Utah Child-Only Grant Income Rules — Does Grandparent Income Count?

The Short Answer: Your Income Is Excluded

If you are a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or other specified relative applying for Utah's child-only cash grant through DWS, your personal income does not count. Not your Social Security retirement. Not your pension. Not your wages, your savings, or your home equity. DWS evaluates only the child's income and assets when determining eligibility for the Specified Relative Grant.

This is the single most important rule in Utah kinship financial assistance, and it is also the one most caregivers get wrong. The confusion usually starts at the DWS intake window, where caseworkers process both full-family FEP cases (where adult income counts) and child-only cases (where it does not). If you are told you earn too much, make sure the worker has coded your case as a non-needy caretaker relative — not a standard FEP application.

What Counts as the Child's Income

DWS looks at unearned income that belongs directly to the child:

• Social Security Survivor or Dependent benefits paid in the child's name reduce the grant dollar for dollar
• Child support payments collected by the Office of Recovery Services count against the grant
• Trust disbursements or municipal payments directed to the child are counted

The maximum gross income limit for a one-child assistance unit is $608 per month. For two children, it rises to $843. These thresholds apply only to the child's own resources.

Most children placed with relatives have zero countable income, which means they qualify for the full grant amount — $383 per month for one child, $531 for two.

The SSI Exception

If a child receives Supplemental Security Income (SSI), they cannot be included in the FEP assistance unit at all. Federal rules prohibit receiving both SSI and TANF cash assistance simultaneously. DWS excludes the SSI child from the grant calculation entirely.

This does not prevent you from applying for a Specified Relative Grant for other children in your care who do not receive SSI. Each child is evaluated individually.

How This Differs from SNAP and Child Care

The income exclusion applies only to the FEP cash grant and Child Medicaid. Other programs count your household income:

• SNAP requires everyone who lives together and purchases and prepares food together to be in the same household. Your retirement income, wages, and the child's income all count toward SNAP eligibility limits.
• Child Care Assistance counts household income against 85% of the state median income (about $7,900 per month for a family of four).
• WIC uses an income limit of 185% of the federal poverty level. A child or caregiver who receives FEP, SNAP, or Medicaid is adjunctively eligible without an additional income check.

The takeaway: do not assume that qualifying for the cash grant means you automatically qualify for food stamps at the same generous threshold. SNAP is a separate calculation with different rules.

What to Do If DWS Asks About Your Income

If the myCase application or a DWS worker asks for your pay stubs, bank statements, or Social Security benefit letter for a child-only application, something may be miscoded. Politely confirm that you are filing as a non-needy caretaker relative under the Specified Relative program. Under DWS Policy Section 223, your income and assets are completely excluded from the eligibility determination.

If the issue persists, request a supervisor review. You have the right to appeal any eligibility decision through a DWS administrative fair hearing within 30 days of the notice.

The Utah Kinship Financial Help guide includes the full income-counting matrix for every program, so you can see at a glance which benefits evaluate the child alone and which pull in your household.

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