Nebraska Emergency and Utility Assistance for Grandparents Raising Children

When a grandchild arrives in your home unexpectedly, the financial hit is immediate. You might be behind on the electric bill within a month or facing a housing crisis you didn't see coming. Nebraska's Emergency Assistance program and kinship navigation services can help with urgent housing, utility, and household needs.

DHHS Emergency Assistance

Nebraska's Emergency Assistance (EA) program provides non-recurring cash payments to families facing an urgent housing or utility crisis that threatens the child's safety. This isn't a monthly benefit — it's a one-time intervention to prevent a specific emergency from spiraling.

EA can address emergent housing or utility crises that threaten the child's safety, such as rent arrears or utility shutoff balances.

One eligibility condition: the destitution cannot have arisen from a voluntary job quit. An involuntary job loss or fixed income alone does not establish eligibility.

Apply through the iServe Nebraska portal (iserve.nebraska.gov) or call 1-800-383-4278. Emergency cash or SNAP assistance can be authorized within 7 days when the household demonstrates severe destitution.

LIHEAP Energy Assistance

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) provides energy assistance. You can apply through iServe Nebraska or paper Form EA-117; regional Community Action agencies also administer local emergency energy aid.

Receiving LIHEAP also triggers the Heating and Cooling Standard Utility Allowance (HCSUA) deduction for SNAP calculations — which can increase your food benefit amount.

Community Action Agencies

Nebraska's regional Community Action Partnership agencies administer local emergency funds, housing assistance, and energy aid.

Contact your regional Community Action agency through Nebraska 2-1-1 or by dialing 211.

LFS Kinship Emergency Funds

Lutheran Family Services (LFS) distributes emergency flexible funds specifically for kinship families through the Kinship Navigator Program. These can cover immediate needs like beds, clothing, or utility arrearages for families who just took in a child. Contact the Kinship Navigator warmline at 1-833-572-2053 or email [email protected].

These funds are separate from the DHHS benefit programs.

Don't Wait for Emergency Assistance Alone

Emergency programs are a bridge, not a foundation. While you're addressing the immediate crisis, start applications for the ongoing programs — ADC child-only grant, Medicaid, and SNAP — through the same iServe portal. Those monthly benefits take 30 to 45 days to process, so filing early matters.

Our Nebraska Financial Help guide maps out both the emergency resources and the ongoing programs in sequence, so you can stabilize the crisis and build the monthly safety net at the same time.

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