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

Four county groups and a grant schedule frozen since 1990

DHS sorts the 67 counties into four groups and pays the Family Size Allowance (FSA) for the group you live in. The handbook appendix is titled “Effective January 1, 1990,” and DHS last marked it reviewed on May 21, 2025, with the 1990 amounts unchanged ⁠¹. A family with no countable income receives the full FSA. The monthly amount is rounded down to a whole dollar and paid in two semimonthly installments, and nothing is paid for a month in which it comes to less than $10 ⁠¹⁴.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Each additional person adds $83 in every group ⁠¹.

To find your column ⁠¹:

• Group 1 (5 counties): Bucks, Chester, Lancaster, Montgomery and Pike.
• Group 2 (30 counties): includes Philadelphia, Allegheny, Delaware, Dauphin, Erie, Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, York, Westmoreland, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Cumberland and Centre.
• Group 3 (17 counties): includes Beaver, Washington, Franklin, Mercer, Lawrence, Indiana, Carbon, Perry and Venango.
• Group 4 (15 counties): Armstrong, Bedford, Cambria, Clarion, Clearfield, Fayette, Forest, Fulton, Greene, Huntingdon, Jefferson, Juniata, Northumberland, Schuylkill and Somerset.

The Standard of Need test, then the 50% disregard and $200 work deduction

Pennsylvania has no published “income limit” chart for applicants. Instead, a family applying with earnings, and with no TANF in the past four months, has to pass a test against a second schedule called the Standard of Need. DHS subtracts $90 from each worker’s gross earnings, adds net unearned income, and compares the total with the standard. If the result is equal to or higher than the standard, the whole family is ineligible ⁠¹⁰. For three people the standard is $614 in Group 1, $587 in Group 2, $573 in Group 3 and $532 in Group 4 ⁠¹¹.

After a family passes, the CAO disregards 50% of each worker’s gross earnings, which continues for as long as the family is on TANF. It then subtracts a $200 Work Expense Deduction from what remains ⁠¹⁰. The grant equals the FSA minus net income, so cash stops once net income reaches the FSA ⁠¹⁴. Our own example using these rules: a Philadelphia parent with two children who earns $800 a month counts $800 × 50% − $200 = $200, so the grant falls from $403 to $203. Under the same arithmetic, cash ends once that parent’s earnings reach about $1,206 a month.

$1,000 in resources and the $40,000 vehicle exemption

The resource limit for each TANF budget group is $1,000. A family is ineligible for any calendar month in which the equity value of countable resources is over that amount ⁠⁸. Countable resources include bank accounts, bonds and real property other than the home you live in ⁠². Wages or benefits deposited into an account are not counted as a resource in the month they are received ⁠⁸. One vehicle is fully exempt if its equity (wholesale “Blue Book” value minus what you owe) is under $40,000. Every additional vehicle counts at its full equity value ⁠⁹.

Diversion: one, two or three months of the Family Size Allowance up front

DHS started Diversion in August 2005 to cover a short gap when a family’s earned income stops or drops ⁠³. It is a single lump sum equal to one, two or three months of your full FSA. Income is ignored when DHS sets the amount. That means up to $1,263 for a family of three in Group 1, $1,209 in Group 2, $1,179 in Group 3 and $1,095 in Group 4 ⁠³⁠¹. To qualify you must ⁠³:

• be eligible for TANF in the application month or the next month;
• have a parent or relative caretaker who worked or completed job skills training within 90 days of applying (180 days in certain waived areas);
• verify a short-term need, such as car repairs, rent, utilities, child care or work tools, that the payment will fully cover;
• expect income that will support the family within three months.

Diversion has no work requirement and no child support requirement. You sign a Diversion Agreement (PA 1793) instead of an Agreement of Mutual Responsibility ⁠³. In return, you cannot get monthly cash until the Diversion period ends, except in narrow exceptions such as domestic violence or a job offer that falls through. You also cannot receive Diversion again for 12 months ⁠³. DHS describes Diversion as a way to keep families from using up their TANF time ⁠³. Diversion does not cover court costs, fines or child support arrears ⁠³.

RESET hours and the EARN, Work Ready, KEYS and ELECT programs

Every adult on TANF helps the caseworker write an Agreement of Mutual Responsibility (AMR) and must sign it and follow it ⁠². A mandatory participant must start an approved activity within seven calendar days after the case opens and the referral is entered ⁠⁵. The required hours are:

Source: ⁠⁵.

