California grandparents raising grandchildren can draw on monthly cash aid, health coverage, food assistance, and tax credits, with the biggest financial assistance for California grandparents raising grandchildren flowing through four cash programs: CalWORKs for informal caregivers, and Approved Relative Caregiver (ARC) payments, Kin-GAP, and the Adoption Assistance Program for children who came through the child welfare system. Which door you walk through depends on one question: has the juvenile court ever had jurisdiction over this child? If not, your path starts with CalWORKs. If yes, your county social worker should be lining up the foster-care-level programs, which pay substantially more.
If You’re Raising a Grandchild Informally
When a grandchild lands in your home without any involvement from Child Protective Services or the juvenile court, CalWORKs is the main source of monthly cash. You apply through your county welfare office or online at BenefitsCal.com.
Most grandparents use the “child-only” grant. You apply as a non-needy caretaker relative, and only the grandchild is counted in the assistance unit. Your income, assets, and employment don’t factor into eligibility. The child has to meet a deprivation requirement, meaning at least one parent is absent, incapacitated, or deceased, and you have to be related within the fifth degree of kinship — grandparents are second degree and clearly qualify.1California Department of Social Services. CalWORKs Eligibility and Assistance Standards – Caretaker Relative Requirements
As of late 2024, the maximum monthly child-only grant for one child was $809, with higher amounts for additional children.2Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services. CalWORKs Fact Sheet and Maximum Payment Standards Because it’s a child-only case, there are no work requirements for you and no time limit on how long the child can receive aid. If your own income is low enough, you can instead include yourself in the grant for a larger total, though your income and assets then count toward eligibility. Grandparents age 60 or older are exempt from the Welfare-to-Work requirements that otherwise come with being on the grant.3California Department of Social Services. Welfare-to-Work Program
The Child Support Cooperation Rule
One CalWORKs requirement catches many grandparents off guard. The county will generally ask you to cooperate with efforts to collect child support from the child’s parents, which often means your own son or daughter. You can claim a “good cause” exemption if cooperation would put the child at risk of physical, sexual, or emotional harm, if the child was conceived through rape or incest, or if adoption proceedings are underway.4California Department of Social Services. Good Cause Claim for Noncooperation Form CW 51 File the good cause claim at the same time you apply if this is going to be an issue; don’t wait for the referral letter.
If the Child Came Through the Child Welfare System
When a child is placed with you by CPS and is under juvenile court jurisdiction, three programs may apply at different stages. They pay at the foster-care rate rather than the much lower CalWORKs rate. For context, California’s basic foster care rate for fiscal year 2025–2026 starts at $1,301 per month, with higher amounts for children needing more intensive support.5Santa Clara County Social Services Agency. 2026 Foster Care Rates
Approved Relative Caregiver Payments During Placement
ARC exists to fill a specific gap. When a child is placed with a relative but doesn’t qualify for federal foster care funding, ARC brings the payment up to the basic foster care rate so the relative isn’t stuck receiving only a CalWORKs grant for doing the same work as a licensed foster parent.6California Department of Social Services. Approved Relative Caregiver ARC Funding Option Program You must be approved by the county and meet health and safety standards that mirror those for licensed foster parents, and the child must be under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court in a county that has opted into ARC. Payments continue while the child remains in foster placement with you, then transition into Kin-GAP or AAP once a permanent plan is in place.
Kin-GAP After Guardianship
The Kinship Guardian Assistance Payment Program is the pathway to permanency for children who were in foster care and are now placed with a relative guardian. All of these must be true: the child was adjudged a dependent of the juvenile court (or a ward in delinquency cases); the child lived in your approved home for at least six consecutive months while under court jurisdiction; you were appointed as the legal guardian through the juvenile court; and the court terminated dependency jurisdiction after the guardianship was established.7California Legislative Information. California Code WIC 11363 A written Kin-GAP agreement has to be signed with the county welfare agency before the guardianship order is finalized, so timing matters; your county social worker handles this.
Kin-GAP pays at the state-approved foster family home care rate, capped at what the child would have received in foster care, including any specialized care increment and a clothing allowance.8California Legislative Information. California Code WIC 11364 Payments normally end at 18, but can continue to age 21 if the agreement began after the youth turned 16 and the young adult is in school, working, in an employment program, or medically unable to do those things.9California Department of Social Services. Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment Kin-GAP Program
Adoption Assistance After Adoption
If you adopt a grandchild out of the public child welfare system, the Adoption Assistance Program provides ongoing monthly payments.10California Department of Social Services. Adoption Assistance Program The payment is negotiated between you and the county adoption agency based on the child’s needs and your family circumstances. There is no means test — your income doesn’t disqualify you or reduce the amount, though the rate is capped at what the child would have received in a foster family home, including any specialized care increment.11Cornell Law Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 22 Section 35333 – Determination of Amount AAP also brings automatic Medi-Cal for the adopted child regardless of your income, which matters if your private insurance doesn’t cover everything the child needs.
