Alabama TANF cash assistance (Family Assistance Program) for families (2026)

What $344 a month means: Alabama’s FA payment standard

Alabama uses one number, the payment standard, for two purposes: it is the income limit, and it is the largest grant a family can get. A family with no countable income receives the full standard. The October 2023 eligibility pamphlet (DHR-FAD-595) and the TANF State Plan that took effect Oct. 1, 2024 both list the same table ⁠¹⁠³. DHR’s administrative code says the department sets the standard based on available funds and applies it uniformly statewide ⁠².

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

From size 3 upward each added person adds $48, up to $968 for a family of 16 ⁠¹⁠³.

The “family” is the assistance unit. Parents, stepparents and all brothers and sisters of the child living in the home must be included. Other related children, such as nieces or stepchildren, may be added ⁠¹⁠². A grandparent or other non-parent relative raising a child is excluded from the unit, so the relative is paid only the standard for the children ⁠³. For example, a grandmother raising two grandchildren would receive at most $304.

Benefits arrive on an EBT card. The first two cash-only ATM or point-of-sale withdrawals each month are free, and each later one costs $0.85. Cash back with a purchase has no fee ⁠³. Using the card at a liquor store, casino, strip club, tattoo or piercing shop, or psychic, or buying alcohol, tobacco or lottery tickets with benefits, leads to a disqualification: one month for the first offense, three months for the second, and permanent removal of the grantee for the third. You must also repay the money involved ⁠².

How DHR counts your income against the standard

Eligibility is decided month by month. The family’s net countable income must be below the payment standard, and the grant that results must be at least $10 ⁠¹⁠². To reach net income, DHR starts with gross earnings and subtracts ⁠²:

1. 30% of gross earnings

   as a work expense.

2. Child care costs you actually paid

   , including care for an incapacitated adult in the home who receives FA.

3. 40% of self-employment receipts

   as operating expenses, before the other deductions.

The grant is the payment standard minus the rounded net income ⁠². Here is an illustration using DHR’s formula (our arithmetic, not a DHR table). A parent with two children who earns $400 a month keeps $280 after the 30% deduction, so the grant is $344 − $280 = $64. If the same parent pays $100 a month for child care, net income falls to $180 and the grant rises to $164. With no child care costs, earnings above about $477 a month would bring the grant under the $10 minimum.

Two rules reward work after approval. All earnings from a new job are ignored for the first 12 months wages are received, as long as you report the job on time and accurately. Applicants get this disregard only if they qualify using the 30% and child care deductions alone ⁠². If you quit a job or cut your hours without good cause, or fail to report earnings within 10 days, you lose all earnings deductions for at least one month ⁠². A dependent child’s earnings are not counted if the child is a full-time student, or a part-time student who is not working full time ⁠². Child support goes to the state. Applying for FA assigns support rights to DHR, and you must turn over any payments you receive ⁠¹⁠².

No asset test, but other conditions to clear

Alabama has had no resource limit in FA since Nov. 10, 2009. The State Plan lists resource standards as “not applicable,” so bank balances and vehicles do not affect eligibility ⁠²⁠³. Other conditions apply instead ⁠¹⁠²:

• Applicant job search. During the application, you must apply for three jobs and prove it, unless you are exempt or have good cause.
• Drug screening. Adults must answer questions about drug-related convictions and recent drug use. DHR pays for the first test. After a first positive test without a prescription, you get a warning. A second positive test makes the adult ineligible for one year, and a third makes the adult permanently ineligible.
• Minor parents. A parent under 18 must live with a parent, guardian, adult relative or in a supervised setting. Once the baby is 12 weeks old, the minor parent must be in school or training toward a diploma or its equivalent.
• Family Responsibility Plan. Each parent signs this plan, developed with a JOBS case manager ⁠³.

JOBS: Alabama’s work program and its sanction ladder

The JOBS Program operates in all 67 counties. Every parent and stepparent on FA, including teen parents, is assessed and given an Individual JOBS Participation plan ⁠³⁠⁶. Parents found ready to work are placed in work or work-related activities for up to 40 hours a week. After 24 months on FA, everyone not yet participating must take part in work activities ⁠³. Federal rules count a family toward the work rate at an average of 30 hours a week, with at least 20 of those hours in core activities ⁠¹². JOBS activities include job search (assigned in blocks of up to two weeks), job readiness classes, Community Employment Placement (CEMP) work experience, on-the-job training, vocational training (including degree programs) and GED classes. JOBS can also pay for child care, transportation and work expenses ⁠³⁠⁶.

