Indiana TANF cash assistance for single parents and families (2026)

Indiana’s grant chart: $513 for a parent and two children

The table shows the most DFR pays when a family has no countable income. A household’s group can include a parent or caretaker relative, or only the children. Indiana pays the same amount either way ⁠²⁠¹.

The right-hand column is 100% of the federal poverty level. A family already on TANF stays eligible until its countable net income equals or exceeds that figure ⁠²⁠³.

Indiana pays a $10 minimum grant, funded only by the state, when a working parent’s income is too high for a regular payment but still below 100% of the poverty level. The parent must not be under a sanction or a voluntary-quit penalty ⁠⁹⁠³. Those $10 months do not count toward the federal 60-month clock, but they do count toward Indiana’s 24-month clock ⁠⁵. Cash is paid onto an EBT Hoosier Works Card, which works at participating stores and ATMs ⁠¹⁴.

Passing the 35% gross test and the $513 net test

A new applicant has to pass two tests. First, gross monthly income must be below the gross income standard, which is 35% of the poverty level. For three people that is $797 ⁠². Second, net income must be below the net income standard. That standard equals the maximum grant, so it is $513 for three people ⁠².

To get net income, DFR first subtracts a $90 work expense for each employed member. If the earnings left after that are below the family’s needs standard, DFR also subtracts $30 plus one-third of the rest. That second disregard lasts four consecutive months, and a $30 disregard follows it ⁠³⁠⁹. Once a family is eligible, DFR counts only 25% of gross earnings, plus all countable unearned income, when it figures the grant ⁠³.

Here is an example. A parent with two children applies while earning $500 a month. That passes the $797 gross test. After the $90 deduction, $410 is left. That is below $513, so the $30-and-one-third disregard also applies, and countable income drops to about $253. The family qualifies. DFR then counts 25% of the $500 earnings ($125), so the grant is $513 − $125 = $388 ⁠³. Earnings of about $603 or more would fail the net test at application, because $603 minus $90 already reaches $513.

Child support you receive is counted as the child’s unearned income. Once your case is approved, you must forward any support paid directly to you to the Child Support Bureau ⁠¹⁵.

Assets: $1,000 to get in, $10,000 once you are on

Since July 1, 2022, Indiana has used two asset limits. Countable resources must be no more than $1,000 when you apply. After approval, the limit rises to $10,000, so a family can save part of its earnings without losing the grant ⁠²⁠⁹. Your home is exempt ⁠¹. Each assistance group can also exclude $20,000 of total equity across its vehicles. Equity means market value minus what you still owe ⁠⁴. Before July 2022 the exclusion was $10,000 on one vehicle, so older guides understate it ⁠⁴.

IMPACT starts before approval: Applicant Job Search

IMPACT stands for Indiana Manpower Placement and Comprehensive Training. It is the employment and training program for TANF and SNAP recipients ⁠⁵⁠¹⁰. At your eligibility interview, the DFR worker decides whether you must take part in IMPACT. Applicants who must take part are sent to Applicant Job Search (AJS). They have to attend an orientation, complete an assessment and a Self-Sufficiency Plan, and make 6 employer contacts, at least 3 of which are job applications ⁠⁶⁠¹. If you skip AJS without good cause, DFR denies the application ⁠⁶. While you do the job search, IMPACT can pay for transportation, and for up to 6 weeks of child care, if you cannot finish your contacts at the orientation ⁠⁶.

AJS does not apply to you if any of these is true ⁠⁶:

• you are pregnant, or you have a child under 12 weeks old;
• you have been a victim of domestic violence, or have been homeless, in the last 60 days;
• you are medically certified as unable to work, or you care for someone with a disability;
• you are enrolled in adult basic education or college, or you have a financial aid award;
• you get unemployment and are complying with the Department of Workforce Development;
• you live in a labor surplus county, where unemployment is above 10%.

After approval, a single parent must average 30 hours a week in work activities, with at least 20 hours in core activities such as a job, job search or vocational training. A single parent age 20 or older whose youngest child is under 6 needs 20 hours ⁠⁶. In Two-Parent TANF, the parents must log 35 hours a week, or 55 hours if they get federally funded (CCDF) child care ⁠⁶. IMPACT can pay up to $300 a year for work clothing, up to $200 a month for transportation, up to $750 a year for car repairs, and up to $90 once for the high school equivalency test fee ⁠⁹. People who are exempt from IMPACT include adults 60 and older, people on disability benefits, and a parent needed at home to care for a baby under 12 weeks old ⁠⁵.

