Minnesota MFIP cash assistance for single parents and families (2026)

What MFIP pays a Minnesota family from Oct. 1, 2026

DCYF published the new standards in the State Register on Oct. 5, 2026, effective Oct. 1 ⁠¹. The transitional standard is the most a family with no income can receive. “Family size” means the number of people in the assistance unit who are eligible for both cash and food ⁠⁴.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Each person above 10 adds $68 in cash and $188 in food, $256 in total ⁠¹.

Most families can also get the MFIP Housing Assistance Grant on top of this. The March 2026 Combined Manual puts it at $117 a month ⁠⁸, and state law indexes it to inflation every Oct. 1 ⁠⁴. Families that have a HUD rental subsidy generally cannot get it, unless a caregiver is 60 or older or meets certain disability or caregiving criteria. Child-only cases are also excluded ⁠⁸⁠⁴. The first month is prorated from the application date or the date you meet all eligibility rules, whichever comes later ⁠⁴. Benefits left untouched on the EBT card for 90 days are canceled. They can be replaced within a year only if losing them would put the family at risk ⁠⁴.

DCYF’s own MFIP page (as captured Aug. 20, 2026) still uses an old example: $1,189 in combined benefits for a parent with two children ⁠². The State Register figure of $1,470 is the current standard.

How a paycheck changes the grant: the family wage level

Minnesota lets working families keep part of their grant. The cap that earnings are measured against is the family wage level, set at 110% of the transitional standard ⁠⁴. For three people that comes to $1,617 a month ($1,470 × 1.1). The county takes your gross earnings and disregards the first $65 plus half of the rest ⁠⁶. Whatever remains is subtracted from the family wage level. The payment is that difference, but never more than the transitional standard. Unearned income, such as unemployment insurance, comes off dollar for dollar ⁠⁴⁠⁷.

Example: a parent with two children earns $1,200 a month. After the disregard, $567.50 of the earnings counts. Subtracting that from $1,617 leaves $1,049.50 in combined MFIP cash and food. The family keeps the full paycheck as well. Under the same formula, a family of three with only earned income and no dependent care costs stops qualifying once gross pay reaches about $3,299 a month. These numbers are our own calculation from the statute; your county’s budget is what actually decides your grant.

At application, counties also deduct actual dependent care costs: up to $200 a month for each child under 2 and $175 for each child 2 or older ⁠⁴. Since March 1, 2025, MFIP budgets for six months at a time. You do not have to report income changes during those six months, but you can ask for an adjustment if your income drops ⁠¹⁰.

The $10,000 asset test and what it leaves out

The equity value of your countable property must not exceed $10,000, both when you apply and while you receive MFIP ⁠⁵. Countable property includes:

• cash;
• bank accounts;
• stocks and bonds you can withdraw without a penalty;
• vehicles beyond the first one for each family member age 16 or older, counted at their NADA trade-in value;
• business accounts used for personal expenses ⁠⁵.

Family asset accounts, individual development accounts and census income do not count ⁠⁵. Once you are on MFIP, you can save up to the limit ⁠⁵.

MFIP Employment Services and the May 2026 sanction reset

Every caregiver who has to attend must go to an MFIP orientation. The exceptions are a single parent who already works at least 35 hours a week, and a two-parent family where one parent works 35 hours and the other works 20 ⁠⁴. Missing orientation counts as noncompliance ⁠⁴. Counties have to start employment services within 30 days after you are found eligible. Most counties must also let you choose between at least two employment service providers ⁠⁴.

Your job counselor writes an employment plan that sets your hours ⁠⁹:

• Single caregiver with a child under 6: 87 hours a month.
• Single caregiver whose children are all 6 or older: 130 hours a month.
• Two-parent family: at least 55 hours a week combined.

A parent with a child under 12 months old can skip employment services until the child turns 1. This exemption can be used for only 12 months in a caregiver’s lifetime ⁠⁴. Since Jan. 1, 2026, a parent who receives Minnesota Paid Leave benefits is also excused from employment services ⁠⁴⁠¹⁰. Caregivers under 20 who have not finished high school follow an education plan instead ⁠⁴. Some participants move to Family Stabilization Services instead: people with a qualifying illness or disability, people applying for SSI or SSDI, noncitizens in their first 12 months in the U.S., and caregivers 60 or older ⁠⁴.

