Assistance Programs in Nebraska

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, LIHEAP, helps low-income Nebraska households with home energy costs. Heating help runs October 1 through March 31, cooling help runs June 1 through August 31, and crisis help is available year-round for shutoffs, reconnects, and emergencies. Apply online through iServe Nebraska, or call ACCESSNebraska at 1-800-383-4278.

Free home energy-efficiency work for income-eligible Nebraska households: insulation, air sealing, heating-system safety checks, and repairs that lower future bills. The Nebraska Department of Water, Energy, and Environment runs the program through eight nonprofit community action agencies. Contact the provider serving your area to apply. Call 1-877-253-2603 or 402-471-2186 for help finding yours.

SNAP is Nebraska's food assistance program: monthly food money on an EBT card you use like a debit card at most grocery stores. Apply online through iServe Nebraska at iserve.nebraska.gov, the state's one application for SNAP, ADC cash, Medicaid, energy help, and child care. You can also apply at your local DHHS office or call DHHS at 402-471-3121.

WIC gives healthy food at no cost, breastfeeding support, nutrition education, and health referrals to pregnant and postpartum people, infants, and children up to age 5. Nebraska WIC runs through local clinics across the state. Find your nearest clinic on the DHHS WIC locator, then call it to book an in-person appointment.

Nebraska Medicaid is free or low-cost health coverage for children, pregnant people, parents, older adults, people with disabilities, and low-income adults. Most members get care through Heritage Health managed care plans. Nebraska expanded Medicaid, and the Heritage Health Adult program now covers low-income adults 19 to 64. Apply online through iServe Nebraska at iserve.nebraska.gov.

Aid to Dependent Children, ADC, is Nebraska's TANF cash assistance for low-income families with children. Most working-age adults take part in Employment First, which helps you move toward a job through training and work preparation. Apply online through iServe Nebraska at iserve.nebraska.gov or at your local DHHS office.

The Child Care Subsidy helps low-income families pay for child care while parents work, go to school, or train for a job. Apply online through iServe Nebraska at iserve.nebraska.gov. For questions about your eligibility, call the Child Care Subsidy Program at 402-471-9152.

Nebraska has a refundable Earned Income Tax Credit worth 10 percent of your federal EITC. Because it is refundable, it can come back to you as cash even when you owe no state income tax. Claim it on your Nebraska individual income tax return, Form 1040N, after you claim the federal credit.

Temporary weekly payments if you lost work through no fault of your own, from the Nebraska Department of Labor. File your claim online through NEworks at neworks.nebraska.gov, which is how Nebraska takes unemployment claims. Set up your NEworks account, file your initial claim, then file a weekly claim each week to keep payments coming.

Legal Aid of Nebraska provides free civil legal help to low-income residents on housing and eviction, family, public benefits, consumer, and debt matters. Call the AccessLine at 1-877-250-2016 to apply. Nebraskans 60 and older can use the ElderAccessLine at 1-800-527-7249, and a disaster line runs at 1-844-268-5627. Find more at legalaidofnebraska.org.

Dial 2-1-1 from any Nebraska phone, or call 1-866-813-1731, for free, confidential help finding local assistance with housing, utilities, food, and more. Nebraska 211 is run by United Way of the Midlands. You can also text your zip code to 898211, or chat and search at ne211.org, with live chat open 7am to 10pm every day.