Florida Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) for single parents and families (2026)

What $303 a month buys under Florida’s three shelter tiers

The grant depends on family size and on how much the family must pay for housing. Rent, a mortgage, or room and board above $50 a month puts a family in Tier I. A shelter cost from one cent to $50 is Tier II, and no shelter cost at all is Tier III ⁠³⁠⁵. A family in public housing is placed by the rent it actually owes, so a tenant whose rent is zero gets Tier III ⁠⁵.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

The statute continues the chart up to 13 people ($919 in Tier I). Each extra person adds $62, $52 or $48 depending on the tier ⁠³⁠⁴.

Payments are rounded down to the dollar, and none below $10 is issued ⁠⁶. The first month is prorated from the date of eligibility, which is the day the application is approved or the 30th day after you applied, whichever comes first ⁠¹. Benefits go to an EBT card in the first three business days of each month ⁠¹². If the card is used only outside Florida for more than 30 days in a row, the case is closed ⁠³.

Passing DCF’s two income tests: 185% gross, then the payment standard

The first test compares gross income with 185% of the federal poverty level ⁠¹⁵. From April 1, 2026, that limit is $2,461 a month for one person, $3,337 for two, $4,212 for three and $5,088 for four ⁠⁴. Few working families get past the second test, though. Countable income has to be less than the payment standard for the family’s size and tier ⁠²⁠⁶.

Earnings are counted in two stages ⁠⁵:

1. Standard $90 disregard

   DCF subtracts $90 from each worker’s gross earnings.

2. Check eligibility for the larger disregard

   If income after the $90 is below the payment standard, or if the family received TCA in one of the past four months, the worker qualifies for the “$200 and 1/2” disregard. That means $200 in total (the $90 plus $110 more), and then half of the remaining earnings. The disregard has no time limit once a person qualifies.

3. Subtract from the payment standard

   Unearned income such as child support is added in. Whatever is left is subtracted from the payment standard, and the difference is the grant ⁠⁶.

For a Tier I parent with two children: As a new applicant with no other income, the parent must earn less than $393 a month, because earnings minus $90 have to be below $303. Once the family is on TCA, earnings of $700 count as $250, since $700 minus $200 is $500 and half of that is $250. The grant is then $53. At $787 a month or more in earnings, the grant falls below the $10 minimum, so no payment is made ⁠⁵⁠⁶. Florida allows no deduction for child care costs ⁠³. In budgeting, the first $50 of child support is not disregarded ⁠¹⁵.

Lump sums instead of monthly TCA: diversion, relocation and the $1,000 severance

Three options pay cash at once instead of a monthly grant, and the local workforce board, not DCF, decides who qualifies ⁠¹⁠¹⁰:

• Up-Front Diversion. This is a one-time payment of up to $1,000 for a family that is eligible for TCA and has an unexpected emergency that needs immediate help to get or keep a job or child support. The board tries a job referral, child care and transportation help before the payment ⁠¹⁰. Everyone in the family agrees not to receive TCA for three months. If a new emergency forces you to reapply sooner, the whole diversion amount is taken back from your TCA over the next eight months ⁠¹.
• Relocation Assistance Program. This is a lump sum to escape domestic violence, to take a job offer elsewhere, or to move somewhere with better job prospects ⁠¹². The board sets the amount, there is no lifetime cap on uses, and the payment month does not count toward the 48-month limit. Unless the move was to escape domestic violence, you agree not to apply for TCA for six months ⁠¹.
• Cash Assistance Severance Benefit. A working recipient with at least six straight months of TCA who expects to stay employed six more months can take $1,000 and close the cash case. It counts as one month toward the time limit, Medicaid, food assistance and child care continue if the family qualifies, and an emergency reapplication within six months means the $1,000 is deducted from the new grant ⁠¹¹.

Certified domestic violence centers run a separate diversion program for families with income up to 200% of poverty; its one-time payments of up to $1,000 go to a vendor such as a landlord ⁠¹⁰.

Welfare Transition at your local career center: work registration and sanctions

Unless you are exempt, you must complete work registration before DCF can approve TCA. Registration is done online and includes a Welfare Transition overview and an assessment. Your local board may add more tasks, and if you skip registration your application is denied ⁠¹⁰. State law requires participation for the most hours federal law allows, capped at 40 a week ⁠⁹. Adults without a high school diploma can meet the requirement with at least 20 hours a week of adult education or high school equivalency classes ⁠⁹.

