Financial Assistance Resources

Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network resource updated in 2026 that explainsTANF and how it can support kin caregivers. This resource answers common questions from kinship caregivers about TANF, provides links to other resources, and includes the website and contact information for TANF programs in each state.

The report, "The Costs of Caregiving: Why Supporting Grandfamilies & Kinship Care is Good for Children and Our Nation’s Economy" highlights the critical role these caregivers play in supporting children, families, and our nation’s child welfare system, as well as the challenges they face in doing so. 2025

- See this document for an explanation of how the calculation of kinship caregivers’ unrecognized support to child welfare system was determined. 

Tip sheet developed by the Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network which provides background information on TANF child-only grants, shares common barriers to TANF child-only access, and seeks to provide states with replicable practices and policies to improve access.

Fact Sheet developed by the Gandfamilies and Kinship Support Ntwork and Child Trends presenting state-level information on TANF child-only benefit recipients; benefit amounts; and select state policies as they relate to children raised by their grandparents, other relatives, or close family friends. 

The Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network produced this resource to offer service providers in public, private, nonprofit, and community-based organizations basic information about federal programs that can be used to finance kinship services and programs. Information includes which federal agency administers the funding source, services the funding source can finance, and basic eligibility information. This funding primer is not intended to be an in-depth explanation of each source but, rather, a high-level overview that can be used to aid further research.

For more detail on specific types of funding, view the pages for:

• Discretionary Grants
• Entitlements
• Block Grants
• Loans/Loan Guarantees
• In-Kind Support