Financial Help for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren in North Dakota

The Full Picture of What's Available

North Dakota doesn't have one single benefit for grandparents raising grandchildren — it has a web of programs across multiple agencies, each with its own application and its own eligibility rules. The challenge isn't finding one program; it's knowing all of them exist, applying to the right ones in the right order, and understanding how your legal arrangement with the child changes what you qualify for.

Here's the landscape, program by program.

Cash Assistance: TANF Child-Only Grant

The most direct cash help comes through a TANF child-only grant. Your income as the grandparent is excluded when the child is the only eligible member — the child's income and assets are tested under TANF rules. The income test compares countable income with the Basic Standard of Need for the child-only unit; the current standard is $366 per month for a one-child unit with no eligible caretaker, with other amounts for larger units. A child with no income still must meet the resource and other eligibility rules.

You apply through the North Dakota HHS Self-Service Portal or by mailing a paper application to the Customer Support Center. Benefits arrive monthly on the Way2Go Card. No work requirements apply to you as the caregiver, and the child's months on the grant don't count against the federal 60-month TANF lifetime limit for adults.

Kinship-ND: $800 Expense Reimbursement

Kinship-ND provides up to $800 per child in lifetime expense reimbursements for clothing, bedding, childcare, and basic needs. File form SFN 408 to enroll in navigation services, then submit receipts through your assigned Kinship Navigator. The fund accepts receipts for expenses incurred up to two months before your enrollment date.

Kinship-ND: $2,500 Guardianship Legal Fund

If you decide to pursue formal guardianship, Kinship-ND offers up to $2,500 to cover attorney fees, court filing costs, and background check expenses. You must be enrolled in Kinship-ND services before applying, and the fund cannot reimburse legal costs incurred before enrollment.

Food Assistance: SNAP

SNAP uses household income rules — your income does count here, unlike TANF child-only. Apply through the same HHS portal. SNAP benefits go onto an EBT card for grocery purchases. Many grandparent-headed kinship households qualify, particularly when the grandparent is retired or on a fixed income.

Health Coverage: Medicaid and Healthy Steps

The child's health coverage is determined by MAGI rules, which typically exclude the grandparent's income from the child's eligibility calculation. Children in kinship care often qualify for zero-cost Child Medicaid or Healthy Steps (North Dakota's CHIP program) regardless of the grandparent's financial situation.

Childcare: CCAP

The Child Care Assistance Program subsidizes licensed childcare costs on an income-scaled basis. Household income counts here. Since December 1, 2025, otherwise eligible new applicants who are not exempt are placed on a waitlist. Families receiving TANF and Crossroads participants are exempt, and currently enrolled families are not placed on the list. HHS gives priority to households experiencing homelessness and families with income at or below 30% of State Median Income; payments are not backdated for time on the waitlist.

What Your Legal Arrangement Changes

Informal caregivers, grandparents with a Power of Attorney, and legal guardians all access the same core benefits (TANF child-only, SNAP, Medicaid, Kinship-ND $800). The difference shows up in two places: the $2,500 guardianship legal fund is only available if you're pursuing or have obtained guardianship, and the Title IV-E Guardianship Assistance Program (monthly maintenance payments) requires a prior foster care placement and full licensing — it's not available for private guardianships.

For the complete walkthrough of every program, with application checklists, a document-gathering guide, and a receipt tracker, the North Dakota Kinship Financial Help guide maps out each benefit and how to stack them.

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