South Carolina program
Cash for a relative raising the child
A child-only cash grant can help a relative other than a parent who is raising a child.
What it is
A child-only cash grant can help a relative other than a parent who is raising a child.
A grandparent or other relative may be raising a child while also handling treatment. This grant leaves the caregiver’s own income and savings out. Money belonging to the child and the family relationship still matter.
Eligibility rules
- This route is for a relative other than a parent raising the child.
- DSS reviews the living arrangement and the child’s own income. The caregiver’s money is not included.
What you get
- A monthly grant based on the children included and their own income.
- The caretaker relative’s own earnings and savings are left out.
What the help includes
- The grant depends on the number of eligible children and their own countable income. A child receiving SSI cannot also be included in this cash-aid group, and other child-specific payments may affect the result.
- Your social worker can ask DSS for the payment standard effective for your month and an estimate after the child’s income. DSS confirms the amount before your family relies on a monthly grant.
If you decide to apply
- Ask DSS about a child-only TANF grant and explain your relationship to the child.
- Have proof the child lives with you, the child’s identification and details of money paid in the child’s name.
South Carolina Department of Social Services · 1-800-616-1309 · Official page ↗
If you decide to go ahead
- The cash-aid processing standard is 30 days.
Good to know
A child receiving SSI cannot also be included in this cash-aid group. The child’s own income can reduce or prevent the grant.
Other details
- DSS needs to see the actual relationship and who has custody, so bring any court papers or school and medical records that show the child lives with you.
Official sources
“If I am raising my relative’s child, could a child-only grant fit? Could you help check our relationship, any income the child receives and whether SSI would change the choice?”
Why I’m asking: I want to know whether help can be based on the child’s finances rather than mine.
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 for the child-only grant by name and show the child lives with you.
Your social worker
The hospital social worker can confirm the caring arrangement in writing.
The care team
Records and letters when the application asks for them.
- Who decides
- The Department of Social Services.
- Ask the agency
- “I am a relative raising this child. I want to apply for the child-only grant, where my own income is not counted.”
How to apply
First step: Apply through the Department of Social Services and ask for the child-only grant by name.
- Say you want the child-only grant, not cash aid for yourself; they are worked out differently.
- Ask which payment table the county is using, because the department's own pages disagree.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: Apply through the Department of Social Services and say plainly that you want the child-only grant.
What to gather
- Proof the child lives with you
- The child's birth certificate or ID
- Any income paid in the child's name
How long: The processing standard for cash aid is 30 days.
What a yes looks like
A monthly payment in the child's name, with your own income untouched.
What a no looks like, and the next move
Ask whether it was the child's own income or the living arrangement, and what proof would settle it.
Watch out
- Money paid in the child's own name can still count.
- A child getting SSI is not counted in a cash-aid group.
- The department's website and manual print different amounts; ask which one the county uses.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
A grant of $263 a month for one child, $356 for two, $449 for three, with the relative's own income left out.
- $263/month — One child, monthly payment standard
- $356/month — Two children, monthly payment standard
- $449/month — Three children, monthly payment standard
Legal protection: The caretaker relative's own income and savings do not count
What it costs the family: Nothing to apply.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Who
- a relative other than a parent who is raising the child
- Income
- the caretaker's income and resources are not counted; income payable to the child can be
- Exclusion
- a child receiving SSI is not eligible in the assistance unit
The trap: Money paid to the child, such as a benefit in the child's own name, can still count even though the relative's income does not.
Where I read this
- South Carolina DSS — TANF Policy Manual, Volume 67 — South Carolina Department of Social Services, read September 10, 2026
- South Carolina DSS — TANF and child-only benefits — South Carolina Department of Social Services, read September 10, 2026