Kentucky program
Respite and other help for grandparents raising a child
Kentucky’s grandparent caregiver program offers grants or vouchers for eligible grandparents raising grandchildren.
What it is
Kentucky’s grandparent caregiver program offers grants or vouchers for eligible grandparents raising grandchildren.
This program can help with respite and other child-related expenses. The grandparent must be the primary caregiver. The local aging agency checks household circumstances and financial eligibility.
Eligibility rules
- The local Area Agency on Aging confirms the grandparent relationship and current conditions, including the child’s age, residence and whether a parent lives in the home.
- The agency also confirms the current financial screen and how state kinship-care benefits affect this assistance.
What you get
- Help with eligible respite and related expenses when the local agency confirms the grant and funds.
Amounts and limits
- The agency confirms the current grant or voucher ceiling, covered expenses, benefit year, funds and processing time.
- A relative-care answer does not by itself establish that the grandparent component fits.
If you decide to apply
- Ask your local area agency on aging about the grandparent component of the caregiver program.
- Have proof of the relationship, the child’s address and household income ready.
Grandparent caregiver help: 502-564-6930 · Official page ↗
If you decide to apply
- The decision comes from the local area agency on aging.
Good to know
A relative-care arrangement alone does not establish this program’s grandparent requirement. The agency confirms current financial and household conditions.
Official sources
“Could this grandparent program help our household, what are its limits, and could you help us decide whether to apply?”
Why I’m asking: I want to know whether support for a grandparent caregiver fits our family’s living arrangement.
More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules
Who does what
The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.
You
Call, ask for the grandparent component by name, and ask what this year's ceiling is.
Your social worker
The agency assesses and issues the grant or voucher.
The care team
Records and letters when the application asks for them.
- Who decides
- The local area agency on aging.
- Ask the agency
- “I am raising my grandchild and the parents do not live with us. Can we apply for the grandparent caregiver help, including respite?”
How to apply
First step: Call the local area agency on aging and ask for the grandparent component of the caregiver programme.
- Call the local area agency on aging and ask about the grandparent component.
- Ask what this year's grant ceiling is and what the voucher covers.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: Contact the local area agency on aging through the Department for Aging and Independent Living.
What to gather
- Proof of the relationship
- Proof that the child lives with you
- Proof of household income
How long: The agency assesses; no statewide clock was published.
What a yes looks like
A voucher or grant naming what it covers for this year.
What a no looks like, and the next move
Ask whether the reason was income, the kinship care bar or the parents' address.
Watch out
- The programme's condition is that the child's parents do not live in the home.
- The state kinship care benefit is a bar to the financial assistance.
- The grant ceiling was not published. Ask the local agency what this year's is.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
A grant or voucher each year for respite and related costs, for a grandparent at or under 150 percent of the poverty guideline.
- $18 — Maximum age of the grandchild
- $150/year — Income ceiling for the financial-assistance part
Covers: A grant or voucher each fiscal year covering respite, clothing, school supplies, legal services and medical or dental costs
What it costs the family: Nothing to apply.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Household
- a grandparent as primary carer of a related grandchild aged 18 or under, living in the carer's home, with no parent in the household
- Income
- 150% of the poverty guideline for the financial assistance, and not receiving the state kinship care benefit
- Residency
- Kentucky
The trap: The grant ceiling and the county-by-county availability were not published. Call the local area agency on aging and ask what is actually available this year before counting on an amount.
Where I read this
- CHFS — Caregiver Support Services — Cabinet for Health and Family Services, read September 10, 2026