverage is the more accessible path for most kinship caregivers.

Informal vs. Formal Kinship Care

Benefits look different depending on whether the child is in informal kinship care (you took the child in voluntarily, no CFSD involvement) or formal kinship care (CFSD placed the child under a voluntary placement agreement or court order).

Informal caregivers can apply for HMK and TANF Child-Only Grants through regular public-assistance channels; eligible families may also apply for Best Beginnings. Formal caregivers in an eligible CFSD foster-care placement may receive foster-care maintenance payments. A federal Title IV-E Guardianship Assistance Program (GAP) subsidy requires more than licensing and guardianship: Montana's state plan requires a qualifying removal under a voluntary placement agreement or judicial determination and at least six consecutive months in the prospective relative guardian's home while the child is eligible for foster-care maintenance payments, along with other eligibility findings and an agreement.

An important limit: an informal relative arrangement alone does not establish IV-E GAP eligibility. The child must meet the State Plan's qualifying removal and foster-care placement requirements before a kinship guardianship payment can be approved. The decision about whether to involve CFSD has long-term financial implications.

What Affidavits Do and Don't Do for Benefits

Executing a caretaker relative affidavit establishes decision-making authority for school and medical care. It does not automatically grant eligibility for any financial benefit. Benefits require separate applications through DPHHS, and each program has its own eligibility rules.

The Montana Kinship Navigator Program (1-833-445-3395) can help you understand which programs you qualify for and guide you through the application process.

Our Montana School & Medical Consent guide covers the connection between consent documents and benefit applications, helping you understand which paperwork opens which doors.

See more Montana guides →