Minnesota changed its sanction rules on May 1, 2026, and reset every family’s sanction count to zero ⁠¹⁰⁠⁴. Under the new rules, each of the first six consecutive months of noncompliance cuts the cash portion by 5%. A seventh month in a row closes the whole case, cash and food, for at least one full month ⁠⁴⁠⁹. If you come back into compliance by the 15th of the month, that month’s reduction is paid back ⁠⁴. Before closing a case, the county must try to meet with you face to face, and you may bring an advocate ⁠⁴.

Minnesota’s 60-month clock and the hardship extensions

A family cannot get MFIP once any adult caregiver has received 60 months of TANF-funded cash. That includes months received in any other state or territory, or from a tribal TANF program ⁠⁴. This follows the federal five-year rule. Federal rules allow a state to extend benefits past 60 months for up to 20% of its caseload ⁠¹³. Some months do not count toward the limit ⁠⁴:

• months when the caregiver was 60 or older;
• months spent following a family violence safety plan or alternative employment plan;
• months when an 18- or 19-year-old parent followed an education plan;
• months of short-term emergency payments from the consolidated fund.

The county mails a notice once you have 12 months left, and another each month after that. Between 180 and 60 days before your last month, it must review your case and try to meet with you ⁠⁴. After 60 months, a family can keep MFIP under a hardship extension in one of three groups ⁠⁴:

1. Ill or incapacitated

   A qualified professional certifies a condition expected to last more than 30 days, or you are needed at home to care for someone who has one.

2. Hard to employ

   This covers diagnosed mental illness, developmental or learning disabilities, an IQ below 80 that severely limits work, or a family violence waiver.

3. Employed

   A single parent must log at least 30 hours a week of work activities, averaging at least 25 hours of paid work. A two-parent family needs 55 hours combined, with 45 of them in paid work.

What replaced the Diversionary Work Program in 2026

For more than 20 years, most new applicants in Minnesota first went through the Diversionary Work Program (DWP). It lasted four months, and most of its money went directly to landlords and utility companies. The Legislature repealed DWP in 2023, effective March 1, 2026 ⁠¹⁰⁠⁴. Families who would have qualified for DWP now go directly onto MFIP ⁠¹⁰. Minnesota no longer has a separate one-time cash diversion payment. Instead, counties and Tribal Nations can use the MFIP consolidated fund for short-term, nonrecurring shelter and utility needs. That help does not count as TANF cash assistance and does not use up any of your 60 months ⁠⁴. Rules vary by county, so ask your financial worker what the fund covers.

Applying through MNbenefits and your county or Tribal Nation

1. Gather proof first

   You will need identification, Social Security numbers, proof of citizenship or immigration status, pay stubs, bank statements, vehicle information and any child support records. Assets must total $10,000 or less ⁠²⁠⁵.

2. Apply on MNbenefits

   The online application at mnbenefits.mn.gov takes under 20 minutes and covers MFIP, food, child care and other programs together. You can also send a paper application to your county or Tribal Nation human services office ⁠³⁠². Apply early: benefits start on the application date at the earliest, so any delay lowers your first month’s payment ⁠⁴.

3. Upload documents and complete the interview

   Use MNbenefits to send documents to your eligibility worker. The required interview can be in person or by phone ⁠³⁠². If you need transportation or child care to attend the interview or orientation, the county must arrange it or pay you back ⁠⁴.

4. Attend MFIP orientation

   You must go unless you already work enough hours to be exempt. After that, choose an employment services provider and build your employment plan with a job counselor ⁠⁴⁠⁹.

5. Watch for the decision

   The county has 30 days to decide. If it needs longer, it must tell you why in writing. It cannot deny you just because 30 days have passed while you are still trying to get verification you cannot obtain ⁠⁴.

6. Appeal if you disagree

   Send the state agency a written request for a hearing within 30 days of the notice. With good cause, you have up to 90 days ⁠¹².

Child support while you receive MFIP

When you apply for MFIP, you automatically assign your rights to current child support to the state. You also have to cooperate with the county child support office to establish parentage and a support order, unless you qualify for a good-cause exemption. You claim one in writing on a DCYF form, and it applies when you can document that pursuing support could reasonably lead to physical or emotional harm, for example to the child ⁠¹¹. The state passes current support on to the family ⁠¹¹. For MFIP, the first $100 a month of child support does not count as income if you have one child, and the first $200 does not count if you have two or more. Only support above that amount reduces the grant ⁠⁷. If you refuse to cooperate with child support, your cash portion is cut by 25% ⁠⁴.

For other help in this state, see all Minnesota assistance guides or compare cash assistance across states.