Wyoming POWER Caretaker Relative Program: Child-Only Cash Assistance

What the POWER Caretaker Relative Program Actually Pays

Wyoming runs its TANF block grant through the Personal Opportunities With Employment Responsibilities (POWER) program. Within POWER, there is a specific track for non-parent relatives — grandparents, aunts, uncles, adult siblings — called the Caretaker Relative program.

The core mechanic: DFS pays a child-only cash grant directly to the caregiver on behalf of the child. A single eligible child with no countable income receives up to $259 per month. POWER benefits are issued on a Way2Go card, and the caregiver decides how the money is spent on the child's needs.

The number that matters most to kinship families is the income-exclusion rule. Under the Caretaker Relative track, the income, wages, retirement benefits, pensions, and assets of the relative caregiver are completely excluded from the eligibility calculation. DFS looks only at what the child earns or receives in their own name.

A grandmother collecting $2,200 a month in Social Security retirement? Her income does not count. An uncle earning $4,000 a month from his job? Excluded. The only figures DFS evaluates are the child's own countable income and resources, which must be at or below $5,000.

Who Qualifies as a Caretaker Relative

The program requires a specific degree of kinship. You must be a grandparent, aunt, uncle, adult sibling, or another relative connected to the child by blood, marriage, or adoption. Family friends and unrelated neighbors do not qualify for POWER Caretaker Relative assistance, regardless of how long they have cared for the child.

You also need to demonstrate that the child's parents are absent from the home and that you exercise daily care and control. This can be an informal arrangement — you do not need a court order to apply. School enrollment records, medical visit documentation, or a landlord statement showing the child lives at your address can serve as proof.

How the Benefit Calculation Works

The formula is straightforward:

Monthly grant = $259 (maximum for one child) minus the child's countable unearned income

If the child has zero income, the full $259 is paid. If the child receives Social Security survivor benefits of $80 a month, the grant drops to $179. SSI payments to the child are treated differently — a child receiving SSI is removed from the POWER assistance unit entirely, since SSI is designed to meet the child's needs independently.

Child support that DFS collects and passes through to the caregiver household is treated as exempt income for POWER purposes, meaning it does not reduce the cash grant. However, that same pass-through is counted as unearned income for SNAP calculations.

Work Requirements — There Aren't Any

Caretaker relatives applying only on behalf of relative children may volunteer for the POWER work program; they are not required to meet its work performance or mandatory job-search requirements. A non-parent caretaker relative who is not included in the grant and is not legally financially responsible for the child is also exempt from the five-year benefit limit.

POWER also has school-attendance requirements for children. Children age 15 and under who have not completed 10th grade must attend school full-time. Children age 16 or 17, or who have completed 10th grade, must attend high school full-time or comply with work-program requirements. Children age 18 and minor parents must attend high school full-time and maintain a C average; 18-year-olds must graduate before age 19.

How to Apply

Submit the standard DFS Application for Assistance to your local county DFS office. You can deliver it in person, mail it, or email it to [email protected]. After DFS receives your application, you will need to complete a phone interview on the DFS interview line at 307-777-8550 (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, 9 AM–4 PM) or visit the office in person. The application date starts the first pay-after-performance period; if you meet the required conditions, the first payment is issued for the following month.

Gather your documents before the interview: the child's birth certificate, Social Security card, proof of Wyoming residency, proof of your kinship relationship, and any income documentation for the child. Missing paperwork is the most common reason applications stall.

What Else Opens Up

Once the child is receiving POWER cash assistance, the child is categorically eligible for free school meals. POWER cash assistance is counted as unearned income for SNAP, so it can affect the SNAP calculation. Medicaid and Kid Care CHIP eligibility is determined separately under each program's child health coverage rules.

Our Wyoming Kinship Financial Help Guide walks through each of these programs and how they interact, with income worksheets, document checklists, and renewal timelines designed specifically for relative caregivers in Wyoming.

See more Wyoming guides →