NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Families with children being raised primarily by relatives instead of their parents should have received an extra $950 from the Tennessee Department of Human Services on Wednesday.
The payment is meant to give extra support to caregivers who may not receive other Families First services like assistance with child care, job training, or transportation support. These are designated as "child-only" cases, where no adult receives Family First benefits and the child living in the household is being raised by relatives instead of their parents.
The Families First program is run through the state's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.
Households would need to have qualified as a "child-only" case in October, officials said. The payment was put on their Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards, officials said.
"Families who receive ‘child-only' benefits are often grandparents, aunts, and uncles stepping in to provide a stable and nurturing home to vulnerable children,” said Clarence Carter, the TDHS Commissioner. “These families don’t receive all the same benefits, goods, and services as our other Families First participants despite playing an impactful role in the development of children."
The payment is funded through the federal Pandemic Emergency Assistance Fund. Tennessee qualifies for more than $12 million from the fund, officials said. More support from the fund is expected to be announced in 2022