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

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Texas program

Monthly cash and help for relative caregivers (Texas TANF)

Monthly cash for families with very low income and savings, with separate help for relative caregivers.

What it is

Monthly cash for families with very low income and savings, with separate help for relative caregivers.

Texas TANF is a small grant when household income is very low and savings are under $1,000. A relative aged 25 or older raising the child can get a one-time $1,000 payment, and a child-only grant ignores the relative's income.

Eligibility rules
  • The income test is very low: for a parent and three children, income after deductions must be under $903 a month, and the grant itself is worked out against a $226 standard. Savings must be under $1,000.
  • A separate one-time relatives payment has age, relationship, income, resource and child-on-TANF requirements. The qualifying relative must be at least 25, with a 200%-of-poverty income test and $1,000 resource limit, subject to the program rules.
  • A nonparent relative may discuss a child-only monthly case. HHSC checks adoption or legal parenthood, the child’s income and the correct budget; living with a relative alone does not settle the category.
What you get
  • Monthly cash based on the family’s income and caretaker category.
  • A separate one-time $1,000 payment for qualifying relative caregivers.
What the help covers
  • For four people in a one-caretaker TANF case, the maximum monthly grant is $459 through September 30, 2026 and $466 from October 1, 2026. The actual amount depends on HHSC’s case composition and income calculation.
  • The relatives’ $1,000 payment is once in a lifetime and is not an automatic addition to every monthly award.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask your social worker to help identify the right TANF category at Your Texas Benefits.
  2. Have income, savings and relationship records ready. Ask the clinic for a letter describing caregiving demands if work rules are an issue.

Your Texas Benefits or 877-541-7905 · Official page ↗

After you apply
  • A caretaker needed at home with an ill or disabled child can ask HHSC about a Choices work exemption using Form H1836-B. The child’s illness does not have a minimum-duration requirement for this exemption, and the form is renewed every six months. Your social worker can help the treating clinician document the need.
Good to know

Being a little over the needs standard is not a no; part of earnings comes off first. A parent caring for a sick child can ask to be excused from the work rules.

Other details
  • HHSC takes $120 off wages and ignores a third of the rest before comparing with the line.

Federal background: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Which TANF category fits our family, what cash could it provide, and would caregiving affect the work rules? Could you help us decide whether to apply?”

Why I’m asking: I want to know whether the small payment would help and what conditions we would need to meet.

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, say who is caring for the child, and ask for the caregiver medical exemption from work rules.

Your social worker

Identifies a child-only or kinship case and requests the medical-exemption assessment.

The care team

Documents the caregiving demands if HHSC or TWC asks.

Who decides
HHSC
Ask your social worker
“Can you help identify the right TANF group for us (child-only, one caretaker, relatives' one-time payment) and document the caregiving demands?”

How to apply

First step: Apply at YourTexasBenefits.com or 877-541-7905. For a relative caregiver, ask for One-Time TANF for Relatives by name.

  1. Apply at YourTexasBenefits.com or 877-541-7905. For a relative caregiver, ask for One-Time TANF for Relatives by name.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Your Texas Benefits or 877-541-7905

What to gather

  • Income and savings
  • The relationship to the child
  • The oncologist's letter for a work-rule exemption

How long: Standard application timing. The one-time payment is once in a lifetime.

What a yes looks like

A notice with the grant and conditions.

What a no looks like, and the next move

Ask which budget, savings or work rule applied and use the appeal deadline on the letter.

Watch out

  • The maximum grant and the needs standards are different. The $903 budgetary standard is not a gross-wage limit; HHSC also applies the $226 recognizable-needs test for four with one caretaker.
  • Savings limit is $1,000.
  • Work rules apply. Ask for the caregiver medical exemption instead of skipping an appointment.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 8, 2026.

What it is worth

For four with one caretaker, the maximum is $459 monthly through September 30, 2026 and $466 from October 1. HHSC applies both the $903 budgetary and $226 recognizable-needs tests with deductions; $903 is not a gross-wage ceiling. Resources and relative-caregiver routes have separate rules.

  • $459/month — Maximum monthly grant, four people, one caretaker
  • $1,000 — Resource limit
  • $1,000 — One-time TANF for relatives

Covers: Monthly cash · Child-only grant for a relative caregiver

What it costs the family: None.

The eligibility facts, as published

Budgetary need four one caretaker usd
903
Resource limit usd
1000
Relatives one time
age 25+, gross income under 200% FPL, $1,000 resources

The trap: The grant is small and work rules apply. Ask for the caregiver medical-exemption assessment.

Where I read this

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