Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

Childhood Cancer Lantern
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Minnesota program

Help with disability-related costs (Family Support Grant)

A county grant can help with extra disability-related costs for an eligible person under 25.

What it is

A county grant can help with extra disability-related costs for an eligible person under 25.

Some useful things fall outside insurance coverage. The Family Support Grant can help with goods or services for a child with a certified disability. County funding is limited, and some other disability services exclude a child from this grant.

Who can qualify
  • The person must be under 25, have a certified disability and live with biological or adoptive family, or be returning there.
  • The county confirms the current income ceiling and service exclusions. HCBS waiver services, Community First Services and Supports, personal care assistance and a consumer support grant can exclude the child. Unmet disability-related costs and county funding also matter.
What you get
  • Up to about $3,114 a year for each eligible child, for costs like equipment, respite or travel that nothing else pays.
What the help includes
  • The grant is state-funded and runs alongside Medical Assistance rather than inside it.
  • The published maximum is $3,113.99 per eligible child per calendar year. The award depends on assessed need and county funds. Approved costs can include equipment, respite, transportation or home changes that another insurer or public program does not pay. Ordinary expenses and duplicate payment are not guaranteed uses.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask the social worker whether the grant fits your child’s home setting, disability-related costs and other services.
  2. If you decide to pursue it, the county disability worker explains the records and proposed costs needed and checks available funding.

Your county disability services worker. · Official page ↗

After you ask
  • The county checks disability and funding, then decides any award.
  • The award letter names the amount and approved uses. A refusal can concern income, disability certification or funding.
Good to know

Some waiver and personal-care services exclude this grant. The county checks the exact services and the current income limit before deciding.

Other details
  • Availability depends on the county’s funding. An eligible child is not guaranteed a grant.
  • A refusal comes in writing with the reason, and you have 30 days to appeal. (the same appeal-clock sentence appears in cehi and child_medicaid)
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Could the Family Support Grant help with costs that nothing else covers? What are the benefits and drawbacks, do our other services rule it out, and could you help us ask the county?”

Why I’m asking: I want to understand help for needed items outside insurance.

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

Ask the county and describe what the child needs that nothing else pays for.

Your social worker

The county certifies the disability and decides the award.

The care team

Records and letters when the application asks for them.

Who decides
The county, within its funding.
Ask the agency
“Can you tell me this year's income limit for the family support grant, whether funding is open, and what it can be spent on?”

How to apply

First step: Ask the county disability services worker about the family support grant.

  1. Ask the county for this year's income limit and whether funds are open.
  2. Ask what the grant can be spent on.
  3. Ask whether a waiver would end the grant before choosing between them.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Ask the county disability services worker about the family support grant and this year's income limit.

What to gather

  • The diagnosis and treatment records
  • A list of what the child needs that nothing else pays for

How long: The county confirms the expected decision date. Decisions can be appealed under section 256.045, ordinarily within 30 days after notice or up to 90 for good cause where applicable.

What a yes looks like

An award letter naming an amount and what it can be spent on.

What a no looks like, and the next move

Ask whether the no is income, certification or funding, and ask again next year.

Watch out

  • The county checks current exclusions for HCBS waiver services, CFSS, PCA and a consumer support grant.
  • County funding is limited, so ask whether money is open before you plan on it.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

Up to $3,113.99 per eligible child per calendar year for approved disability-related costs, subject to assessed need and county funding.

Covers: Cash to buy goods and services the child needs · Items insurance and Medical Assistance do not cover

Legal protection: Runs alongside Medical Assistance rather than inside it

What it costs the family: None.

The eligibility facts, as published

Child
Under 25, certified disability, living with biological or adoptive family or returning there
Excluded
County confirms the current exclusion list, including HCBS waiver services, CFSS, PCA and Consumer Support Grant
Income
a ceiling exists but the 2026 figure was not established

The trap: The current income ceiling could not be verified: the figure on the state page is dated January 2025 and the statute requires yearly adjustment. County funding is also limited, so ask the county for this year's figure and whether money is available.

Where I read this

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