Arizona Cash Assistance (TANF)

Cash Assistance is Arizona's TANF: monthly cash for very low-income families with children, on a QUEST EBT card that usually arrives before the approval letter. The current standards, effective October 2025, pay families with a rent or mortgage obligation $204 a month for one person, $275 for two, $347 for three, $418 for four; households without shelter costs get less. Apply at healthearizonaplus.gov or call 1-855-432-7587.

Arizona runs the shortest state clock in the nation: 12 months of benefits in a lifetime for adults, inside the federal 60-month cap. The limits apply to the adult applicant and spouse, never to the children, and Tribal TANF is exempt. Treat every month as scarce.

The 12 months is not always the end. Hardship extensions exist, and households can receive an additional 12 months when no one is in Jobs Program sanction status in the final month and children 6 to 15 are attending school. The Benefit Limit Extension Request form, with verification, is how you ask; do not walk away without asking.

Because the clock is short, ask about the Grant Diversion Program first. Some families can take one larger lump-sum payment instead of small monthly checks, which fits a short crisis like a car repair or a move without burning months of eligibility. Raise it in the eligibility interview.

The income test runs in two steps: the family must be needy, generally under 100 percent of the federal poverty level ($2,221 a month for three), and countable income must fall under the payment standard. Grandparents and relatives applying only for the children get a friendlier 130 percent of poverty test, so relative caregivers should apply rather than assume they earn too much. Work-eligible adults are referred to the TANF Jobs Program, and participation is generally mandatory.

Free Community Assistors statewide help complete the application and gather documents. And because the cash is small, stack the rest: the same application covers Nutrition Assistance and AHCCCS, both of which reach far higher incomes, and 2-1-1 tracks local emergency funds.