If you fail an IMPACT requirement without good cause, the whole family loses TANF. The first sanction lasts at least 1 month, and the second at least 3 months. The third means lifetime ineligibility for every assistance group the sanctioned person is part of ⁠⁶. You also sign a Personal Responsibility Agreement. In it you agree to keep your children’s immunizations current, keep school-age children attending school, keep them in a safe home and stay off illegal drugs ⁠⁵.

Indiana’s 24-month adult clock versus the federal 60 months

Indiana runs two clocks at the same time ⁠⁵:

• 24-month state limit. It applies only to adults who must take part in IMPACT. It starts with the first month of benefits, and TANF months from other states do not count toward it. When an adult reaches 24 months, only that adult is removed. The rest of the assistance group can keep receiving a grant, sized by the chart for the remaining members ⁠⁵⁠².
• 60-month federal limit. It applies to every parent or caretaker, whether or not they must take part in IMPACT, and months on TANF in other states count. When it runs out, the parent and the children both lose eligibility ⁠⁵.

DFR sends a notice 60 days before your 24 months end. The notice asks you to return the extension request within 13 days, though there is no penalty if you send it later ⁠⁵. The DFR director can grant extensions of up to 12 months at a time, and they can be renewed. There are three grounds. DFR failed to provide the services in your Self-Sufficiency Plan. You could not find a job that would pay at least your grant plus $90, despite continuous effort. Or circumstances outside your control, such as domestic violence, kept you from working ⁠⁵. You also earn 1 extra month for every 6 consecutive months of full-time work, and you can bank up to 24 of these months ⁠⁵.

No diversion payment in Indiana: what exists instead

Some states pay families a one-time lump sum in place of monthly TANF. Indiana’s Program Policy Manual has no such diversion payment ⁠²⁠³. The 2026 state plan draft lists a pilot called the NEST Families Project. Through it, the Indiana Department of Health and the Indiana Community Action Association make short-term TANF-funded payments to new parents. DFR does not publish an application, an amount or eligibility rules for it ⁠⁹. Within TANF itself, the closest things to one-time help are IMPACT’s supportive service payments and the $10 minimum grant for working families ⁠⁹.

Applying through the FSSA Benefits Portal, step by step

1. Gather documents first

   Have Social Security numbers for everyone, proof of citizenship or immigration status, pay stubs, any child support records, bank balances and vehicle loan statements ready. Your countable assets must be $1,000 or less ⁠¹⁠².

2. Apply online or at a county office

   File through the FSSA Benefits Portal. One application covers TANF, SNAP and Medicaid. If you have no computer or internet, apply at your local DFR office ⁠¹.

3. Complete the eligibility interview

   DFR requires an interactive interview for every application and denies the application if you do not cooperate with it ⁠⁷. The worker decides at the interview whether you must do Applicant Job Search ⁠⁵.

4. Finish Applicant Job Search

   Attend the IMPACT orientation and record 6 employer contacts, including 3 applications. Because you have to do AJS, DFR has up to 60 days, instead of 30, to start your benefits ⁠⁶⁠⁷.

5. Sign the Personal Responsibility Agreement and assign support

   Your signature on the application assigns your child support rights to the state ⁠⁵.

6. Watch for the decision

   If you are eligible, benefits must begin within 30 days of your application date, or within 60 days if you had to do AJS. A denial must come by day 31, or day 61 with AJS ⁠⁷. After approval, report changes within 10 days ⁠⁷.

7. Appeal if you disagree

   Send a written request to your local DFR office or to DFR’s Hearings and Appeals Section within 33 days of the action ⁠¹⁠⁸. To keep your benefits during the appeal, your request must arrive within 13 days of the date the notice was mailed ⁠⁸. The Office of Administrative Law Proceedings holds the hearing ⁠⁸.

Child support through DCS and county prosecutors

Child support in Indiana is run by the Department of Child Services (DCS) Child Support Bureau, with cases handled by county prosecutors’ offices ⁠¹³. While you receive TANF, the state keeps the support it collects each month, up to the amount of your TANF grant ⁠¹². If the prosecutor reports that you refused to cooperate without good cause, the whole family loses TANF, and only the prosecutor can lift the sanction ⁠⁵. Good-cause exemptions exist. Cooperation is also not required when, for example, the other parent has died or lives in your home ⁠⁵. Parents who are not on TANF can enroll online or at a county office for free ⁠¹³.

For other help in Indiana, see all Indiana assistance guides or compare cash assistance across states.