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

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Nevada program

Money for a relative raising the child

Nevada has cash-assistance routes for a grandparent or another relative raising a child.

What it is

Nevada has cash-assistance routes for a grandparent or another relative raising a child.

A relative raising a child may have a different cash-assistance route from a parent. The office needs to know the legal and caregiving relationship. Your answers here do not settle guardianship or adoption.

Eligibility rules
  • A relative other than the parent must be raising the child.
  • Both routes first screen the whole household's income at 275% of poverty, then look only at the child's own income and savings. Kinship Care also needs a caregiver aged 62 or over, six months of care, a Nevada court guardianship and no parent living in the home.
  • The separate KinCare program introduced March 30, 2026 requires a child-welfare referral. It generally uses caregiver age 18 or older, a 300% poverty household screen and 12-month certification. An adult parent cannot live in the home. A child receiving SSI, TANF or a foster subsidy is excluded. These are different conditions from Kinship Care.
What you get
  • Kinship Care rates include $401 a month per child ages 0–12 and $463 from age 13.
  • A separate child-only grant may fit a non-parent caretaker.
What the help includes
  • When the only child is ages 0–12, the Kinship Care rate is $418 a month.
  • The child-only grant for a relative caregiver is $418 a month for one child, $478 for two, $538 for three and $598 for four (2026).
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask the Access Nevada caseworker to compare Kinship Care and the non-needy caretaker route.
  2. Explain who raises the child and bring the records the caseworker requests about that relationship.

Access Nevada; Welfare and Supportive Services: 800-992-0900 · Official page ↗

After you ask
  • The caseworker can identify which cash route the application is being screened for.
Good to know

The two routes pay different amounts. A relative’s role needs a separate check before either is assumed.

Other details
  • The Kinship Care payment rates have been unchanged since April 2018.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“A grandparent is raising our grandchild. Which cash route fits us, Kinship Care or a child-only grant, and could you help us apply for the right one?”

Why I’m asking: I want the office to consider the caregiving relationship rather than assume a parent is applying.

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

Say who is raising the child before anything else on the application.

Your social worker

The social worker can make sure the child-only route is the one being screened.

The care team

Records and letters when the application asks for them.

Who decides
The Division of Welfare and Supportive Services.
Ask the agency
“I am a relative raising this child, not the parent. Please screen us for Kinship Care and for the child-only grant, and tell me what each pays.”

How to apply

First step: Apply on Access Nevada and say in the first answer that a relative is raising the child.

  1. Say at the start of the application that a relative is raising the child.
  2. Ask which of the two routes you are being screened for and what each would pay.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Apply on Access Nevada and say plainly that a relative, not a parent, is raising the child.

What to gather

The diagnosis letter, the child’s insurance card, and the last two pay stubs cover most applications. The official page lists the rest.

How long: 45 days, the same as ordinary cash assistance.

What a yes looks like

A monthly payment set out per child or as a child-only grant.

What a no looks like, and the next move

A refusal. Ask which of the two routes was tested and on what figures.

Watch out

  • There are two routes with different money. Ask which one you are being screened for.
  • The Kinship Care rates have not changed since April 2018.

Dates that change this

2018-04-01: The Kinship Care rates on the current chart were last updated in April 2018 and have not risen since. The full eligibility rules for Kinship Care were not published.

The numbers and the rules

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

What it is worth

$401 a month for a child aged 0 to 12 and $463 from 13, or a child-only grant of $538 to $598.

  • $401/month — Kinship Care, each child aged 0 to 12
  • $463/month — Kinship Care, each child aged 13 or older
  • $418/month — Kinship Care, when the only child is aged 0 to 12
  • $538/month — Non-parent child-only grant, assistance unit of 3
  • $598/month — Non-parent child-only grant, assistance unit of 4

What it costs the family: None.

The eligibility facts, as published

Household
a relative other than a parent is raising the child
Notes
the full Kinship Care eligibility rules were not published; the payment rates were

The trap: There are two different Nevada routes: Kinship Care at $401 or $463 a child, and a child-only grant for a non-parent caretaker at $538 for three people or $598 for four. Ask which one your household is being screened for, because the money differs.

Where I read this

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