South Dakota TANF Child-Only Grant for Grandparents

Your Income Does Not Count

The single most important thing to know about South Dakota's TANF child-only grant is this: the state does not look at your money. When you apply as a non-needy caretaker relative, DSS evaluates only the child's income and assets — your wages, Social Security, pension, savings, and home equity are completely excluded from the calculation.

This matters because many grandparents never apply, assuming their retirement income makes the child ineligible. Under ARSD 67:10:01:06, that assumption is flat wrong.

Who Qualifies as a Caretaker Relative

DSS defines caretaker relatives as grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, adult siblings, first cousins, and first cousins once removed. The child must live in your South Dakota home.

The child must be under 18 (or under 19 if a full-time student in a secondary school), be a U.S. citizen or meet the qualified-alien rules (including any applicable five-year bar), and have the required Social Security or immigration documentation.

Family friends and fictive kin do not qualify under South Dakota's TANF caretaker-relative relationship list.

What Counts as the Child's Income

Only direct income belonging to the child is counted:

• Court-ordered child support payments received for the child
• Social Security Survivor Benefits drawn on a parent's record
• Trust fund distributions accessible to the child
• Any other income in the child's name

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) paid to the child follows a special rule — an SSI recipient is ineligible for TANF, but eligible siblings may still receive a grant.

Most children arriving in an informal kinship arrangement have little or no countable income, which means the full grant amount applies.

Grant Amounts

Monthly child-only payment standards in South Dakota:

• 1 child: $414
• 2 children: $486
• 3 children: $557

Grants below $10 per month are not issued. If the child has some countable income, the grant is reduced dollar-for-dollar after applicable deductions.

No Work Requirements, No Time Limits

Child-only TANF cases are exempt from federal and state work participation requirements under ARSD 67:10:08:04. You will not be sent to the Department of Labor for employment services.

The 60-month lifetime limit on adult TANF does not apply to child-only grants either. Even if you previously exhausted your own 60-month TANF allotment years ago, you can still apply for child-only benefits for a grandchild.

How to Apply

TANF requires a paper application — it cannot be submitted through the eaportal.sd.gov online portal. Pick up Form DSS-EA-301 at your local DSS Economic Assistance office, or contact the TANF program at 605-773-4678.

You will need the child's birth certificate, Social Security card, documentation of any child income (support orders, benefit statements), and your own ID and proof of South Dakota address. Bring birth certificates showing the family chain — grandparent to parent, parent to child — to verify the relationship.

DSS must determine eligibility within 30 calendar days after receiving the signed application. Filing page 3 with your name, address, and signature preserves your filing date, so submit it even if you are still gathering documents.

Child Support Cooperation

Applying for TANF triggers child-support cooperation. Complete one Form DSS-EA-231 for each parent who does not live with the child. DSS will work with the Division of Child Support to establish paternity and pursue financial support from the biological parents.

If pursuing child support would put you or the child at risk of harm, you can file a Good Cause Exemption with documentation such as protective orders, police reports, or medical records.

The South Dakota Financial Help Guide includes a complete document checklist and application tracker so you can organize every form and deadline in one place.

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