You can be deferred from JOBS if you are ⁠³:

• a single parent age 18 or older with a child 6 months old or younger;
• a single parent of a child under 6 who cannot find suitable child care;
• ill, incapacitated or caring for a sick relative;
• a domestic violence victim;
• in treatment;
• age 60 or older;
• without any regular transportation.

The penalty for missing JOBS without good cause depends on how long you have received FA ⁠²:

Child support noncooperation follows the same 50%-cut and 1/6/12-month ladder, and the two penalties can stack ⁠².

The 60-month limit and Alabama’s hardship extensions

An adult can receive FA for five years in a lifetime ⁠¹. Only months paid to the grantee or the grantee’s spouse count. Months with a zero check because of the $10 minimum, a sanction or recoupment do not count, and neither do child-only cases ⁠². Alabama has no shorter state time limit ⁠¹⁠³. To continue past month 60, the grantee or spouse must not be employed, must have a listed hardship, and must comply with JOBS and child support every month ⁠². The listed hardships are:

• caring for an ill relative;
• an illness lasting 30 days or more;
• incapacity;
• battering or extreme cruelty;
• drug, alcohol or mental health counseling;
• age 60 or older;
• a serious personal barrier;
• living in a SNAP ABAWD waiver county without a JOBS sanction since December 1996.

Noncompliance after month 60 has severe consequences. The person is permanently barred, and DHR seeks repayment of every benefit paid after the 60th month ⁠²⁠³.

Applying through OneAlabama, ACES or your county DHR office

1. Find your county office

   You apply in the county where you live. DHR’s county contact page lists each office’s TANF or JOBS phone number, street address and office hours ⁠¹¹⁠².

2. File the application

   You can mail or hand-deliver the paper Application for Family Assistance to the county office, or apply online or in the mobile app through OneAlabama, which also accepts FA and JOBS documents ⁠⁵⁠⁴. Since Oct. 5, 2026, clients in Montgomery, Elmore, Tuscaloosa, Dallas and Talladega counties use the new ACES self-service portal. ACES is tentatively set to go statewide in January 2027 ⁠⁷. The date DHR receives a signed application is your application date ⁠².

3. Gather proof

   You will need Social Security numbers (or proof you applied) for everyone in the unit, citizenship or immigration papers, pay stubs, child care receipts and child support records. You must also apply for any other benefits you may qualify for, such as Social Security or unemployment ⁠¹⁠².

4. Do the interview and job search

   The interview may begin with a group explanation, followed by a private interview in the office or by phone. Turn in proof of your three job applications ⁠¹⁠².

5. Wait for the decision

   DHR has 30 calendar days to approve the application or mail a denial. The first month is prorated from the application date ⁠².

6. Keep the case current

   Report changes within 10 days and complete a full review at least every 12 months ⁠¹⁠².

7. Appeal if needed

   Within 60 days of an action, you can ask for a county conference, a state office review or a formal hearing, which can be held by phone. If you request a hearing within the 10-day advance notice period, your benefits continue while you wait ⁠³⁠².

No lump-sum diversion: what Alabama offers instead

Unlike Texas, which pays a $1,000 One-Time TANF grant, Alabama does not pay a one-time cash grant in place of monthly FA. Its TANF plan does allow “nonrecurrent short-term benefits” for a specific crisis, for FA-eligible families and through the work program, but the plan sets no dollar amount ⁠³. Two options are easier to use:

• The S.E.A. Program serves former FA recipients for up to one year after their case closes. It offers job clubs, mentoring, help solving problems and limited emergency aid for car repairs, work clothes, tools or transportation ⁠⁸.
• Transitional Child Care covers working parents who apply within six months of their FA case closing. A fee is charged ⁠⁹⁠¹.

Child support through DHR’s Child Support Enforcement Division

Child support services start automatically for FA families. Your FA worker refers you, and the Child Support Unit schedules an appointment to complete the paperwork ⁠¹⁰. You may be excused from cooperating if pursuing support is likely to cause serious physical or emotional harm, if the child was conceived through incest or rape, or if adoption is pending ⁠³. Parents who are not on FA can apply at any county DHR office. Bring the application, case worksheet and affidavit of income. The application fee is $5 or $25 depending on income, and it is waived if you receive Medicaid. The child support attorneys represent the State of Alabama, not you ⁠¹⁰.

See also Alabama assistance guides and cash assistance compared across states.