How Much Is the Montana TANF Child-Only Grant?
You found out you can get a child-only TANF grant for the grandchild living with you, and the first question is obvious: how much will the check actually be? Montana publishes a payment table, and the math is straightforward once you know where the numbers come from.
Montana Child-Only TANF Payment Table
The monthly cash amount depends on how many eligible children are in your assistance unit. Because this is a child-only grant, your own income and assets are completely excluded from the calculation — only the child's countable income matters.
| Number of Children | Maximum Monthly Grant | Gross Monthly Income Limit |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $425 | $859 |
| 2 | $575 | $1,162 |
| 3 | $725 | $1,465 |
| 4 | $875 | $1,768 |
| 5 | $1,025 | $2,070 |
| Each additional child | +$150 | +$303 |
These are the maximum amounts — what a child with zero countable income receives. If the child has income of their own (such as child support payments), the grant is reduced dollar for dollar.
How the Cash Award Is Calculated
DPHHS looks only at income received by or on behalf of the child. That means court-ordered child support, Social Security survivor benefits paid to the child, or any earnings the child has. Your Social Security retirement, your pension, your wages, and your savings are all irrelevant.
Here is how a typical calculation works. A grandfather in Yellowstone County is raising one grandson who receives $150 per month in child support. The child's gross income ($150) is below the one-child income limit ($859), so the family qualifies. The grant is $425 minus $150 in countable child income, for a monthly check of $275.
If that same grandson received no child support at all, the grant would be the full $425.
One important detail: SSI payments the child receives are excluded from both the eligibility test and the grant calculation. A child collecting SSI does not have that amount counted against their TANF award.
What About SNAP Amounts?
SNAP works differently from TANF — it counts everyone who buys and prepares food together as one household, so your income is part of the picture. The benefit amount depends on household size, total income after deductions, and the current USDA maximum allotment for your household size. You can estimate your benefit at apply.mt.gov when you submit a combined application for TANF and SNAP at the same time.
The practical takeaway: TANF child-only cash is predictable from the table above, while SNAP amounts vary based on your full household's finances.
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How to Apply
Submit a combined application at apply.mt.gov, by calling the Montana Public Assistance Helpline at 1-888-706-1535, or in person at your local Office of Public Assistance. Processing takes up to 30 calendar days for TANF.
The Montana Kinship Financial Help Guide walks through the full application process, including the documents DPHHS will ask for and how to handle the child support cooperation requirement that comes with a TANF grant.
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