Benefits and Services

A statewide hotline provides information and referral on a broad range of health and social services related to raising children of all ages. Topics of interest to relative caregivers include health insurance, nutrition, immunization, dental health, child care, child development, child safety, teen health, children with special needs, and parent/sibling support. Call 1-800-322-2588 (TTY 711) or go to: Help Me Grow Washington Hotline.

Kinship Navigators are people whose job it is to help you “navigate” through the system. They will talk with you and help you find local services and programs. Currently, Kinship Navigators are available to answer questions for relatives who live in 30 counties. In some other communities, Resource Persons who are support group leaders or provide other kinship services are available to help you. You can see Washington State's Kinship and Tribal Navigators Serving Grandparents and Relatives Raising Children  or go to the Kinship Care Services listing to find your Kinship Navigators or Resource Persons.

Relatives may be eligible to receive various tax benefits.

Working Grandparents May Be Eligible for Earned Income Tax Credit

The Internal Revenue Service wants working grandparents raising grandchildren to be aware of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and correctly claim it if they qualify. 

The EITC is a federal income tax credit for workers who don't earn a high income ($53,505 or less for 2016) and meet certain eligibility requirements. Because it’s a refundable credit, those who qualify and claim the credit could pay less federal tax, pay no tax or even get a tax refund. The EITC could put an extra $2 or up to $6,269 into a taxpayer’s pocket.

Grandparents and other relatives care for millions of children, but are often not aware that they could claim the children under their care for the EITC. A grandparent who is working and has a grandchild who is a qualifying child living with him or her may qualify for the EITC, even if the grandparent is 65 years of age or older. Generally, to be a qualified child for EITC purposes, the grandchild must meet the dependency requirements.

Special rules and restrictions apply if the child’s parents or other family members also qualify for the EITC. Details including numerous helpful examples can be found in Publication 596, available on IRS.gov. There are also special rules, described in the publication, for individuals receiving disability benefits and members of the military.

Working grandparents are encouraged to find out, not guess, if they qualify for this very important credit. To qualify for EITC, the taxpayer must have earned income either from a job or from self-employment and meet basic rules. Also, certain disability payments may qualify as earned income for EITC purposes. EITC eligibility also depends on family size. The IRS recommends using the EITC Assistant, on IRS.gov, to determine eligibility, estimate the amount of credit and more.

Eligible taxpayers must file a tax return, even if they do not owe any tax or are not required to file. Qualified taxpayers should consider claiming the EITC by filing electronically: through a qualified tax professional; using free community tax help sites; or doing it themselves with IRS Free File.

Many EITC filers will get their refunds later this year than in past years. That’s because a new law requires the IRS to hold refunds claiming the EITC and the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) until mid-February. The IRS cautions taxpayers that these refunds likely will not start arriving in bank accounts or on debit cards until the week of Feb. 27. Taxpayers claiming the EITC or ACTC should file as soon as they have all of the necessary documentation together to prepare an accurate return. In other words, file as they normally would.

Relative Caregivers may qualify for one of the Washington state’s subsidized child care programs. These include:

• Working Connections Child Care (WCCC) for employed caregivers
• Seasonal Child Care for seasonal agricultural workers
• Homeless Child Care for families who are temporarily homeless (limited to certain counties)

For WCCC and Seasonal Child Care, in most cases caregivers may qualify even if only one person in a couple is working. If both are legal guardians to the child and listed in the court documents, both must be working to qualify. For Homeless Child Care, caregivers must not be eligible for any other child care subsidy program and must be engaged in an approved activity, such as looking for work or for housing. Relatives who are employed and caring for state-dependent children may also be eligible for subsidized child care and should contact their social worker.