TANF Assistance for Single Mothers in Arkansas

Where to start

• Need cash: Submit a TEA application now. Ask DHS to check income, resources, and which family members can be included.
• Started a job: If TEA ended because of work, ask about Work Pays right away. The usual application window is six months after TEA closes.
• Child care keeps you from work: Tell your TEA worker before you miss a required activity. Ask about help tied to your work plan and separate subsidy rules.
• Benefits were denied or stopped: Read the notice at once. A TEA hearing request generally must be made within 30 calendar days from the notice date.

Ask about TEA, SNAP, Medicaid, and ARKids; each has different rules.

What TEA covers

Arkansas DHS runs TEA. Read the official TEA program details to check forms and support.

• Monthly cash based on eligible family size and countable income
• A work or education plan, case management, and job-search support
• Approved training, education, or work activities
• Child care or transportation linked to an approved plan when allowed
• Other short-term support if DHS approves the need and funds are available

You may need an interview, a work agreement, documents, and activity reports unless excused. TEA cash and SNAP food use different EBT balances. The EBT card FAQ also gives the replacement-card help line, 800-997-9999. Keep your PIN private.

TEA payment levels and money rules

These are the maximum monthly TEA amounts shown on Arkansas DHS’s published quick reference. They are not promised payments.

The state lists a $513 monthly net income test regardless of family size and a $3,000 countable resource limit. These are TEA screening rules, not limits for all benefits. DHS lists a 20% earned-income deduction for applicants and 20% plus 60% earned-income deductions for current recipients. The way DHS applies these can change your result.

DHS excludes some property, such as a home, one vehicle, household goods, and certain education funds. It may count bank balances, stocks, and other property. Request a written budget if the result seems wrong.

Who may qualify

TEA is mainly for Arkansas families with children under 18. DHS checks residence, family ties, citizenship or eligible status, Social Security number rules, income, resources, work rules, time limits, and child support cooperation.

Grandparents and child-only cases

A grandparent or another relative caring for a child should ask DHS to check whether the child may qualify even when the adult is not part of the payment. A relative who is only the payee is not always subject to the adult TEA time clock. Do not assume the whole household must qualify or that all adults must be included.

Pregnancy, disability, and SSI

Tell DHS if you are pregnant, receive SSI, or have health or care duties that affect work. Ask about child-only cases or work exemptions before you miss planned activities.

TEA time limits and work plans

Arkansas generally allows 12 total, not always consecutive, months for adult-included TEA cases under rules effective in 2024. Deferred or exempt months may not count. Child-only cases, SSI-parent families, minor parents, and relatives have special rules.

Only TANF payments from other states beyond 48 months may count toward the Arkansas limit. Unpaid diversion may also count. Ask DHS for your TEA Time Clock.

A review around month ten can consider an extension, which is not automatic. The Arkansas time-limit rule describes the review and closure path. Ending TEA does not by itself end Medicaid.

Work activities and missed hours

Most adults who can work need a plan approved by DHS. It may cover job search, work, education, or training. Tell the worker when a sick child, child care problem, health issue, or lack of a ride stops you from taking part. Ask whether your plan can change or good cause applies before a sanction is made.

For a separate child care application, see the Arkansas child care guide. If travel blocks work, the Arkansas transportation guide lists other places to ask. Approval and funds may vary.

Work Pays after TEA

Work Pays is a separate program for some families who leave TEA after getting work. Arkansas rules describe a $204 monthly payment for up to 12 months, case management, and some work support. Job-retention bonuses may also be possible, but no payment or bonus is guaranteed. The Work Pays program rule describes the main benefit.

Important requirements in the Work Pays eligibility rule include:

• Worked for at least 30 days before applying
• Applied within six months of TEA closing
• Received at least three months of Arkansas TEA
• Care and custody of a related minor child and Arkansas residence
• At least 24 hours a week of paid work for initial eligibility, plus federal participation rules
• Family income below 150% of the federal poverty guideline and other program rules

DHS may count SSI children in Work Pays family size. Ask which income it counts.

These figures equal 150% of the 2026 federal annual poverty guidelines divided by 12. Check the federal poverty chart and ask DHS to confirm the Work Pays limits and the month used. Some older state policy pages still show conflicting duration figures, so use your case notice and a direct DHS answer for your specific award. Under the current benefit rule, do not assume a second year of payments.