Exempt: SSI or SSDI recipients, single parents of a baby under 3 months, and people caring for a disabled family member with no other care available ⁠⁹⁠⁷. A single parent of a child under 6 cannot be sanctioned for not working if they show the board that suitable child care is unavailable or unaffordable ⁠⁸.

Sanctions apply to the whole family ⁠⁸:

1. First failure

   TCA stops for at least 10 days, or until you comply.

2. Second failure

   TCA stops for one month, or until you comply, whichever is later.

3. Third failure

   TCA stops for three months, or until you comply, whichever is later. You must complete the required activity before TCA restarts.

After a second or third sanction, the children under 16 can keep receiving benefits through a protective payee ⁠⁸.

Florida’s 48-month clock and who is exempt from it

Florida limits each adult to 48 months of TCA in a lifetime. That is 12 months less than the federal 60-month limit ⁠¹⁰⁠⁷. Months of TANF from any other state count toward the 48 ⁠⁷. The limit does not apply to child-only cases, to months received as a minor, to SSI or SSDI recipients, or to a person who cares for a disabled family member at home. If you have a pending SSI or SSDI application, your limit is extended until a final decision ⁠⁷⁠¹.

At 42 months, DCF alerts your workforce board, which interviews you and can recommend a hardship extension. Grounds include diligent participation without finding a job, serious barriers to employment, domestic violence, or a risk that the children would otherwise go into shelter or foster care ⁠¹⁰⁠⁷. Hardship cases cannot exceed 20% of the state’s average monthly caseload ⁠⁷.

Rules that can cut a Florida grant: child support, Learnfare, shots and the family cap

• Child support. You must help the Department of Revenue find the other parent, establish paternity and get a support order, and you assign your support rights to the state. If you refuse without good cause, the whole family is denied. A risk of domestic violence counts as good cause ⁠³.
• Learnfare. Children ages 6 to 18 must attend school; a habitually truant child loses their share, and a parent who skips the required school conference each semester loses the parent’s share ⁠¹².
• Immunizations. Children under 5 must be up to date on their shots unless there is a religious or good-cause exemption ⁠¹²⁠².
• Family cap. If a child is born more than 10 months after the family applied, the grant goes up by only half the usual amount. Later births add nothing. The cap does not apply to a first-born child, to a child whose custody a court transfers, to children who cannot live with their parents because of a parent’s death or incapacity, or when the mother receives SSI ⁠¹²⁠⁴.

Relative Caregiver payments for children placed by DCF

A grandparent, aunt or other relative raising a child often qualifies for child-only TCA based on the child’s own income and resources, with no time limit ⁠³⁠⁷. When a Florida court has ruled the child dependent and DCF’s child welfare system placed the child with the relative, the Relative Caregiver Program pays more. The rates are $242 a month for ages 0 through 5, $249 for ages 6 through 12 and $298 for ages 13 through 17. Only the child’s income and assets, capped at $2,000, are counted ⁠².

Applying through MyACCESS, step by step

1. Gather proof for everyone in the home

   Have Social Security numbers, citizenship or immigration papers, the last four weeks of pay stubs, child support and Social Security letters, and proof of rent or mortgage, which sets your tier ⁠¹³⁠².

2. File one application

   Apply on MyACCESS, which takes about 30 minutes online, at a DCF Family Resource Center, or with a community partner. You can also mail a paper application to P.O. Box 1770, Ocala, FL 34478-1770 ⁠¹³. The date DCF receives a signed application starts your clock ⁠¹.

3. Ask about lump sums now

   If you face a one-time crisis, ask about Up-Front Diversion or relocation before you are approved for monthly TCA ⁠¹.

4. Complete the interview

   Not every application needs one. If yours does, DCF sends a pending notice ⁠¹³. The interview is face-to-face unless disability, illness, lack of transportation or another hardship justifies a phone interview ⁠¹.

5. Return documents within 10 days

   DCF gives you 10 calendar days after the interview to send what it asks for, and you can upload documents to MyACCESS. If you send them after day 30 but by day 60, DCF processes the same application ⁠¹.

6. Finish work registration

   Complete the online Welfare Transition registration unless you are exempt ⁠¹⁰.

7. Watch for the decision

   A complete application is decided by the 30th day ⁠¹⁠¹³. Approved cases are reviewed every six months, or every 12 months for child-only cases ⁠¹.

8. Appeal within 90 days

   Ask DCF’s Office of Appeal Hearings for a fair hearing, orally or in writing, within 90 days of the notice. Ask before the end of the month before a cut takes effect and benefits continue until the decision ⁠¹⁴.

For related help, see all Florida assistance guides or compare cash assistance across states.