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

Group II or Group III: why your city or county changes the check

Virginia uses two shelter-cost groups. Group I was folded into Group II on July 1, 2017 ⁠². Group III covers the higher-cost localities: the counties of Albemarle, Arlington, Augusta, Caroline, Fairfax, Fauquier, James City, King George, Montgomery, Prince William, Spotsylvania, Stafford and York, plus the cities of Alexandria, Charlottesville, Colonial Heights, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Hampton, Manassas, Manassas Park, Newport News, Poquoson, Staunton and Waynesboro ⁠². Every other locality, including Chesterfield, Henrico, Loudoun, Richmond, Norfolk and Virginia Beach, is in Group II ⁠².

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Monthly amounts. The grant is the standard of assistance, paid in full to a family with no countable income. Payments are capped at $723 (Group II) and $861 (Group III), so families of six or more get the cap ⁠².

A computed benefit under $10 is not paid, but the case stays open ⁠².

No asset test, but two income screens

Virginia repealed its TANF resource rules on Dec. 1, 2003, so savings are not counted ⁠². The budget also requires VDSS to disregard the value of one motor vehicle for each assistance unit ⁠¹³. Income is screened in two steps ⁠²:

1. Gross income screen

   Total gross countable income must be at or below the Maximum Income Chart for your group. For a family of three, that is $966 in Group II and $1,175 in Group III.

2. Standard of assistance screen

   From earnings, the worker subtracts a standard deduction that matches the SNAP amount. The manual lists $198 for one to three people and $208 for four. The worker then subtracts 20% of what remains, plus child care costs. For a full-time worker, the child care deduction is up to $175 a month per child age 2 or older and up to $200 for a child under 2. Unearned income is added, and the grant is the standard of assistance minus the total.

The first $100 of current child support is disregarded ⁠². Children not in school or licensed child care must be immunized; if shots are incomplete, you have until the next redetermination to show a first dose of each vaccine and a completion plan. Without proof, the grant drops $50 for the first child and $25 for each additional child ⁠¹⁵. The family cap was repealed on July 1, 2020. A baby born while you receive TANF is now added to the grant ⁠³.

The 24-month VIEW clock and the 60-month lifetime limit

Virginia has two time limits:

• VIEW’s 24-month limit. A family with a parent in VIEW can receive TANF for 24 months. Months need not be consecutive; any month a parent is a mandatory participant on the first day counts, including suspended months ⁠⁵⁠⁹. On the 15th day of month 22, the local department sends a 60-day advance notice explaining the hardship exceptions ⁠⁵. When the case closes, the whole household is barred from TANF, including Diversionary Assistance, for 24 months ⁠⁵. Hardship exceptions cover a job search that finds no work, poor local job availability, a job lost through no fault of your own, and up to one more year to finish job-related training ⁠⁹. The bar does not apply to a relative who takes in a child removed from the home after a child protective services report ⁠⁹.
• Federal 60-month lifetime limit. Every month of TANF counts toward this limit, including partial payments and months received in other states. When the adult reaches 60 months, the whole assistance unit becomes ineligible ⁠³. You can get months beyond 60 only if you are totally disabled, or if you are needed almost full time to care for a disabled family member living with you ⁠³.

Months spent as an exempt caretaker do not move the 24-month VIEW clock, but they do count toward the 60 months ⁠⁵⁠³.

VIEW: 35 hours a week and a sanctions ladder

State law exempts people under 16, full-time students ages 16 to 19, full-time postsecondary students working toward a credential, people with a temporary medical condition (rechecked every 60 days), SSI or SSDI recipients, people 60 or older, the sole caregiver of a disabled household member, and a parent caring for a baby under 12 months, for at most 12 months in a lifetime ⁠¹¹.

Everyone else signs an Agreement of Personal Responsibility and is assigned work activities by an employment services worker ⁠⁵. The requirement is 35 hours a week, or 30 hours if you work full time ⁠⁶. If you miss requirements without good cause, the entire TANF payment is suspended. A first sanction lasts at least one month, a second at least three months, and a third or later at least six months. Each sanction continues until you comply. If you verify a full-time job of 30 or more hours before the first sanction takes effect, that sanction is dropped ⁠⁵.

Working on TANF: the VIEW earnings rule, RISE and help after closure

Once you are in VIEW, your earnings no longer go through the two income screens. You keep TANF as long as earnings plus the grant stay at or below the federal poverty level for your family, or 150% of it for TANF-UP families, for up to 24 months from the date you signed your agreement ⁠⁵.

