Louisiana program
Cash help for a relative raising a child (Kinship Care Subsidy)
Louisiana’s Kinship Care Subsidy provides cash for eligible relatives raising children when neither parent lives at home.
What it is
Louisiana’s Kinship Care Subsidy provides cash for eligible relatives raising children when neither parent lives at home.
Kinship Care Subsidy is designed for grandparents and other relatives raising a child. It pays for each eligible child. The worker checks the relationship, who lives in the home and income.
Eligibility rules
- Eligible applicants include grandparents, step-grandparents and other adult relatives within the fifth degree.
- Annual family income must be below 150% of the federal poverty threshold.
- The child must be under 18. The caretaker’s income unit includes the child, caretaker and people at home for whom the caretaker claims financial responsibility. Its income must be strictly below 150% of poverty. The child’s own countable income must separately be below $450 monthly.
What you get
- A $450 monthly payment for each eligible child under the schedule effective January 2022.
What the help covers
- The grant schedule effective January 1, 2022 pays $450 per eligible child. SSI, foster payments and other cash assistance require a separate coordination review rather than adding every program’s maximum.
If you decide to apply
- Ask the benefits office about the Kinship Care Subsidy through the state benefits application.
- Have proof of your relationship, where the child’s parents live and your income ready.
Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services · Official page ↗
After you apply
- The posted rule normally allows 30 days from receipt of a signed application to provide benefits or a decision, unless there is an unavoidable delay. The office reviews eligibility annually. Your social worker can help confirm the income, relationship and custody evidence and the deadlines in your notice.
Good to know
Neither parent may live in the applicant’s household. Having custody papers does not replace that household test.
Other details
- The payment is per eligible child rather than one flat amount for the household.
Official sources
“Would our caregiving arrangement meet the kinship subsidy rules? What other benefits could it affect, and could you help us apply if it would help?”
Why I’m asking: I want to understand the support available to a relative raising a child during treatment.
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
Apply in your own name as the relative raising the child, for each child.
Your social worker
The hospital social worker can confirm who brings the child to appointments.
The care team
Records and letters when the application asks for them.
- Who decides
- The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services.
- Ask the agency
- “I am raising my grandchild and neither parent lives with us. Can I apply for the Kinship Care Subsidy, and is it paid for each child?”
How to apply
First step: Ask the benefits office for the Kinship Care Subsidy by name, and apply for each child you are raising.
- Ask for the Kinship Care Subsidy by name; it is a different application path from ordinary cash aid.
- Apply for each child you are raising.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: Apply through the state benefits application and ask for kinship care by name.
What to gather
- Proof of your relationship to the child
- Proof of where the child's parents live
- Your own income
How long: The normal standard is benefits or a decision within 30 days after receipt of a signed application, unless an unavoidable delay occurs. Eligibility is reviewed annually; document deadlines come from the notice.
What a yes looks like
A monthly payment in your name, for each eligible child.
What a no looks like, and the next move
Usually the household test. Ask exactly which parent was counted as living with you.
Watch out
- Neither parent may live in the home. The child must be under 18 and qualifying custody must be held or obtained within one year. An application need not be rejected solely because the custody order is not complete on filing day.
- The currently reproduced rule retains $450 monthly per eligible child, effective January 1, 2022. Each child’s eligibility and coordination with SSI, foster payments or other cash assistance must be checked.
If they say no, quote this: R.S. 46:237 and LAC 67:III.5329: child under 18, neither parent at home, qualifying custody now or within one year, caretaker income below 150% FPL, and child countable income below $450 monthly.
Dates that change this
2022-01-01: The currently reproduced rule retains $450 monthly per eligible child, effective January 1, 2022. Each child’s eligibility and coordination with SSI, foster payments or other cash assistance must be checked.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
The last published amount is $450 a month for each eligible child living with a qualifying relative.
- $450/month — Monthly payment per eligible child (announced January 2022)
What it costs the family: None.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Relationship
- grandparent, step-grandparent or other adult relative within the fifth degree
- Household
- neither of the child's parents may live in the applicant's household
- Income
- The caretaker’s income unit must be strictly below 150% of poverty. It includes the child, caretaker and people at home for whom the caretaker claims financial responsibility. Separately, the child’s countable income must be below $450 monthly. Exact 2026 agency rounding/adoption needs confirmation.
- Statute refs
- R.S. 46:237
The trap: Neither parent may live in the home. The child must be under 18 and qualifying custody must be held or obtained within one year. An application need not be rejected solely because the custody order is not complete on filing day.
Where I read this
- Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:237 (Kinship Care Subsidy Program) — Louisiana Legislature, read September 10, 2026
- Louisiana to increase TANF cash assistance benefits beginning January 2022 — Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services, read September 10, 2026