Nebraska assistance programs

Nebraska runs its biggest assistance programs from the center. The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) decides Aid to Dependent Children (ADC) cash help, the Child Care Subsidy and LIHEAP energy help itself, through one iServe Nebraska application and its ACCESSNebraska call centers, with no county agency in between. Most of the other money covered here comes as loans, equity or college-awarded grants rather than checks to you.

One DHHS application can cover ADC, child care and energy help together, and if you already have an open DHHS case you can request LIHEAP without filing a new one. Two things sit outside DHHS: weatherization and the $5,000 HCRRA furnace and air conditioner program go through the Department of Water, Energy, and Environment (DWEE) and eight nonprofit providers, and public pre-K is run by local school districts under Rule 11, not as a universal state program. The Nebraska energy guide and child care guide cover both splits.

Statewide homebuyer help comes from the Nebraska Investment Finance Authority (NIFA), and only through its participating lenders. Its Homebuyer Assistance and Welcome Home Assistance are 1% second mortgages repaid over 10 years, not grants. In Lincoln, NeighborWorks Lincoln runs the city's 0% deferred down payment loan; the Nebraska homebuyer guide compares them. Small business help is similar: Nebraska has no grant for opening an ordinary business, and the Department of Economic Development's real grants are for prototypes, university R&D, SBIR/STTR matches and exporting, as the small business guide explains.

For school and training, the Nebraska Opportunity Grant is the state's only need-based grant, awarded by colleges from the FAFSA and capped at $5,550 for 2026-27, though the 2024-25 average was $1,823. Short non-credit courses can be covered by Community College Gap Assistance, and the Nebraska Department of Labor runs WIOA training accounts and certifies Workforce Pell programs. See the Nebraska student grants guide.