Other TEA help to ask about

Diversion Assistance

If a job is about to fall through because of a one-time cost, ask DHS about Diversion Assistance. It may pay for a needed car repair or work uniform when the payment can fix that job barrier. It is not ongoing cash. The diversion rule says the payment cannot exceed three months of the family’s maximum TEA grant. For a family of three, that is up to $612.

Important choice: An adult must agree to go without regular TEA for 100 days. Arkansas treats diversion as a loan. If it is not repaid, it may count for up to three months against the TEA time limit. Ask for the terms in writing before signing.

Job-retention support

If TEA closed because you got a job, some help for an urgent job-related cost may be possible during the following 12 months. The need must put your job at risk, other help must be lacking, and DHS must approve it before you spend. The case-management policy explains this support. It is not a new year of regular rent or utility payments.

Career training

Arkansas Career Pathways may help parents of children under 21 with tuition, books, child care, rides, and job supplies through a participating college. Some who use SNAP, Medicaid, WIC, or TEA may qualify; others may qualify based on income. Check the campus and funds available. Arkansas Workforce Centers can also help with job searches and training.

How to apply for TEA

1. File: Start at Access Arkansas, call 1-855-372-1084, or contact your county DHS office. The DHS application page lists online, phone, mail, and in-person choices.
2. Save proof: Keep an application number, screenshot, mailed copy, or stamped receipt.
3. Attend the interview: Tell DHS about every child, income source, job, car, health limit, child care need, and safety issue that affects your case.
4. Send papers: Check notices and upload what is asked for. Ask what other proof can be accepted if you cannot get a document.
5. Follow up: Use the county office map for a local contact. Ask when to expect a decision and if anything is still missing.
6. Keep your case current: Report changes as required. Ask for written dates for your interview, work plan, review, and renewal.

Check Access Arkansas for notices and document requests. Ask about paper notices if needed. Official benefit applications are free.

Documents and information to gather

Start the application even if you lack one item. Ask the worker which papers are required now and which can follow.

Keep copies, dates, and worker names. Ask how to send sensitive documents safely.

Child support cooperation and safety

TEA often requires a parent to work with child support services. But Arkansas allows a good-cause claim if cooperation could put the parent or child at risk or go against the child’s best interest. Under the good-cause rule, a claim can be raised while the case is open. The child support office must stop activity when it gets notice of the claim and may restart if the claim is denied.

Reasons can include a risk of physical or emotional harm, rape or incest, pending adoption, or certain adoption counseling cases. Ask DHS how to file a claim and which records may help. The TEA good-cause rule also says an otherwise eligible case should not be denied, delayed, reduced, or stopped while DHS decides the claim.

For safety help, use the Arkansas safety resources to reach advocates. Use a safe device.

If TEA is denied, delayed, closed, or sanctioned

Read the notice and keep the envelope. Ask what DHS counted, which rule it used, and when the action starts. Request a written budget or TEA time clock if money or months seem wrong. Ask a supervisor to review missing facts, but do not let that replace a timely appeal.

The DHS appeals page says a TEA hearing request generally must be sent within 30 calendar days of the notice date. Send a signed request using the instructions on the notice or the agency’s appeal form, and keep proof of delivery. The listed mailing address is DHS Office of Appeals and Hearings, P.O. Box 1437, Slot S101, Little Rock, AR 72203-1437.

Time-limit closure exception: One current Arkansas rule says that a time-limit closure appealed within 10 days may keep benefits going during the hearing. Other state guidance describes different continuation treatment after month 12. Do not assume payments will continue. Ask the appeals office, right away, how the rule applies to your notice and whether any continued payment could later need repayment.

• Application taking too long: Ask for the filing date, missing items, decision status, and supervisor contact.
• Income denial: Ask how earned income and excluded resources were counted.
• Time-limit closure: Request the clock record, deferrals, exemptions, and extension review notes.
• Work sanction: Ask what hours or steps were missed and how DHS reviewed good cause.
• Child support sanction: Ask whether DHS received and decided the good-cause claim.

A phone call may not count as a hearing request. Follow the notice; ask legal aid if needed.

Phone scripts