Medi-Cal and CalFresh
Children receiving Kin-GAP, ARC, or AAP are automatically eligible for Medi-Cal, which covers medical, dental, and mental health care with little or no out-of-pocket cost.12LA County DCFS Policy Institute. Medi-Cal Benefits Children in CalWORKs households qualify too. Even if you receive no cash aid at all, your grandchild may qualify for Medi-Cal independently based on the household’s income.
CalFresh, California’s food assistance program, is a separate application. It is income-tested, and unlike the CalWORKs child-only grant, your income does count. The program offers generous deductions for housing, medical expenses for elderly household members, and dependent care, which help many grandparent-headed households qualify. You can apply for CalFresh, Medi-Cal, and CalWORKs together through BenefitsCal.com or at your county welfare office.
Tax Credits You Can Claim
Grandparents often overlook tax benefits that can add up to thousands of dollars a year. None of these require any child welfare involvement; you just have to meet IRS rules for claiming the child as a dependent.
You can claim the Child Tax Credit for a grandchild who lived with you more than half the year, is under 17, didn’t provide more than half of their own support, and has a valid Social Security number. The IRS explicitly includes grandchildren in the definition of qualifying children.13Internal Revenue Service. Child Tax Credit The credit amount has shifted multiple times in recent years, so confirm the current figure with the IRS or a tax preparer before you file.
The Earned Income Tax Credit treats grandchildren as qualifying children on the same residency and support terms as the Child Tax Credit.14Internal Revenue Service. Qualifying Child Rules for EITC You need earned income, but the credit phases in at low income levels, so part-time work or modest wages still count. California adds the CalEITC on top, worth up to $3,756.15California Franchise Tax Board. CalEITC You claim both federal and state versions on the same return.
Head of household filing status gives you a larger standard deduction and better brackets than filing single. You qualify if you were unmarried (or considered unmarried) at year-end, paid more than half the cost of maintaining your home, and had a qualifying person — your dependent grandchild counts — living with you more than half the year.16Internal Revenue Service. Filing Status Many grandparents file as single when head of household would save real money.
Social Security Benefits for the Grandchild
If you’re drawing Social Security retirement or disability benefits, your grandchild may qualify for dependent benefits on your record, but the rules are stricter than for your own children. Generally, both of the child’s natural parents must be deceased or disabled, or you must have legally adopted the grandchild.17Social Security Administration. Benefits for Children 2025 Benefits continue to age 18, or 19 if the child is still in high school full-time.
A grandchild with a disability may also qualify for Supplemental Security Income on their own. Here’s a quirk worth knowing: the SSA counts a parent’s income and resources as available to the child, but only parents and adoptive parents, not grandparents who are guardians.18Social Security Administration. SSI Spotlight on Deeming Parental Income and Resources A disabled grandchild living with you as guardian without adoption may qualify for SSI even if your income would have disqualified them in a parent’s household.
Legal Guardianship and Its Costs
Several of the cash programs require legal guardianship, and many grandparents end up needing it anyway to enroll a grandchild in school, consent to medical care, or add the child to their insurance. The California court filing fee for a guardianship of the person is $225. If you also need guardianship of the estate (to manage property or money for the child), the fee rises to $435.19Judicial Council of California. Superior Court of California Statewide Civil Fee Schedule Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Francisco may charge slightly more due to local surcharges. Courts waive the fee for people receiving public benefits or with household incomes below set thresholds. Count on additional costs for background checks and a court investigator’s report; many counties have self-help centers that walk you through the paperwork without an attorney. For Kin-GAP cases, guardianship goes through the juvenile court as part of the dependency case, and the county typically covers legal costs.
Where to Start
If your grandchild is in your home informally, apply for CalWORKs, Medi-Cal, and CalFresh together at BenefitsCal.com. That gets money and health coverage moving while you decide whether guardianship or adoption make sense down the road. If the child is already in the dependency system, ARC, Kin-GAP, or adoption assistance should be on your county social worker’s radar; if nobody has raised them with you, ask by name.