RISE (Reaching Independence through Savings and Education) is matched savings for working TANF recipients. Through an approved intermediary, TANF pays $8 for every $1 you save toward a home, vehicle, postsecondary education, small business or other self-sufficiency goal. You deposit at least $25 a month and complete trainings; up to $500 of deposits are matched, for a match of up to $4,000 in 24 months, paid to the vendor ⁠⁵. The 2026 budget sets aside $2,120,420 a year for it ⁠¹³.

After TANF ends, you can get child care help, transportation help and Medicaid for up to 12 months. If you were working at least 30 hours a week when the case closed and keep doing so, you also get $50 a month ⁠¹².

One-time money: Diversionary Assistance and Emergency Assistance

Diversionary Assistance is for a TANF-eligible family whose crisis came from income lost or reduced in the past six months (not a voluntary quit), or from income due to start within 60 days ⁠⁴. The payment is up to four months of your TANF grant or $1,500, whichever is greater. It is limited to the verified cost of the need, such as rent, utilities, child care or a car repair, and is usually paid to the vendor ⁠¹⁰⁠⁴. For a family of three with no income, the ceiling is $1,928 in Group II and $2,348 in Group III. Afterward you cannot get TANF for the number of days the payment covers multiplied by 1.33, up to 180 days. You can receive Diversionary Assistance only once in 12 months. These months do not count toward the 24-month or 60-month clocks ⁠⁴.

Emergency Assistance pays up to $1,500 in any 30-day period within 12 months ⁠³. It covers:

• eviction prevention, if you have a valid lease and either a Five-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit or a Summons for Unlawful Detainer;
• needs after a fire or a natural disaster. You must apply within 30 days of the event, or within 60 days if you were hospitalized.

Approval comes within five working days of the final verification, and the applicant cannot get Emergency Assistance again for 365 days, counted from 30 days after the first payment. You cannot get both programs at once ⁠³.

Two-parent families on TANF-UP

When both able-bodied natural or adoptive parents live with their child, the family gets TANF-UP; a father must have established paternity ⁠³. The budget runs TANF-UP as a state-funded separate program whose basic payment cannot be lower than TANF’s ⁠¹³. Both parents are referred to VIEW, but one of them can claim an exemption. Each parent has a separate 24-month clock, and the case closes when either parent’s clock reaches 24 ⁠¹¹⁠⁵.

Applying through CommonHelp or your local department

1. Pick your channel

   You can apply online at CommonHelp (“Apply for All Benefit Programs”), call 855-635-4370, or send the paper TANF application to your local department of social services. Fax and mailed applications are also accepted ⁠¹⁠⁷.

2. Raise any emergency right away

   If you face an eviction notice, a utility shutoff or car trouble that is costing you work, ask about Diversionary or Emergency Assistance when you apply. Staff must explain both programs ⁠⁴⁠³.

3. Complete the interview

   It can be in the office, at home or by phone, and you get at least 10 days afterward to send requested proof ⁠⁷.

4. Gather proof

   Have Social Security numbers, citizenship or immigration papers, pay stubs for the calendar month before you applied (the month workers generally count), child support records, child care bills and immunization records ⁠³⁠²⁠¹⁵.

5. Name the other parent

   Applying assigns your child support rights to the state, and the Division of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE) pursues the absent parent ⁠³.

6. Expect a decision within 30 days

   The local department must issue payment or mail a denial by the 30th calendar day after you file; an application missing proof stays pending until then ⁠⁷.

7. Sign the VIEW agreement if referred

   A non-exempt parent is then assessed and assigned activities ⁠⁵.

8. Appeal within 30 days

   Ask for a fair hearing orally or in writing; it is on time if received or postmarked by the end of the 31st day after the notice. Cuts and closures need 10 days’ advance notice, and a request made before the change takes effect keeps your check at the old amount until the decision ⁠⁸.

Child support from DCSE and what reaches your family

DCSE, part of VDSS, finds parents, establishes paternity and orders, and collects payments ⁠¹⁴. On TANF, DCSE sends you the first $100 of current support collected each month as a disregard payment ⁠². Families with two or more children also get a TANF Child Support Supplement of up to $100 more, the month after collection, so up to $200 a month can reach you; the budget funds it at $4,800,000 a year ⁠²⁠¹³. Parents who are not on TANF can apply through MyChildSupport or call 1-800-468-8894 ⁠¹⁴.

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