DHS refers participants to one of four contracted programs ⁠⁶:

• EARN (Employment, Advancement, and Retention Network), in every county, for people with a work history and a diploma, GED, trade skill or degree.
• Work Ready, in some counties, for people who need more time before working, including GED preparation.
• KEYS (Keystone Education Yields Success), in some counties, for community college students. Class time and some study time count toward the hours.
• ELECT, in some counties, for parents 22 or younger finishing high school or an equivalency credential.

Special allowances, called SPALs, pay for child care, transportation and similar costs of taking part ⁠⁶. You may be excused if you have a disability, care for a disabled household member, or face homelessness, domestic violence or a family emergency. A single parent caring for a baby under 12 months is also exempt, but only for 12 months over the parent’s lifetime ⁠⁶.

Sanctions that grow after 24 months on cash

If you refuse RESET without good cause during your first 24 months of cash assistance, the sanction removes only your share of the grant. After 24 months, it removes the whole family’s grant ⁠⁷. The first sanction lasts at least 30 days and the second at least 60, or longer, until you agree to participate or show an exemption. The third is permanent ⁠⁷. A sanction does not reduce SNAP or Medicaid ⁠⁷. If an employed adult drops below an average of 20 hours a week without good cause, DHS reduces the grant by the wages that were not earned instead of sanctioning ⁠⁷.

Sixty months, then Extended TANF

Each adult head of household, or spouse of the head, can receive TANF for 60 months over a lifetime. DHS counts this as 1,830 days, whether or not the months are consecutive ⁠⁴. TANF received in another state since March 3, 1997 is subtracted from the balance ⁠⁴. Months with no cash issued, months under sanction with no payment and Emergency Shelter Allowance payments do not count ⁠⁴. Child-only cases, such as a grandparent applying only for a grandchild, have no time limit ⁠⁴.

When an adult reaches the limit, Extended TANF (ETANF) can continue the grant with no further time limit. The family must still meet the TANF rules, and the adult must fit at least one hardship category ⁠⁴:

• domestic violence, current or past;
• the Maximizing Participation Project, for people with a disability, people caring for a child under 6 with no other child care, or people with long-term good cause;
• mandatory RESET participation, for people who are working or in training;
• deferred referral, for example caring for a baby under 12 months or for a disabled relative.

The CAO starts the ETANF review when the case reaches day 1,801 to 1,815 ⁠⁴.

Filing through COMPASS or your County Assistance Office

1. Check your county group

   Use the table above so you know the most you can receive and the Diversion maximum ⁠¹⁠³.

2. Collect proof

   Gather Social Security numbers for everyone applying, proof of Pennsylvania residence and citizenship or immigration status, pay stubs, child support records, bank statements and vehicle loan balances ⁠²⁠⁸⁠⁹.

3. File the application

   Apply on COMPASS in your county of residence, mail the PA 600 to your CAO, or apply in person. One form covers cash, SNAP and Medical Assistance ⁠².

4. Ask about Diversion at the interview

   The CAO must screen you for Diversion and explain how it compares with monthly TANF before ongoing cash is authorized ⁠³.

5. Sign the AMR and start RESET

   Unless you are exempt, plan child care and transportation before your first day with the provider ⁠⁵⁠⁶.

6. Watch for the decision

   After you apply, you can check progress at trackmybenefits.pa.gov or in the myCOMPASS PA app ⁠².

7. Appeal in writing within 30 days

   Cash assistance appeals are due within 30 days of the date on the notice. If you appeal within 15 days of a notice that cuts or ends your grant, benefits continue until the hearing decision, though you may owe them back if you lose ⁠¹⁵.

Child support: the 25% cut and the $100/$200 pass-through

TANF requires you to help establish paternity and support unless you have good cause ⁠². If you do not cooperate, DHS cuts the grant by 25%. For example, the $316 grant for two people in Group 2 drops to $237 ⁠¹². Support collected goes to DHS, which passes current support through to the family each month: up to $100 for one child, $200 for two or more, and $50 for spousal support. Payments on arrears are not passed through ⁠¹³. Parents who are not on TANF can request a support order online through the Pennsylvania Child Support website, which sends the request to the county Domestic Relations Section.

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