Government Benefits Available to Kansas Citizens

Child and Adult Care Food Program

Food and Nutrition in KS

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) plays a vital role in improving the quality of day care home and day care centers. The CACFP helps to subsidize the cost of food for day care homes and centers allowing these day care homes to serve meals that are more nutritious. Participating homes and centers receive reimbursement for the meals they serve and all children receive the same benefits.

Kancare (SCHIP)

Children's Health in KS

Kancare (State Children Health Insurance Program) offers affordable, low-cost health insurance for the uninsured children of Kansas. Some low-income parents may also qualify for health coverage. Applicants are screened for Medicaid eligibility to determine the funding source. You may also be eligible for coverage of existing medical bills.

Kansas Food Assistance and Nutrition Program

Food Stamps in KS

The Food Assistance & Nutrition Program is a nutrition assistance program, which provides a Kansas Benefit card (plastic debit card) to eligible persons for use in purchasing food from local grocery stores. Complete information regarding Food Assistance eligibility can be obtained by contacting your nearest Department for Children and Families Office or by calling 1-888-369-4777. Any single individual or household group whose income and resources are low and who meet certain basic program requirements can qualify. Food Assistance is available to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, creed, sex, age, national origin, political beliefs, or handicaps. There are specific eligibility requirements in Kansas and in every state. You must work with the Department for Children and Families to apply and confirm your eligibility.

Kansas Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP)

Energy Assistance in KS

The Kansas Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) is a Federally funded program that helps eligible households pay a portion of their home energy costs by providing a one-time per year benefit. Benefit levels vary according to the following factors:

• Household income, and
• Number of persons living at the address, and
• Type of dwelling, and
• Type of heating fuel, and
• Utility rates.

Kansas Medicaid

Medicaid and Medicare in KS

Kansas Medicaid, also referred to as the Kansas Medical Assistance Program (KMAP), is a jointly-funded state and Federal government program that pays for medically necessary services. Medicaid pays for medical services for children and their caretakers, pregnant women, and persons who are disabled, blind or 65 years of age or older.

Kansas Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

Women and Children in KS

The Kansas WIC Program provides supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk.

Kansas Successful Families Program

Living Assistance in KS

The Successful Families Program has services for low income families including the following:

• Cash assistance, also known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
• Social services designed to strengthen families and remove barriers to economic independence including case management and support services and employment services to help families get a job
• Support services for work, training, work activities, and education

The program helps families increase their skills, build on their strengths, and keep children in their homes. To receive help from Successful Families, a family must have at least one child in the home under the age of 19. The child may also be an unborn baby. The child may live with a parent or a relative. The child may also live with a person named by a court to take care of the child, such as a guardian, conservator, or custodian. Adults under the age of 60 must do one of the following in order to receive cash assistance for their family:

• Work or be in work activities
• Be in programs to help reduce barriers to work
• Take care of a child under 12 months of age
• Take care of a disabled household member

Families may get cash assistance while they look for work as long as they meet program requirements. This includes cooperating with Child Support Program requirements. Families can only get TANF for 48 months in a lifetime. Families who get TANF also get medical benefits and may get childcare. Cash benefit levels depend upon the family's income. The benefit level also depends on the county where the family lives. Families may receive support services while they are getting cash assistance and also for a year after they quit getting cash assistance. Contact us today to learn more about the Successful Families Program.

Kansas Unemployment Insurance

Employment and Career Development in KS

Unemployment insurance benefits provide temporary financial assistance to workers unemployed through no fault of their own that meet Kansas' eligibility requirements.

Kansas Weatherization Assistance Program

Energy Assistance in KS

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) provides grants to states, territories, and some Indian tribes to improve the energy efficiency of the homes of low-income families. These governments, in turn, contract with local governments and nonprofit agencies to provide weatherization services to those in need using the latest technologies for home energy upgrades.

National School Breakfast and Lunch Program for Kansas

School Assistance in KS

The School Breakfast Program (SBP) provides cash assistance to states to operate nonprofit breakfast programs in schools and residential childcare institutions. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition service administers the SBP at the Federal level. State education agencies administer the SBP at the state level, and local school food authorities operate the program in schools.

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a federally assisted meal program operating in public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions. It provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to children each school day.

Summer Food Service Program for Kansas

Women and Children in KS

The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) was established to ensure that low-income children continue to receive nutritious meals when school is not in session. Free nutritious meals and snacks that meet Federal nutrition guidelines are provided to all children 18 years old and under at approved SFSP sites in areas with significant concentrations of low-income children.