North Dakota Human Service Zones: How to Apply for Help as a Kinship Caregiver

What a Human Service Zone Is

North Dakota replaced individual county social service offices with nineteen regional Human Service Zones. These are the ground-level offices where eligibility workers process applications for TANF, SNAP, Medicaid, Healthy Steps (CHIP), and CCAP. They also handle eligibility interviews, document verification, and benefit adjustments.

If you're a grandparent or relative raising a child in North Dakota and you need financial help, the Human Service Zone covering your county is where your applications get decided.

How to Find Your Zone

Each Zone covers one or more counties. In larger cities like Fargo, Bismarck, and Grand Forks, the Zone office is locally accessible. In rural areas, a single Zone may cover several counties — which can mean a long drive or a phone-based interview.

You can look up which Zone serves your county through the North Dakota HHS website. The Kinship-ND program at (701) 328-1453 can also direct you to the right Zone office.

What You Can Apply For

Through your Human Service Zone, a kinship caregiver can apply for:

• TANF child-only cash assistance — monthly cash grant with the caregiver's income excluded
• SNAP — food assistance on an EBT card (household income counts here)
• Child Medicaid / Healthy Steps — health coverage for the child
• CCAP — childcare assistance; otherwise eligible new applicants who are not exempt are waitlisted. TANF recipients and Crossroads participants are exempt, current recipients are not placed on the list, and HHS gives priority to households experiencing homelessness or with income at or below 30% of State Median Income.

All of these programs use the same unified application, submitted through the HHS Self-Service Portal online or by paper to the Customer Support Center (P.O. Box 5562, Bismarck, ND 58506).

The Self-Service Portal

The HHS Self-Service Portal (SSP) is the state's online application system. You can submit your initial application, upload documents, and check application status online. For caregivers in rural areas far from a Zone office, the portal reduces the need for in-person visits during the application phase.

SNAP applicants must complete an interview before the initial eligibility decision; the Human Service Zone can conduct it in person, by phone, or through a scheduled home visit. The portal can handle the application and document submissions.

What to Bring to Your Appointment

Regardless of which program you're applying for, bring:

• Your identification and proof of North Dakota residency
• The child's birth certificate and Social Security number
• Proof the child lives with you (school enrollment, medical records, or mail)
• For TANF, proof of your relationship to the child; HHS lists a birth certificate, adoption record, court order, or tribal enrollment record.
• Income documentation — for TANF child-only, only the child's income matters; for SNAP and CCAP, bring household income information for everyone

Human Service Zone vs. Kinship-ND

These are different agencies with different roles. Your Human Service Zone decides eligibility for TANF, SNAP, Medicaid, and CCAP. Kinship-ND (reached via SFN 408) provides navigation services, the $800 expense reimbursement, and the $2,500 guardianship legal fund.

You'll likely work with both. A Kinship Navigator helps you prepare your applications; the Zone office processes and approves them. Filing with one doesn't substitute for filing with the other.

For a step-by-step walkthrough of every application — which agency handles what, what to bring where, and how to track your benefits across programs — the North Dakota Kinship Financial Help guide organizes it all.

See more North Dakota guides →