More than 2.5 million grandparents in the United States are raising their grandchildren without the help of the child’s parents. That number has grown steadily over the past decade. What has not grown at the same pace is awareness of the financial support that exists specifically for these families. Most grandparents step into this role without knowing that dedicated programs exist for their situation. They assume the same rules that apply to parents apply to them, and in many cases that assumption costs them thousands of dollars in unclaimed aid every year. These are the ten programs most worth knowing about.

1. Kinship Care Assistance Programs

Kinship care is the term the government uses when a relative, most often a grandparent, raises a child instead of the child’s parents. Many states run dedicated kinship care assistance programs that provide monthly cash payments, case management, and access to supportive services. These are separate from foster care payments and do not require a court order in many states. The Child Welfare Information Gateway has a state-by-state breakdown of what kinship support looks like where you live. Eligibility rules vary significantly from state to state, so checking your specific state’s program is the most important first step.

2. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is a federal program that most people associate with single parents. Grandparents raising grandchildren are eligible in most states. There are two ways TANF works in this situation. A child-only grant covers the grandchild without counting the grandparent’s income, which makes it much easier to qualify. A full family grant covers the grandparent and the child together but factors in the grandparent’s income. Child-only grants are the more commonly overlooked option. Grandparents who assume their own income disqualifies the household often miss the child-only grant entirely. Your state’s TANF office is the right place to ask which grant type fits your situation.

3. SNAP Benefits for Grandchildren

SNAP benefits are calculated based on household composition and income. A grandparent raising a grandchild has two options. They are included in the same household and the entire unit applies together, or the grandchild applies as a separate household unit if there are specific income reasons to do so. Either way, having a grandchild in the home almost always increases the household’s SNAP allotment. Many grandparents never update their SNAP case when a grandchild moves in, which means they are receiving less food assistance than they qualify for. Reporting the change to your local SNAP office is a straightforward process and the benefit increase takes effect within the same benefit cycle in most states.

4. Title IV-E Foster Care Payments

If a grandchild has been formally placed with you through the child welfare system, you may qualify for Title IV-E foster care payments. These are federal payments made through state child welfare agencies that cover the cost of caring for the child. The payment amounts vary by state and the age of the child, but they are generally higher than kinship care payments and are tied to the child’s formal placement status. Many grandparents who are licensed as foster parents through their state qualify for these payments and are not aware of it. A conversation with your state’s child welfare caseworker is the fastest way to find out whether the child in your care meets the criteria.

5. The Child Tax Credit and Dependent Care Credit

The Child Tax Credit (CTC) is available to grandparents who claim a grandchild as a dependent on their federal tax return. The credit is worth up to $2,000 per qualifying child, with a refundable portion available to lower-income filers. Alongside the CTC, grandparents who pay for childcare while they work or look for work may qualify for the Child and Dependent Care Credit, which covers a percentage of qualifying care expenses. Both credits are frequently missed because grandparents are less likely than parents to realize the child qualifies as their dependent. IRS Publication 501 has the full dependency test requirements, and the IRS Free File program is available to households earning under $79,000.

6. Head Start and Early Head Start Programs

Head Start is a federally funded early childhood education program for children from birth to age five in low-income families. Grandparents raising grandchildren are fully eligible to enroll those children. Head Start covers education, nutrition, health screenings, and family support services at no cost. Many grandparents do not think of themselves as the child’s primary caregiver for enrollment purposes, but if the grandchild lives with them and they are responsible for that child’s care, they are eligible to apply. The Head Start program locator finds programs by zip code and most local programs have staff available to help with the enrollment process directly.

7. Social Security Benefits for Grandchildren

A grandchild being raised by a grandparent may qualify for Social Security benefits if that grandparent is retired, disabled, or deceased. This applies when the grandchild is dependent on the grandparent and meets specific legal criteria around living arrangements and parental support. Grandchildren of retired or disabled Social Security recipients are entitled to up to 50% of the grandparent’s primary insurance amount as a dependent benefit. Grandchildren of deceased grandparents may receive up to 75% as a survivor benefit. These are federal entitlement payments, not grants, and they are available regardless of the grandparent’s income. The Social Security Administration’s benefits page walks through the eligibility requirements in plain language.

8. Medicaid and CHIP for Grandchildren

Most grandchildren being raised by grandparents qualify for either Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) based on the child’s own income situation, not the grandparent’s. This is a critical distinction. A grandparent with a moderate income might assume the child does not qualify for public health coverage, but eligibility for CHIP in particular extends to children in households with income up to 200% of the federal poverty level in most states, and higher in some. Applying through your state’s Medicaid office or through the InsureKidsNow.gov portal takes less than 30 minutes. The child’s health coverage should be the first financial aid item a grandparent locks in.

9. Grandparent-Specific Grants Through Nonprofits

Several national nonprofits run grant programs specifically designed for grandparents raising grandchildren. The AARP Foundation has a GrandFamilies Guide that compiles financial resources by state and connects grandparent caregivers to local support networks. The Dave Thomas Foundation and various community foundations across the country run smaller grant programs for kinship caregivers with specific application windows each year. These grants are not widely advertised and the application cycles are often short, which is why so few eligible families apply. Signing up for email alerts from your local community foundation is one of the most practical ways to stay on top of when applications open.

10. Legal Aid for Custody and Guardianship

This one is not a cash grant but it belongs on this list because legal guardianship status unlocks almost every other program. A grandparent without legal guardianship or custody of a grandchild is often unable to enroll that child in school, access medical records, or apply for benefits on the child’s behalf. Legal aid organizations in every state offer free or low-cost legal assistance to low-income grandparents seeking guardianship or custody. The LawHelp.org directory finds legal aid offices by state and practice area. Establishing legal standing first is the move that makes every other program on this list accessible.

Grandparents stepping into a caregiving role did not plan for the financial weight that comes with it. The good news is that the support system is broader than most people realize. Tapping into even a few of the programs above can make a significant difference in a household budget that was not built for an additional dependent. If you are already receiving assistance for yourself, check whether the grandparent caregiving grants and programs listed here apply to the child separately, because in many cases they do.