How to Prevent Your Texas Kinship Benefits From Being Cut Off

A termination notice from HHSC can arrive when you have done nothing wrong — a form you never received, a system error, or a caseworker who misread the household composition. For a kinship caregiver on a tight budget, losing TANF or SNAP even temporarily can mean scrambling to cover the child's food and basic needs.

Here are the most common reasons Texas kinship benefits get cut and the specific steps to prevent each one.

The Five Most Common Termination Triggers

1. Missed renewal paperwork. TANF review schedules depend on the case: payee cases with zero countable income are reviewed every 11 to 12 months, while cases with earned income are reviewed every 5 to 6 months. If your SNAP household is assigned Streamlined Reporting, complete the six-month form and use the renewal date on your HHSC notice. If required paperwork is not returned by the deadline, benefits can stop even when nothing about the child's eligibility has changed. Missed paperwork is one common reason kinship benefits are cut.

Prevention: Mark your renewal dates on a calendar when your benefits start. If you have not received a renewal form, contact HHSC or 2-1-1 before the deadline and request guidance.

2. Unreported changes. HHSC requires you to report certain changes within 10 days: a new address, the child leaving your home, or a change in the child's income. If HHSC discovers an unreported change through data matching (such as a new child support order), they may terminate benefits and pursue an overpayment claim.

Prevention: Report changes proactively, even if you think they do not affect eligibility. A quick call or Your Texas Benefits update creates a record that you reported on time.

3. Child support non-cooperation. If you applied for Child-Only TANF and do not meet the OAG Child Support Division cooperation requirement, and no Good Cause exemption applies, the issue can affect your TANF case.

Prevention: If you cannot cooperate safely, file a Good Cause request immediately. Do not ignore the cooperation letters.

4. Income changes misattributed to the child. Sometimes HHSC's system picks up income that belongs to the caregiver and incorrectly attributes it to the child's case — for example, when a grandparent's Social Security increase triggers an automated review. Under Child-Only TANF rules, the caregiver's income should be excluded entirely.

Prevention: If you receive a notice saying the child's income exceeds the limit, check whether the income cited is actually yours. If it is, call your caseworker and explain that the case is a non-needy caretaker child-only case and your income should not be counted.

5. The child turns 18. A child must generally be under 18 for TANF, but an 18-year-old enrolled full-time in high school or vocational training may still qualify. Medicaid also has age-based eligibility rules and a 12-month continuous coverage period for children. This is an eligibility boundary, not a paperwork error.

Prevention: If the child is 18 and remains enrolled full-time in high school or vocational training, give HHSC the enrollment information when requested.

What to Do When You Get a Termination Notice

Every HHSC termination notice includes a proposed action date — the date benefits will stop. You have the right to request a Fair Hearing within 90 days of that notice.

For adverse actions eligible for continued benefits, request a Fair Hearing within 13 calendar days of the notice to keep benefits at the current level while the appeal is pending. Exceptions apply, and HHSC may seek repayment if the hearing decision upholds the action. If you miss that window, you may still request a hearing within 90 days, but continued benefits may not be available.

Act quickly. The 13-day window can determine whether eligible benefits continue while the hearing is pending.

The Texas Kinship Financial Help guide includes a Fair Hearing request letter template, a benefit tracking calendar that flags renewal deadlines before they arrive, and a step-by-step walkthrough of the hearing process — who to contact, what to bring, and how decisions are made.

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